Hi guys I have almost 170,000 miles on my gmc since I got it new. I ran Valvoline 10-30 conventional up to 75,000 miles and now I have ran the Max-Life 10-30 ever since then. My truck has had the piston slap or whatever they call it since 20,000 miles and its real bad on first start up of the day. It also uses around 1qt of oil between 3,000 mile oil changes. My question is should I be using a different oil with so many miles like synthetic? If so what would you use? Any input is appreciated. Thanks!!!
2001 Gmc Sierra Z71 Ext Cab
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The 5.3 is a durable engine even with the piston slap. By doing short 3k oci's with Valvoline conventional and Maxlife you probably have a clean engine if you have changed the pcv a few times. You might consider a quart of MMO with the balance of Maxlife to help clean the ring pack of carbon. I do not think synthetic at this point is going to be of any value. The motor has made it to this point using a very good conventional oil. It should run past 250k easily.
Honestly, you should be good to go with what you are doing currently, but if you are curious about upgrading to synthetic, give it a shot for an OCI and make your selection afterwards of whether to stick with synthetic or go back to maxlife based on your OCI experience with the synthetic.
Thanks for the info guys!! I have changed the PCV before it used to have a shaker in it when truck was new then they changed it out to a PCV that has nothing in it. Its just hollow and I've cleaned it a few times. I believe when truck was new if I remember right they blamed the PCV for leaking a little oil around the valve covers therefor they changed it out. So what purpose does a hollow non shaker inside PVC serve anyway?
O I was gonna ask about the MMO. Would you put it in on the next oil change and run it the full 3,000 and just replace 1 of my 6qts with it? Also is 10-30 a good weight oil for my truck thats just what I've always run in it. I think the cap has 5-30 on it. Thanks again!
O I was gonna ask about the MMO. Would you put it in on the next oil change and run it the full 3,000 and just replace 1 of my 6qts with it? Also is 10-30 a good weight oil for my truck thats just what I've always run in it. I think the cap has 5-30 on it. Thanks again!
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Originally Posted By: Honda2003
Thanks for the info guys!! I have changed the PCV before it used to have a shaker in it when truck was new then they changed it out to a PCV that has nothing in it. Its just hollow and I've cleaned it a few times. I believe when truck was new if I remember right they blamed the PCV for leaking a little oil around the valve covers therefor they changed it out. So what purpose does a hollow non shaker inside PVC serve anyway?
O I was gonna ask about the MMO. Would you put it in on the next oil change and run it the full 3,000 and just replace 1 of my 6qts with it? Also is 10-30 a good weight oil for my truck thats just what I've always run in it. I think the cap has 5-30 on it. Thanks again!
10W30 is fine, but why not use 5W30? Personally I would not be messing around with MMO...if it ain't broke don't fix it.
Thanks for the info guys!! I have changed the PCV before it used to have a shaker in it when truck was new then they changed it out to a PCV that has nothing in it. Its just hollow and I've cleaned it a few times. I believe when truck was new if I remember right they blamed the PCV for leaking a little oil around the valve covers therefor they changed it out. So what purpose does a hollow non shaker inside PVC serve anyway?
O I was gonna ask about the MMO. Would you put it in on the next oil change and run it the full 3,000 and just replace 1 of my 6qts with it? Also is 10-30 a good weight oil for my truck thats just what I've always run in it. I think the cap has 5-30 on it. Thanks again!
10W30 is fine, but why not use 5W30? Personally I would not be messing around with MMO...if it ain't broke don't fix it.
Originally Posted By: Honda2003
I have just always ran 10-30 because it so hot here in the summer. I dunno if its better or not. Would 5-30 be fine in these conditions? Or is it not even enough difference to worry about. I dunno how much this affects MPG either.
They are both 30 weight when warmed up.
I have just always ran 10-30 because it so hot here in the summer. I dunno if its better or not. Would 5-30 be fine in these conditions? Or is it not even enough difference to worry about. I dunno how much this affects MPG either.
They are both 30 weight when warmed up.
Nah just keep doing what you are doing, sometimes motors just make a bit of noise. Yours seems to be chugging right along. Maybe in another 100k miles think about rebuilding it.
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Hey guys Im bringing back this old thread because I have a question about the Mobil Super High Mileage 5w-30 oil. If I changed to this oil do you think it would make a difference on my oil consumption? Truck has 208,000 miles on it now.
Originally Posted By: Honda2003
Anyone have any input on the Mobil?
Mobil makes a quality product as do all the majors. You really can't go wrong.
I've gotta ask why change now though. At 208000 miles if it ain't broke........
Anyone have any input on the Mobil?
Mobil makes a quality product as do all the majors. You really can't go wrong.
I've gotta ask why change now though. At 208000 miles if it ain't broke........
Try a grade thicker. A euro 0w-40 might help and they tend to be the best oils available.
I've got a couple trucks,1 with a 5.3 and another with a 6.0. Neither consume any oil using 5w-30 but if they did I'd go thicker.
If it's been an issue since new and no plug fouling issues are present I'd just not worry. It's not affecting reliability
I've got a couple trucks,1 with a 5.3 and another with a 6.0. Neither consume any oil using 5w-30 but if they did I'd go thicker.
If it's been an issue since new and no plug fouling issues are present I'd just not worry. It's not affecting reliability
I have a 2000 Silverado with a 5.3.
You asked about Mobil 1. When I have used it in the 5.3, it seemed the cold start knock (aka "piston slap" or "CSK") was louder. So I don't use Mobil 1 for that particular application.
I had an oil burning Ford 4.6 once and MaxLife oil reduced the oil consumption the most out of all brands I tried. This was the API "SL" in the early 2000's. It burned more with Mobil 1.
I would recommend to keep using the Maxlife oil and quality filters (Ac-Delco, Fram Tough Guard, Wix, NAPA Gold, etc)
Good Luck!!
You asked about Mobil 1. When I have used it in the 5.3, it seemed the cold start knock (aka "piston slap" or "CSK") was louder. So I don't use Mobil 1 for that particular application.
I had an oil burning Ford 4.6 once and MaxLife oil reduced the oil consumption the most out of all brands I tried. This was the API "SL" in the early 2000's. It burned more with Mobil 1.
I would recommend to keep using the Maxlife oil and quality filters (Ac-Delco, Fram Tough Guard, Wix, NAPA Gold, etc)
Good Luck!!
M1 10w40HM is all u need
Originally Posted By: Honda2003
I was just curious if it would help anymore than the Max Life does on oil consumption.
Maxlife is regarded here as one of the very best high mileage oils on the market. M1 is great also, but with 208k miles on valvoline why switch now? just keep feeding it maxlife and racking up the miles. I bet that engine is super clean if you've been doing 3k OCI'S on Valvoline since new.
Also if your adding a qt every 2-3k miles you can run the oil a little longer. With frequent top-offs the oil will retain a high TBN and protect well for much longer, and keep the engine clean.
I was just curious if it would help anymore than the Max Life does on oil consumption.
Maxlife is regarded here as one of the very best high mileage oils on the market. M1 is great also, but with 208k miles on valvoline why switch now? just keep feeding it maxlife and racking up the miles. I bet that engine is super clean if you've been doing 3k OCI'S on Valvoline since new.
Also if your adding a qt every 2-3k miles you can run the oil a little longer. With frequent top-offs the oil will retain a high TBN and protect well for much longer, and keep the engine clean.
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