Chevy Duramax recommendation

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A buddy of mine just purchased a 2007 Dmax with 15x,xxx miles. He will be doing a Transynd flush Sunday, as well as an oil change. He asked me for an oil recommendation so I figured, where else to turn except BITOG? He uses Mobil 1 in his modded Camaro with good results and wanted to stay with a Mobil 1 product but, the 5w-40 TD isn't readily available at wally world. I'd like to get him to use a more cost effective & good conventional oil, with the ability to follow the OLM, do y'all have any recommendations? His driving style is aggressive to moderate, mostly highway with some stop'n'go traffic, central Texas climate with temps from 15F - 110F from winter to summer. If you don't think a conv oil can perform for the OLM with these driving conditions, then any wally world synth's or synth blends rec's are welcome too.
 
What about Delvac 15w-40? IIRC that is factory fill for a Dmax. Any of the brand name diesel oils (delvac, rotella, delo) etc should take care of your buddy's truck no problem. Is it an LBZ or LMM (DPF)?
 
Dxs are easy on oil,any oil from the "big" three and go off the OLM and she'll live a long healthy life.
 
It's a LBZ... Completely stock... For now lol. I had no clue that Delvac was the factory fill for a Dmax, he should be happy with that since he is a big
EXOM guy.
 
Originally Posted By: Brettm1388
he should be happy with that since he is a big
EXOM guy.

Good for him it's a great product!
 
Originally Posted By: Brettm1388
It's a LBZ... Completely stock... For now lol. I had no clue that Delvac was the factory fill for a Dmax, he should be happy with that since he is a big
EXOM guy.


Yeah I am pretty sure they are filled with that from the factory. Yeah if he is a big mobil guy then Delvac should suit him just fine and that engine should last 500+k miles on recommended maintenance. The Dmaxs are excellent engines.
 
I'm running Delvac 15w-40 in mine. Also ran it in my '07 CTD.

Tell him to watch the Delvac website. They run rebate offers a couple times per year. Usually $3 off per gallon. If you buy it at Walmart the gallons run about $7 after rebate.

I had 27 gallons of Delvac a couple years back. I need to restock when the next rebate rolls around.
 
Thanks for the tip on the Delvac website, rebates are always great. I had actually gotten the Transynd for him at a great deal, $29.00/gal in 5 gallon buckets from the local HD Ford truck dealer. We will be using our shops flush machine so, no cost there.
 
I've got a LBZ as well and I run Rotella usually.

DO NOT FLUSH that tranny. Do some reading, Allison specifically states DO NOT flush!! Just do a drain and fill with the Transynd. Also, it's got Dex 6 in it from the factory. IMO, Dex 6 is [censored], especially compared to Transynd. Dex 6 is not recommended by Allison at all. Allison "allowed" it as a concession to GM.

Also, the trucks do not come with Delvac from the factory.
 
Originally Posted By: Scooby
I've got a LBZ as well and I run Rotella usually.

DO NOT FLUSH that tranny. Do some reading, Allison specifically states DO NOT flush!! Just do a drain and fill with the Transynd. Also, it's got Dex 6 in it from the factory. IMO, Dex 6 is [censored], especially compared to Transynd. Dex 6 is not recommended by Allison at all. Allison "allowed" it as a concession to GM.

Also, the trucks do not come with Delvac from the factory.


Concession to GM? Allison wasn't sold off by GM until 2007, so when this was produced, Allison was still a division of GM......
 
Originally Posted By: Scooby

Also, the trucks do not come with Delvac from the factory.


Gotcha, I thought I saw something on Delvac's site but I can't find it now so it looks like I am incorrect. Regardless Delvac (or rotella or delo) will work fine in that application.
 
Ok, so no flush for the dmax. My understanding on the dex6 is that Allison had input on the design on Dex6 but, now that gm no longer owns Allison, they cannot control the formula. Hence, they would rather you use a fluid with a formula they can control. Correct me if I am wrong but, that was what I had read on other forums.
 
We use Amsoil Torque Drive in all of the Allison we service. We have not had any issues.

You can do a line off flush but don't use any chemicals or flushing machines
 
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Originally Posted By: Brettm1388
A buddy of mine just purchased a 2007 Dmax with 15x,xxx miles. He will be doing a Transynd flush Sunday, as well as an oil change. He asked me for an oil recommendation so I figured, where else to turn except BITOG? He uses Mobil 1 in his modded Camaro with good results and wanted to stay with a Mobil 1 product but, the 5w-40 TD isn't readily available at wally world. I'd like to get him to use a more cost effective & good conventional oil, with the ability to follow the OLM, do y'all have any recommendations? His driving style is aggressive to moderate, mostly highway with some stop'n'go traffic, central Texas climate with temps from 15F - 110F from winter to summer. If you don't think a conv oil can perform for the OLM with these driving conditions, then any wally world synth's or synth blends rec's are welcome too.


Following "normal" OCIs, your buddy will be fine with any quality brand name CJ-4 oil. Dmax UOAs show that any conventional oil will do very well. Too much evidence to prove anything else but that.
 
FWIW, I own a 2008 LMM and switched over to Rotella T6 5w-40. Its been a great oil thus far. MPG's are up and the engine seems to be quieter than with the 15w-40 that was in there at the time of purchase. I also bought a 5 gallon pale of TranSynd and did drain and fills until I had most of the old fluid out(3 to be exact, had to go buy more fluid). Also replcaed the spin on filter with a new allison unit. The shifts have been perfect since. My unit is a low miler(40k right now)with very good maintenance performed by the previous owner. For a synthetic, Rotella T6 is hard to beat if you plan to use it to potential. But as Dnewton mentioned, any conventional HDEO will perform just fine in the Dmax.
 
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He ended up going with Delo 15/40. He is concerned about going more than 5000 miles on a conventional oil so, I've got him convinced to do a UOA and go from there.
 
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