HIgh mileage 5.3 oil?

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I recently bought a 06 GMC with a 5.3l engine. It has about 290000km(180000m) on it. I did an oil change immediately with standard Penzoil, but since it was pretty black I decided to do another fairly soon. I've put about 2500km on it now, so I'd like to do it now. I'm trying to decide what oil to use. It has a slight tick sometimes at start up, which may be the engine or possibly exhaust leak. Doesn't seem to burn oil, but does leak from the cooler block plate, not unusual for these.
I usually use PP or M1,depending whats on sale, but I'm considering using a high mileage in this one. It doesn't tow often, but will tow a trailer and quad on occasion. Being in northern Canada, we don't necessarily have all the options others do, but do have most of the usuals. Should I run the usual synthetics or a high mileage? One concern is that I will be running synthetic in winter as it gets very cold here, considering a 0W-30. What would you do?
 
those engines run a long time if you take care of them i would use 5w30 dino in the winter and hm 5w30 in the summer i would use pennzoil or quaker state but any brand would be ok in that great engine.
 
Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
those engines run a long time if you take care of them i would use 5w30 dino in the winter and hm 5w30 in the summer i would use pennzoil or quaker state but any brand would be ok in that great engine.



This truck is in Alberta. Dino in the winter?

No.
 
I think you should be using a High Mileage oil, and M1 HM is a great oil. The trouble is, the 5w30 is at the upper end for a 30-weight, and may not be optimum for an Alberta winter. How about a 50/50 blend of M1 HM 5w20 & 5w30? The resulting viscosity would still be a 30-weight, but at the lower end of the grade. Then run M1 5w30 HM in the summer.
 
Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
This truck is in Alberta. Dino in the winter?

Bah, I've run more winters with conventional than with synthetic. I wouldn't switch anything between summer and winter, either.
 
A BIG vote here for Maxlife. Both the semi-syn and the full syn are cheap and VERY effective.

Note that the 5.3 as used in our fleet is one of the longest lived GM motors we have ever ran, easily goes 250k miles even in hard usage IME...
 
Originally Posted By: abycat
What's up fellow albertan. Buy your oil at Walmart. When the 4.4l jugs are on sale. 9.99 for conventional and 19.99 for sym.


Which brand you talking about? I used to always buy oil on sale at Walmart, but now its an hour away so I don't get to go as often. I was hoping to get some Maxlife on sale this week but it was $34 so I didn't get any.

As for winter, I really do prefer to use synthetics as I've noticed a marked difference in startup during really cold temps.
 
Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
This truck is in Alberta. Dino in the winter?

Bah, I've run more winters with conventional than with synthetic. I wouldn't switch anything between summer and winter, either.




Agreed.
And a Canadian will typically plug their vehicle in which will radiate into the oil somewhat.


I'm in sask. I've got a 99 silverado with a z71. It's been relegated to winter and work only. I've got over 280k on my 5.3 and it doesn't burn a drop of oil between changes.
Lately I've been using whatever Walmart has on sale in everything. Last time was pyb but once the cold weather blows in I'm going to use up some of my stock of ultra.
The 5.3 ain't picky. I had a slight weep at the valve cover but a can if liqui-moly motor oil saver fixed that in short order about 40000 kms ago and the weep hasn't returned.
When I first bought the truck I used amsoil exclusively. Ran it for 100000kms and did a cam swap and the engine was spotless inside.
Since then I have just used whatever I got on sale and via my Milwaukee inspection light/monitor it's still spotless 130000kms later.
Unless you've got gasket issues I wouldn't bother with a high mileage oil,unless of course it's on sale.
See a pattern here?
Follow the oil life monitor if using conventional,if using synthetic you can run out 10000 miles pretty easy in these engines.
I'm running my filters x2 oil changes too,which increases filtration efficiency.

If you can get liqui-moly mos2 at napa I suggest adding a can. My 5.3 religiously got 450kms per tank for years and when I added it by the third fill up I was getting 600kms per tank.
It was the most significant fuel consumption increase I ever got with the stuff. Ended up increasing my mileage by 1.5km per litre,which doesn't sound like much til you multiply it by 100 litres.
Give it a shot. If it doesn't increase your mileage I'll even pay for the can.
 
Originally Posted By: xxclaro
Which brand you talking about? I used to always buy oil on sale at Walmart, but now its an hour away so I don't get to go as often. I was hoping to get some Maxlife on sale this week but it was $34 so I didn't get any.

He's probably talking about Castrol, which can come in 4.4 L jugs, and which is frequently rolled back. Mobil products also have such sizes, and Walmart has Mobil Super again, but I don't think I've seen M1 for $19.99 ever.
wink.gif


Where in Alberta are you? If you think outside the box, you can get some pretty good deals, synthetic or otherwise, without setting foot into a Walmart or a Canadian Tire. MaxLife is a fine option, but the odds are pretty good that you're rather close a SOPUS, Imperial Oil, Petro Canada, or Coop distributor, or more than one of them.

If you insist on synthetic and worry about cold starts and aren't afraid of going slightly out of spec, Mobil Delvac Elite 222 0w-30 will virtually impossible to beat in cost and in cold weather ability, as long as you're not afraid of a 5 gallon pail. If you want to stick with a 5w-30 in SN/GF-5, Formula Shell, in either conventional or synthetic, will be very hard to beat, when purchased from a distributor. Some western Canadian SOPUS distributors can only sell Rotella and Formula Shell, whereas others are allowed to sell Pennzoil-Quaker State products, too.
 
Thanks guys. I can get Shell products at a few local stores for decent prices. I saw Chevron Delo 400 synthetic at the local UFA for around $24 for a 4 or 5L jug, which I thought was pretty cheap. Pretty sure its a diesel oil though, is that going to be an issue?
 
I would assume that's Delo 400 LE 5w-40 in CJ-4. That's a good price and it would work fine, being SM rated. It's thicker than specified, but it will work fine in a gasoline motor with no warranty concerns. Look what I'm using in my G37 in my signature. I'm running Delo 400's competition.
 
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