Oil for an 88 IROC Camaro

[Thatwouldbegreat]

I think that ARX and Valvoline Maxlife 10W-40 is good advice. Unless you already know the engine runs well on 5W-30 or 10W-30 dino.

Auto RX is really good stuff and it can clean an engine safely and make it run better... a lot better.

I just bought two 5 quart boxes of Valvoline Maxlife on sale at Wal Mart for $7.50 /5 qts.

Decent oil and a good price...with the rebates Valvoline mailed to me it cost $1.00 / qt.

After you run Arx and then Maxlife for while you could switch to synthetic and go to 7000 mile oil change intervals....and synthetic is probably best for Maine's temperatures extremes.

I'd consider Mobil 1 0W-40 or Castrol Syntec 0W-30 [ German Castrol from Autozone ]

If the motor has been hot rodded then consider Redline motor oil for the best protection when driving hard.

The normal oil viscosity for the 5.0 liter or 5.7 liter is 5W-30 all temps or below zero, 10W-30 above zero, or 30 weight above 39 degrees F.

So you certainly could run Mobil 1 5W-30 , Mobil 1 5W-30 EP, or Pennzoil Platinum 5W-30 or 10W-30... but I'd try Castrol GC 0W-30 or Mobil 10W-40, or maybe Redline 5W-20 which is on the thick side, or Redline 5W-30.

 

[jcrules78]

I will definitely check into the AutoRX stuff, it sounds like a decent product and a good idea for my aging car. Thanks for all your input guys, I have lots of different brands to investigate and decide from. This sure makes oil changes more interesting.

 

[Dominic]

jcrules, fellow camaro owner here

Here's what I would do. Go ahead and run a 5W-30, and if you want to run Mobil 1 that is fine too. You should be able to convert right over, no problems whatsoever. Do not fear leaky gaskets, it shouldn't occur! Many people switch to a synthetic and back all through a car's life.

Now, when running the 5W-30 Mobil 1, check your dipstick often and make sure you're not losing any over 3000 miles. Go ahead and change the oil and measure how much you get out. I always accomplish this by pouring the old oil back into my new bottles to find out approx how much I lost over the course of the oil change interval.

If you find you're losing oil, or you find the engine not running so smooth, you might want to try a high mileage 5W-30 Maxlife Synthetic (so as to stick with synthetic). It will be a bit thicker, and will protect every bit as well

Enjoy that IROC

 

[Rand]

quote:

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Originally posted by Drew99GT:

quote:

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Originally posted by Rand:
as maxlife is on the high side of the grade.

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Actually it's not. Castrol HM, Pennzoil HM, and Havoline/Chevron HM are on the thick side of each grade.

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Opps I was thinking of maxlife full syn..

 

[jcrules78]

Thanks Dominic, I do love that IROC bro, but it will be doing some sitting for a while after today. I basically blew the engine today. I think the car lost its oil pump and I thought the ticking I heard coming from the engine bay was just a sticky lifter these past couple of days. I stupidly drove the car with the ticking going on, (even though it would stop after the car warmed up) and the ticking turned into clanking, the car stalled out and the oil pressure gauge hit 0. There was a huge puddle of oil under my car. I am so bummed out right now, because I don't have the time or money to do a rebuild anytime soon.

 

[bighead]

..........

 

[Dominic]

Oh ****... thats never good. They make LS1 dropin kits, that would be smoking in there

. I can see you pulling up next to a modern stang and he thinks you're in a 88 IROC... little does he know you've got 400hp. :-D

 

[dave1251]

Right on Dominic.

 

[jcrules78]

An LT1 would be sweet! I'd love any chance to put a Mustang to shame, those nineties ones are a dime a dozen in my city. The majority of the people driving them now are middle age soccer moms and young kids. They are like bellybuttons around here. I am working a plan on saving up to have it rebuilt. My buddies over at iroczone.com are trying to convince me to do it myself, but I don't have the tools, the room or the cash right now. I'm hoping I can store it this winter and maybe have enough cash for next summer. Man this is depressing. I'm having withdrawals already. I want to just jump in and drive off like I do every day.

 

[edvanp]

I had an '89 IROC convertible but it only came w/ the 305. WOuld have loved to drop a 383 stroker engine in it.....

 

[jcrules78]

Yeah, that is a common swap on iroczone and thirdgen.org. A lot of guys have a 383 switch. Must be nice.