Good oil for Chevy Trailblazer i6 motor

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Polarisdude94

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Hello all, new here but I've browsed the site for a while now and love it!

I'm gonna be most likely buying a trailblazer with 150,000 miles on it. What are good oils for the GM inline 6 engine. I'm mainly trying to decide if I should run a high mileage oil like Maxlife or if I should run a synthetic. Any input is appreciated! Thanks!
 
They are a lot like the GM 4.3, they will pretty much run on anything.

That said, Maxlife will be fine...
 
Originally Posted By: daves87rs
They are a lot like the GM 4.3, they will pretty much run on anything.

That said, Maxlife will be fine...

Thanks! Funny you say that, I'm currently driving a blazer with the 4.3 Lol.
 
When I had mine, I remember the it seemed to "like" Mobil 5000 The 4.2 is a great engine - lots of power though a little thirsty with the gasoline. Nice vehicle to drive though.
 
As stated, I think they're considered reliable engines. I'd try a run of Pennzoil conv., then maybe Mobil 1 High Mileage 5W-30...
 
Any API SN conventional oil will do fine - synthetic won't hurt - key thing is keeping with the 5w30 viscosity - co worker thought he'd be smart and try and run 20w50 in his - check engine light came on a few days later - apparently the variable cam phaser is not designed with thick oil in mind. He changed back to 5w30 and has not had the code come back.
 
I maintain my grandmother's 02' Trailblazer. I've usually run Castrol GTX in it and it seems quite happy with it. It did consume a quart of Chevron Supreme HM on the previous oil change. In the past I've used Wix filters with no issues but currently have a Fram Ultra on it.

There's a flap with 2 flathead screws that covers the drain plug, and the drain plug is a 15mm. Oil filter isn't necessarily easy to get to, but not hard either. Front of engine, replace it from the bottom. It takes 7 quarts of oil. Also what's nice is you don't need to raise it up on jack stands or put it on ramps to change the oil.
 
Originally Posted By: Bud_One
Any API SN conventional oil will do fine - synthetic won't hurt - key thing is keeping with the 5w30 viscosity - co worker thought he'd be smart and try and run 20w50 in his - check engine light came on a few days later - apparently the variable cam phaser is not designed with thick oil in mind. He changed back to 5w30 and has not had the code come back.

Haha yeah I can see that being a problem! I like Mobil 1 HM, but I can get Kendall synthetic for under $3 a quart. Just wish that was a HM too!
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
I maintain my grandmother's 02' Trailblazer. I've usually run Castrol GTX in it and it seems quite happy with it. It did consume a quart of Chevron Supreme HM on the previous oil change. In the past I've used Wix filters with no issues but currently have a Fram Ultra on it.

There's a flap with 2 flathead screws that covers the drain plug, and the drain plug is a 15mm. Oil filter isn't necessarily easy to get to, but not hard either. Front of engine, replace it from the bottom. It takes 7 quarts of oil. Also what's nice is you don't need to raise it up on jack stands or put it on ramps to change the oil.

Thanks for the heads up! I will be changing the oil soon after I buy it so now I will be prepared!
 
Originally Posted By: Polarisdude94
Originally Posted By: Bud_One
Any API SN conventional oil will do fine - synthetic won't hurt - key thing is keeping with the 5w30 viscosity - co worker thought he'd be smart and try and run 20w50 in his - check engine light came on a few days later - apparently the variable cam phaser is not designed with thick oil in mind. He changed back to 5w30 and has not had the code come back.

Haha yeah I can see that being a problem! I like Mobil 1 HM, but I can get Kendall synthetic for under $3 a quart. Just wish that was a HM too!



Kendall makes a semi-synthetic HM oil. Can the place you get Kendall from order you some Kendall GT-1 HM? Kendall oils always put up excellent UOAs, and people on here have reported that a significant portion of the semi-syn is synthetic base stock (but I don't know anything for certain so I can't confirm this).
 
Unless it's leaking there isn't much need for a high mileage oil.
Most every engine in my fleet is high mike and I use standard syns I get on sale. However if a leak does present itself I use liqui-moly motor oil saver. It's an ester and contains boron so it conditions the seals and increases the dumps tbn which adds a bit of headroom if you run the interval a bit long or its a short tripper.
Inline engines tend to be very durable in general and if a person does some digging they'd see that historically inline engines tend to rate highest as far as durability and reliability is concerned. There are exceptions of course
 
Originally Posted By: Clevy
Unless it's leaking there isn't much need for a high mileage oil.


I was just about to say the same thing!

Unless you are leaking or consuming a lot of oil, there is no need for a HM oil. However, there are some very good HM oils out there that will serve you quite well even if you aren't leaking or burning oil.

If you're looking to be conservative and get the best bang for your buck, I'd suggest Pennzoil (yellow bottle) or Quaker State (green bottle) conventional. These can both be had for $2.50 - $3.00/qt on sale. Watch the 'Product Rebates/Sales/Promotions' threads on this forum!

Synthetics will work fine too, if you don't mind spending a little extra $$$. If you can get the Kendall synthetic for under $3/qt, use that and don't look back!
 
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I have a friend in Montana with one. He uses MS5k 5w30 in his every 5k and he said he is super happy with it. Montana has some brutal winters and he said he never has and issue with it even though it is conventional.
 
I have an Olds Bravada with the I-6 (2002) approaching 190k. I have had it since 69k. Like a previous poster stated, grade of oil is more important than what brand. 7qt capacity, it seems easy on oil. I've run conventional, HM & synthetic in it all with good results. Buy whatever is on sale! I would suggest changing the Transfer case fluid occasionally. The Bravada has the AWD system and it can get a bit flaky. Changing the fluid is the first step and it seems to fix it most times (put in the Blue fluid from GM, autotrax II). Enjoy the vehicle!
 
Originally Posted By: donnyj08
I have a friend in Montana with one. He uses MS5k 5w30 in his every 5k and he said he is super happy with it. Montana has some brutal winters and he said he never has and issue with it even though it is conventional.

Just follow the OLM, use a 0w or 5w-30 oil and drive. Highway miles will push the OCI over 15k miles. I used 5w-20 for one OCI and it didn't care, but I didn't see a MPG change either.
 
My parents gave their old 2002 Trailblazer to my daughter last year. My dad always had conventional oil in it changed by some kwik-e-lube place. The last before I got it was Castrol. I run Pennzoil (yellow bottle) 10W30 witha a Wix filter here in Texas. Seems to work just fine. It has about 160K miles on it. It does take 7 quarts of oil and seems to be easy on it from what I've heard. It doesn't seem to consume any oil either, which is great.
 
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