Running Valvaoline VR1 50 WT in a GM 3.4L engine?

[Rockford Fosgate Fan]

Originally Posted By: Ringe
Originally Posted By: Rockford Fosgate Fan
Like I said before the temperature this far south might drop below zero degree Celsius only a few times a year. I promise you if I pour 20w-50 in the crank case the pump will pull it from the pan and it will flow through it engine. I know I'm trying to be cheap here but I purchased this vehicle to just make it through college so I want to invest as little money as possible into this worthless product from General Motors.


If you're just trying to save money and make it through college then just use the recommended viscosity and keep the fluid level good. An oil pan gasket leak isn't going to cause catastrophic engine failure anyway, and being so anal about a leak that you deliberately use a nonsensical viscosity in your motor is a surefire way to end up wasting money that could otherwise put you through school.


Agreed, it doesn't lose much fluid. Just curious do you think using Maxlife may help with the leak or not? As you know the gasket is the little rubber band type (forgot the proper name) so I do not know if the swell additive will even help.

 

[Ringe]

Originally Posted By: Rockford Fosgate Fan
Originally Posted By: Ringe
Originally Posted By: Rockford Fosgate Fan
Like I said before the temperature this far south might drop below zero degree Celsius only a few times a year. I promise you if I pour 20w-50 in the crank case the pump will pull it from the pan and it will flow through it engine. I know I'm trying to be cheap here but I purchased this vehicle to just make it through college so I want to invest as little money as possible into this worthless product from General Motors.


If you're just trying to save money and make it through college then just use the recommended viscosity and keep the fluid level good. An oil pan gasket leak isn't going to cause catastrophic engine failure anyway, and being so anal about a leak that you deliberately use a nonsensical viscosity in your motor is a surefire way to end up wasting money that could otherwise put you through school.


Agreed, it doesn't lose much fluid. Just curious do you think using Maxlife may help with the leak or not? As you know the gasket is the little rubber band type (forgot the proper name) so I do not know if the swell additive will even help.



I'm not experienced with Maxlife, and I haven't read anything about it here. May be worth a shot, however.

BTW, I'm really not trying to come off like an arsehole, It's just that I don't like to see people do the wrong thing, given the info I have at my disposal. I'm trying to be helpful, in other words. And as you can tell by my post count I still have a lot to learn myself.

 

[sprintman]

That's a pretty thin oil but you should be able to get away with it imo. If you have a noisy engine using it then 40W70 is a better choice.

 

[Rock_Hudstone]

Originally Posted By: Rockford Fosgate Fan
I know I'm trying to be cheap here but I purchased this vehicle to just make it through college so I want to invest as little money as possible into this worthless product from General Motors.

Why didn't you mention that sooner?
Use whatever oil you feel comfortable with, keep it topped off and forget about the leak.

 

[deven]

Originally Posted By: Rock_Hudstone
Originally Posted By: Rockford Fosgate Fan
I know I'm trying to be cheap here but I purchased this vehicle to just make it through college so I want to invest as little money as possible into this worthless product from General Motors.

Why didn't you mention that sooner?
Use whatever oil you feel comfortable with, keep it topped off and forget about the leak.

If its just to make it thru college, the cheapest oil on sale with API certs will get that "worthless product from GM" to 150k miles no problem.

 

[G-MAN]

A word of caution: The oil leak on your 3.4 could be coming from the intake manifold gasket. These are notorious for leaking coolant into the oil, but they sometimes fail both ways and allow oil to leak out. It runs down the engine and mimics an oil pan gasket leak.

 

[Ringe]

Originally Posted By: G-MAN
A word of caution: The oil leak on your 3.4 could be coming from the intake manifold gasket. These are notorious for leaking coolant into the oil, but they sometimes fail both ways and allow oil to leak out. It runs down the engine and mimics an oil pan gasket leak.


Very good point.

Look for telltale leaks under the throttle body, or above the water pump. The rocker cover gaskets on those also tend to leak.