a buddy of mine has a 3500 chevy dually,it holds 10.1 quarts of oil just like every other Duramax (LB7, LLY, LBZ, LMM), he did an oil change, put in 9.5 quarts, ran it to work and back, and checked it. it was low but still in the safe range. he put 10 quarts in, and it was midway on the dipstick. it took 10.5 quarts to get it to the full mark. what could be the reason for this when the capacity is 10.1 quarts? this has also happened to a co-worker of mine with a 2011 Dmax, his truck took 11 quarts to reach the full mark.
2011 LML Duramax
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ls1mike
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I don't think dipsticks are all the accurate. My Equinox takes 4.5 quarts, but 5 puts it at the full mark. My Jetta was like that also.
so would it be hurting the engine to put 10.5 quarts?
I don't have a diesel, but GM is notorious for having inaccurate sticks. I would put in 10.1 @ the next change and walk away. As long as your in the marks you should be good.
dnewton3
Staff member
It's generally accpeted in the Dmax community that 10 quarts is fine. (Makes for easy oil changes).
There is a BROAD range of acceptable oil level on the Dmax dipstick.
I use 10 qrts. Last year I ran an entire OCI with no top off. It took me from the top of the dipstick range to the bottom, which represents approximately 2 qrts of consumption. I'm sure it could go a bit lower, but the bottom of the dipstick range is the limit of my comfort zone. I never had one bad thing happen, and to the contrary, had another great UOA, even running 20% down on volume by the end of the OCI.
Overfilling an engine is nearly as bad as underfilling and engine. Overfilling can whip the oil with the crank and cause areation. However, I don't think 10.5 qrts is going to be so overfilled that it's a risk. Just let the level drop naturally and it'll be fine. One-half qrt only represents (approximately) 5% overfilled; that's nothing to panic over and not worth the effort to remove it.
Generally, just put in 10 qrts, keep the level above the bottom of the range, and your buddy will be fine.
Also, as this is more of a maintenance question than an HDEO question, I'm moving the thread.
There is a BROAD range of acceptable oil level on the Dmax dipstick.
I use 10 qrts. Last year I ran an entire OCI with no top off. It took me from the top of the dipstick range to the bottom, which represents approximately 2 qrts of consumption. I'm sure it could go a bit lower, but the bottom of the dipstick range is the limit of my comfort zone. I never had one bad thing happen, and to the contrary, had another great UOA, even running 20% down on volume by the end of the OCI.
Overfilling an engine is nearly as bad as underfilling and engine. Overfilling can whip the oil with the crank and cause areation. However, I don't think 10.5 qrts is going to be so overfilled that it's a risk. Just let the level drop naturally and it'll be fine. One-half qrt only represents (approximately) 5% overfilled; that's nothing to panic over and not worth the effort to remove it.
Generally, just put in 10 qrts, keep the level above the bottom of the range, and your buddy will be fine.
Also, as this is more of a maintenance question than an HDEO question, I'm moving the thread.
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Anywhere between the marks is fine.
And that oil cooler is 3/8 or 1/2 lines all the way, so there's a lot of oil there.
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dnewton3
Staff member
The oil cooler on a Dmax is integral to the engine; it's part of the filter mount and is counted into the capacity of 10 quarts. It is not a separate stand-alone cooler and has no external plumbing lines.
Most of us Dmax owners accept that the factory dipstick is a bit "iffy" from unit to unit. I ran mine from 10 quarts down to 8 quarts and never had a problem, and had a great UOA.
Don't sweat the small stuff ...
Most of us Dmax owners accept that the factory dipstick is a bit "iffy" from unit to unit. I ran mine from 10 quarts down to 8 quarts and never had a problem, and had a great UOA.
Don't sweat the small stuff ...
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