Newbie here, made the switch to Mobil 1 yesterday

Stabbin97Tahoe · Dec 8, 2003

Hey, I have been doing some reading on Mobil 1 and have asked on FSC.com about if I should change to Mobil 1. I recently found this website when my friend told me about it.

Anyways, I drive a '97 Chevy Tahoe, 5.7 with 89,xxx miles on it. I was worried of making this switch with such high mileage. I have had it since 60,000 miles and have made the regular oil changes at 3,000 miles using either Halvoline or Valvoline quick oil places. The Valvoline place I started going to I asked if they would be able to put in Mobil 1 if I brought in 5 quarts. They said, we sell it right here and will put it in. I was like great, do it. I had them put in the 5W30 since I live in IA and is a little colder.

Is this (or was this) a good idea you think? I have never had a leak with it so I hope this continues through as this was my biggest concern of making the switch. Also at Wal-Mart I have seen this higher mileage mobil 1. What is the difference? In the summer should I put 10w30 mobil in or a different weight?

Another question, I am on my second transmission. The first one failed while towing a trailer (well had failed before that but just made the problem worse). With this second one do you recommend any type of fluid or additives to add over another? Or just leave what is in it now?

I also put in Chevron w/ Techron in the tank every other oil change. I have been pretty happy, been getting 350+ on one tank. On one I even got 390

Thanks for any input

JonS · Dec 8, 2003

I also went with Mobil 1 for my first time. I have 109k on my '95 Jeep. I don't expect any leaks. I got mine at Target for $3.49/qrt. That is why i did it, and i am in Mn. I wanted one oil i could put in for the whole winter. I will change the 5w-30 out for 10w-30 in april-may. BTW, the 10w-30 is advertised for higher milage cars. It has seal conditioners in it.

wtd · Dec 8, 2003

I have a 98 chevy truck with the 5.7L and used Mobil 1 in it for about 40,000 miles. The only leak I ever had was the oil cooler lines which tend to leak with any type of oil. Its hard to say whether you will have any leaks with the Mobil 1. This stuff does a good job of cleaning and it may reveal a bad seal but I wouldn't worry about it.

I recently switched to Chevron Supreme conventional oil because I was getting alot of startup tapping and more engine noise in general with the Mobil 1 and my oil analysis results were not as good as I would have liked. To be fair, I did have an internal coolant leak during the last two analysis which gave me bad results but the other four were not that great either. Try it for awhile and see how it does in your engine.

As far as your transmission, how often do you change the fluid and do you tow in overdrive? The best thing you can do is keep the fluid changed on a regular basis, don't tow in overdrive, make sure you have a tranny cooler, and don't tow more than your truck was designed for.

I have the same tranny that you do and here is what I do. I put a tranny pan from the 99+ new body style trucks on mine. These have drain plugs and will fit on our transmissions. Here is the part numbers I used a few years ago. Pan #24215535. filter kit#24208576. Pan was only about $55 at the dealer and filter was about $50.

I drain and refill my tranny about every 6,000 miles as this only replaces about 3 qrts. This is probably overkill but at least I know it always has fresh fluid in it. I change filter about every 30,000 miles. I did add Lube Control to my fluid once but nothing since. Hope this helps.

Wayne

TooManyWheels · Dec 8, 2003

These 4L60E transmissions tend to have structural problems, such as a weak sun-gear shell, and a valve body piston which wears it's bore, eventually roasting the torque converter. There is only so much you can do, short of a rebuild by someone who knows the weaknesses.

By the way, what was the website you first referred to? FSC.com deals with communications equipment.

[ December 09, 2003, 11:41 AM: Message edited by: TooManyWheels ]

Stabbin97Tahoe · Dec 9, 2003

Someone else said it, The FSC.com website is www.fullsizechevy.com I frequent that and has helped me out in a lot of things. You should check it out if you have a FSC=Full Size Chevy/Full Size GMC

As far as the transmission, it went bad after taking a 350 mile trip from home to college. I noticed when I stopped and went, in between 1st and 2nd it would hit hard or bang. Had it checked out, fluid changed and they didn't find any problems with it. The thing that finally did it in when I towed a fully loaded U-Haul trailer home from college and cruising about 70 the RPMS normally sit at 2,000 even with a trailer. But this time going up a hill it downshifted and jumped to 3,000. Needless to say that was a long night and a expensive one. The one in it now is a factory rebuilt with a 50,000 mile warranty. So that is why I was asking if there is a recommended fluid to put in.

After reading a few posts on here about oil I am confused. What does Moly, Ester(s), Pour Point, Pour Temp mean? There were a few others but I noticed on the Quart of M1 I bought yesterday it has this Pour Temp. Is that what the oil is rated down to?

Also, since the Mobil 1 oil this place in was the 5W30 for newer vehicles is that a problem for my 89,xxx Tahoe? Wal-Mart had the higher mileage formula but I read on here that all the higher mileage formulas are is a "Marketing" scheme. When they were doing the oil change I watched them to make sure they put in Mobil 1. I noticed it poured very thin, and clear. And they showed me the dipstick it was very thin...is this normal? Was 5W30 too thin for my app? I have however noticed just the second day it runs smoother and quieter

Thanks and sorry for the long post...

Stabbin97Tahoe · Dec 9, 2003

EDIT: I noticed the forum didn't have a edit feature. But we use the Tahoe and my Mom's Yukon Denali to tow a snowmobile trailer and a 18 1/2 ft. boat. Nothing too big. And yes we use OD to tow on the highway. And have used 3rd for side streets that are snow covered a few times.

