You know it's really bad.......

[c502cid]

My truck, as some of you know already, is a 2003 Chevy 2500HD 4x4 with the 8.1/Allison/3.73 gears. I am a traveling salesman who puts 60-70k/year on my company vehicles. I bought this truck used with 25,000 miles on it, now has 30k. Uses less than a quart top off in 3000 miles. Been running 10-30 Chevron dino, 10-30 Mobil 1 blend. So, I finally get far away from home enough that an oil change is due. (This truck comes home maybe 3 weeks a year). What am I going to do? Jiffy Lube? Wal-Mart? Heck no! I buy everything I need to do oil changes on the road! Drain pan, big tub with lid to put everything in, filter wrenches, rags, oil, filters, jugs to put the used oil in, funnels...everything. So, trying not to attract attention, I crawl under the truck at first light in the far end of the Holiday Inn parking lot. I get through it with minimal mess, and only had one guy ask me what the heck I was doing. All the time I was thinking, I wonder how many guys at BITOG would do this too? I bet a bunch. Anyways, now for my question. I finally decided to go to Delvac1 and do some extended drains but I wanted to run 15-40 in the summer and 5-40 in the winter. I am desiring to do a 5000 mile OCI to start. Should I run the 5-40 Delvac1 year round and not worry about it? Or should I find a 15-40 for the summer. Winter or summer, the truck travels the whole US and some of Canada. 90% freeway driving at 70-80 MPH with temperature extremes of 115* in the summer through Phoenix and Vegas, to -20*+ in the winter running through the Rockies and upper Midwest. The other 10% of the time is heavy stop and go city driving whatever the temps are outside. Your thoughts? And has anyone done the side of the road oil changes like me?

 

[Steve S]

You would be a good candidate for a bypass filter c502cid. Delvac would be a perfect choice .

 

[Gary Allan]

I'd go with Delvac 1 and stretch it out to at least 10k. That's still too short given the way you're putting on mileage. You can't have hardly any cold starts per 10kmiles (compared to any other vehicle). I imagine that a 3 month 15k OCI would be appropriate for this type of duty. I still think that it's a bit conservative ..but most here seem to want to err on the side of (severe) caution. Btw- you'll have 100k on this in a year. Do you ditch it for a new, and allegedly more reliable, rig? That is, do you swap vehicles fairly regularly (I would imagine so). ..and since you're taking most of the value out of it in just a year ..... ..how much do you intend to sell this one for ...(peanuts, I'm sure) ..and do you ever get to SE PA

 

[olympic]

I second that. With all the hiway driving you do, a good synthetic and a bypass filter could easily go 40,000km. I should have a 30,000km UOA on my Amsoil equipped van within the next week, the 20,000km UOA looked pretty good.

 

[c502cid]

No go on the bypass. Company wont pay for that. I get lots of automotive goodies(I'm in the automotive aftermarket) for free, but nothing like a bypass setup, so thats out. If I had the Duramax I might think about paying for it myself. How far would you guys go on the Delvac1 with no bypass? Is the 5-40 really going to be a good year round oil for me? Gary Allen, I put about 200k on a vehicle before I sell it or decide to keep it and get a new one. It isn't worth a ton but I keep my trucks maintained and they are loaded with high dollar truck accessories so they always look pretty good even with the high miles. I try to buy a year old truck so some of the initial depreciation hit is absorbed by someone else. If I decide to sell them I usually have a buddy who wants it but since I do get to PA a few times a year you might make me an offer! I appreciate everyones help.

 

[AstroVic]

Definitely I would go at least 10,000 miles per OCI. Even better, I would suggest that you change only the filter at 7,500 miles, top off with makeup oil, and do a complete change every 15,000 miles. The highway miles you're logging in that truck will not cause any problems with extended drains like that. The 5W-40 Delvac should work just fine all year round for your uses. I wouldn't really be too concerned with swapping back and forth between grades. I don't really see the need for it in your situation. Oh....and, yes, I have changed my oil in parking lots, etc. Hahahhaha... But if I was away from home nowadays, I'd just take it to Walmart and watch them like a hawk to make sure they're doing what I want and putting the correct oil and filter in there.

 

[poison]

Awesome post. I got no advice for you, I'm a noob, but wanted to let you know I am still laughing...

 

[KW]

60 to 70K a year! Wow that's a lot of driving. I will second the Delvac 1 every 15K and a fiter change mid way at 7500.

 

[427Z06]

502cid, how many quarts does it take to change the oil and filter in your rig?

 

[c502cid]

Only 6 1/2 qts including filter. It will be tough for me to leave an oil in for 10k miles much less 15k. I'll have to do my very first oil analysis at 5-6k and see how you all feel about it.

 

[AstroVic]

c502cid, You're just like the rest of us, my friend! You're obsessively anal about your oil changes! I promise that you'll be just fine with 10,000 mile OCIs, especially if you change the filter once and top off the oil. I was running 10,000 mile OCIs on a Honda that saw mostly highway miles and I never had a problem (M1 oil and M1 filters). Let us know what you decide to do!

 

[Dominic]

lol Im the same way. I would definitely run the oil out at least 5k though, probably 10k... With pureh ighway driving my wear numbers are always rock bottom. With a good oil, you have nothing to fear

 

[c502cid]

Well I'll go with the Delvac 1 5-40 for my year round oil. This will make me do my first UOA ever, probably at 5-6000k miles just for the peace of mind. If it's good for 10k or more, than I'll go for it. Anyone have any good sources for Delvac 1 that are commonly available?