Which Mobil oil for a High Mileage GM 5.3L engine?

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NewGuy

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Hello everyone. I have a 2004 Tahoe with 165,000 miles on it. I do a lot of driving and would like to keep the engine running strong. I just completed a treatment of AutoRx (the 2nd or 3rd treatment in the life of the engine). My question is....what oil should I use now?

I have tried a little bit of everything, but I would like to give Mobil products another run. I have some Mobil Clean 5000, but I am thinking that a HM oil or even Mobil 1 0W-40 would be fun to try. Does anyone have experience using either of these oils in this engine? I just changed the plugs today and I do believe that the engine is starting to use a bit of oil. I don't know if it is because the AutoRx has cleaned the rings...or...maybe I need to condition the seals a bit with a HM oil.

Thoughts or comments? thanks.
 
Use the clean 5k if have enough and correct weight as you are just testing anyway. Start light weight and move up if/as needed to help with startup wear and mpg's.
 
Hey I have the same engine and have thought about the 0W40. What plugs did you use? What gap? Im surprised you are possibly burning oil. These are strong engines and it sounds like you take good care of it with the Auto Rx and plug changes. How many miles did you have on those plugs? How did they look. Im sorry I could not answer your questions and have some of my own. I am currently using Synpower 5W30 and have thought about Maxlife. Have you thought about that?
 
Mobil Clean HM is a good oil for conditioning seals and keeping your engine clean. If you want to double your oci, then yes M1 10W30 HM would be a great oil for your mileage. It is on the heavier end of an SAE 30 at operating temps and has better HTHS than regular Clean 5000, as well as more of the ZDDP antiwear additives of an SL oil. I have also used the 0W-40 for GM V6 and 8 cylinders and it works well, but without the seal conditioner. Maybe a tad better for winter cold starts where you are due to the 0W. These oils are on sale with M1 filter through Wed this week for $30 at AA. Of course, you will need one extra quart to make the six for your sump.

I have noticed that at times on older engines it is necessary to recondition the seals a bit with a HM oil after a good ARX cleaning.
 
I didn't think about Maxlife. That might be an option as well. There are a lot of good UOAs on BITOG with the Maxlife. I just thought it would be a good chance to try the 0W-40. I understand that gas mileage might suffer a bit, but I have always been intrigued with the European oils.

I usually change the oil around 5K, so I have used a lot of oil. My favorite oil for this engine was the Motorcraft Syn Blend 5W-30. I got a really good UOA with it as well. I just thought I might try something thicker or a HM formula.

I used the AC Delco iridium plugs called for in the manual. I will check the number and send you a PM. I got about 100K miles out of the previous set, but I probably should have changed them at 90K. Most looked pretty good for 100K, but I typically don't let them run that long. It has just been too cold to change them.

I have never noticed any oil being used, but I did notice some smoke after installing all of the plugs today. Hindsight is now telling me that there were too many variables (new plugs, Lucas fuel treatment and AutoRx) at 1 time to credit the small bit of smoke to the engine burning oil. I am going to run these new plugs for a 100 mile trip tomorrow and partially deplete this tank full of Lucas fuel treatment.

On a side note - I still have the original front and rear brake pads on my Tahoe after 165K miles.
 
Originally Posted By: bmwtechguy
Mobil Clean HM is a good oil for conditioning seals and keeping your engine clean. If you want to double your oci, then yes M1 10W30 HM would be a great oil for your mileage. It is on the heavier end of an SAE 30 at operating temps and has better HTHS than regular Clean 5000, as well as more of the ZDDP antiwear additives of an SL oil. I have also used the 0W-40 for GM V6 and 8 cylinders and it works well, but without the seal conditioner. Maybe a tad better for winter cold starts where you are due to the 0W. These oils are on sale with M1 filter through Wed this week for $30 at AA. Of course, you will need one extra quart to make the six for your sump.

I have noticed that at times on older engines it is necessary to recondition the seals a bit with a HM oil after a good ARX cleaning.


Good advice. Thank you. I might give the M1 HM oil a run for 10K and see what happens. I did 2 cycles with the ARx, so maybe the seals do need a bit of TLC.
 
Quote:
On a side note - I still have the original front and rear brake pads on my Tahoe after 165K miles.


WOW
shocked2.gif
That's amazing! What's the front bumper look like?
 
165k miles on original brake pads on a heavy Tahoe? As Penn & Teller would say, "[censored]"
 
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we have a one ton chev van with 100,000 miles on the same brakes

We keep taking off the front wheels and check the pads and they are great! have no idea why the fellow that drives it well he scares me smiles!
 
Originally Posted By: 05Blazer
165k miles on original brake pads on a heavy Tahoe? As Penn & Teller would say, "It's bullsh**!"


Nope...True story. 165K with both the front and rear OE brakes. I had the transmission rebuilt at ~150K and I am on my 3rd set of tires...but the brakes are original. Of course I drive a lot of interstate, but 165,000+ miles is pretty good. I will be getting my tires rotated tomorrow and I will get them to check the pads again. I have a friend at work who has the same job as me and he got ~140K on his OE brake pads with his heavier Suburban. I am sure the type of driving makes all the difference, but GM brake pads for their heavier SUVs are pretty good.

I was reviewing the old UOAs for 0W-40 in a 5.3L without much success. I might give a HM oil a try for a change. I did see that M1 has a HM oil. I might try that or Maxlife.

Any other suggestions or comments would be appreciated.
 
I have a Suburban that has 100,000 miles. The miles are all driven by me and are mostly highway. I'd say, by looking at the pads that they are at least 75%. I think I can easily make 165k miles.

Wayne
 
Brake life is like anything else; exposure does not always equal degredation. The two can be mutually exclusive at times.

I don't doubt that a heavy vehicle running high mileage on mostly interstates with conservative driving can get that kind of life out of brakes.

My wife's Villager has 175K on the rear drums and shoes. I have checked the brake-biasing adjustment a few times to make sure they are even working. And yet the soldier on. She's a very conservative driver, so the wear/tear is minimal.
 
FWIW....I put 6 quarts of Motorcraft 5W30 back in the 5.3L this weekend. It is probably my favorite oil for this engine. I change it every 5-7K with either a M1 or ACdelco filter.

The next change will get the Maxlife 10W30 or the M1 HM 10W30. 6 quarts of M1 HM 10W30 is $30+ at Wal-Mart. I will need 10K OCIs to equal the value of Maxlife. Thanks for the comments!!
 
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