TR3-2001SE · Dec 9, 2003

I think you picked an excellent oil. I think Mobil 1 is the best all around oil for most applications. Some cars prefer a heaver oil and some people drive very hard and need a different oil. An oil analysis will tell you for sure how it is doing but lots of us use this oil for sure.
I also use the Techron and hope my money is well spent on it. Lots of people recommend it.

Points · Dec 9, 2003

Mike,

Mobil One 5w 30 will be ok in your truck. You are going to see the oil get dark fast because its cleaning. It may take 8k to 10k to clean. To speed up the cleaning buy Auto Rx... Mobil One is your tranny will help too...

Check this out.. http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/oilglossary.html and http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/moly.html

Points

RavenTai · Dec 9, 2003

I would bet he meant FullSizeChevy.com, one of several good chevy truck forums

Dick in Falls Church · Dec 9, 2003

>>>>Another question, I am on my second transmission. The first one failed while towing a trailer (well had failed before that but just made the problem worse). With this second one do you recommend any type of fluid or additives to add over another? Or just leave what is in it now

I'd change the fluid to synthetic ATF. Will run cooler, reduce internal wear, and resist oxidation much better.

Stabbin97Tahoe · Dec 9, 2003

quote:

Originally posted by Points:
Mike,

Mobil One 5w 30 will be ok in your truck. You are going to see the oil get dark fast because its cleaning. It may take 8k to 10k to clean. To speed up the cleaning buy Auto Rx... Mobil One is your tranny will help too...

Check this out.. http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/oilglossary.html and http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/moly.html

Points

LOL, thanks Points

I checked it out today, no leaks or loss. Course it could take a while like you said for it to clean it out and run the old stuff through.

BTW, when I had the oil changed the guys said the whole underside was "Muddy"

Yeah, you know what I'm talkin about...thanks for pullin me out

EDIT: I forgot to ask this question...Should I use a different oil filter with this Mobil 1 oil or just use what the Valvoline place uses? Thanks

[ December 10, 2003, 01:22 AM: Message edited by: Stabbin97Tahoe ]

wrm · Dec 10, 2003

Hey Stabbin97Tahoe, I found this place from FSC as well. I would like to change to Mobil 1 too, but a little scared of it causing any problems. I was thinking of trying the high mileage 10-30 stuff. Not sure with my mileage,but I've read alot on this forum that I should be ok. Did you feel a diferance right away?

I'm glad to have found this site,it's great and informative.

Kompressor · Dec 10, 2003

Stabbin, I wouldn't worry about using M1 in a vehicle with your mileage, I'm using M1 10w30 in my 87K mile F150 with no problems. I also think using 5w30 for winter and 10w30 for summer is a good call for your climate, I use 10w30 year round for mine.

jperson · Dec 10, 2003

Hey folks,

I own a 96 Silverado with 110K on it. I made the switch to synthetic at 77K miles. I have used mobil 1 and synpower and havent had problems. I sampled the oil with synpower too and it was an excellent report. You should feel free to use any synthetic oil in your tahoe in any of the various 30 weight oils that the manual recommends.

BadBirdLT1 · Dec 10, 2003

I think you will like the Mobil1 in your car. I had 140k on my LT1 and when I pulled the engine and disassembled it was still nice worn from Racing but still clean zero sludge I mean zero.

On the tranny if you want to know anything about the 4L60E check out www.lt1dave.com he is very good with these trannies. Do you kick it down alot when towing? I mean going from OD to 3rd gear by giving it more gas? If so that will kill your 3-4 clutches, reason being is the 4L60E is syncrometic (sp?) tranny and when you shift down it has a clutch pack turned on (easy way of explaining) while another on is coming on the other is going off but the band is still going so to make a confusing *** story short kicking down especially while towing will kill your tranny. That is why most recommend to tow in 3rd they may not know exactly why but the reason is so it wont kick down to 3rd at all cause you are already in third. Most think it is because it will tear up 4th but it is really just so you dont downshift all the time. It will hurt gas mileage but that is about it and your tranny will last alot longer. Also dont change the fluid on a high mile tranny unless you change it every 5-6k miles you are doing more harm than good.

Stabbin97Tahoe · Dec 10, 2003

quote:

Originally posted by BadBirdLT1:
Do you kick it down alot when towing? I mean going from OD to 3rd gear by giving it more gas? If so that will kill your 3-4 clutches, reason being is the 4L60E is syncrometic (sp?) tranny and when you shift down it has a clutch pack turned on (easy way of explaining) while another on is coming on the other is going off but the band is still going so to make a confusing *** story short kicking down especially while towing will kill your tranny. That is why most recommend to tow in 3rd they may not know exactly why but the reason is so it wont kick down to 3rd at all cause you are already in third. Most think it is because it will tear up 4th but it is really just so you dont downshift all the time. It will hurt gas mileage but that is about it and your tranny will last alot longer. Also dont change the fluid on a high mile tranny unless you change it every 5-6k miles you are doing more harm than good.

No, just leave it in OD while driving on the highway. If it needs more power it just downshifts or step on it

But unless its a big hill or passing then it is fine.

**Any idea on whether to use a different oil filter for M1 oils or just use stock?

Grossomotto · Dec 10, 2003

Mobil 1 Filters are bulletproof and filter everything! And the most expensive. I like Purolator PureOne, but some say they're too thin inside. Now, I just use the Toyota OEM filters since my OCI is 5K miles.

Newbie here, made the switch to Mobil 1 yesterday

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