Motor Oil for a '02 Chevy Trailblazer - What kind?

[carieg197]

What type of motor oil should I use to add to my '02 Chevy Trailblazer. I need to get it changed but I wanted to find out what is best for my vehicle prior to the oil change. I am new to Chevy's and I love mine but she has over 120, 000 miles and I am wanting to find preventative measures. I only need a recomendation on what oil is best and I will go with that. One more thing, would it be considered rude to bring your own oil to a shop instead of using theirs? I wonder if there would be a price change for that.. only curious.

thanks!!!

 

[gedcruise]

Youv'e come to the right place to get opinions on oil.
What does GM recommend for the vehicle?
Do you have the exellent inline six, or the also good V-8.
FWIW, I would like either GC or RTS 5W-40 for any heavy vehicle application, and your Trailblazer certainly qualifies as heavy.
What kind of oil have you been using, and what kind of consumption have you been seeing?

 

[carieg197]

Wow, that was quick! Thanks...
It is the 0inline 6 and I don't know what kind of oil, I have taken it to a couple different places and am simply not sure what kind has been used. Consumption.. well I am over the '3000' by about 1500 miles and i checked it just two days ago because I thought I smelled oil burning but the dip was at the low level so I know I need to add some till I get it changed. I would guess the normal consumption as I don't regularly add oil. Driving this is new to me, I have previously been a car person. I wanted to find out a brand that is best. so you feel the 5w-40 is the best type? Thank you sooo much!

 

[ThirdeYe]

Most places don't have a problem if you bring your own oil, and will usually give you a small discount or none at all. I took my Valvoline MaxLife to a quaker state oil change shop for my sister's lowered firebird and they took $5 off for bringing my own oil.

 

[gedcruise]

Check the UOA forum.
PP, RTS and GC generally show good ROAs in a variety of applications, and all are reasonably priced and readily available (GC at AZ only).
If you have the owners' manual for this beast, it will tell you what viscosity GM recommends. If not, check out a Trailblazer forum (easily found with Google), and see what the factory recommended.
Don't be afraid to go a bit heavier than the factory oil weight.
I would use either PP 5W-30, GC (which is always 0W-30, and is a flavor of Castrol Syntec, which must always say "made in Germany" on the back of the bottle), or RTS 5W-40, available from Wal-Mart, or any number of other sources. RTS used to be a really good deal, but Wal-Mart has recently jacked up the price.
These are the oils I currently use in my own rides (except for the Q TorquePower I just bought today), and they seem quite satisfactory.

 

[rriddle3]

I'm guessing the owner's manual says that either 5w30 or 10w30 is fine. You're in Georgia, so I would lean toward the 10w30. With what you said about oil usage and the mileage on your truck, perhaps a 'high mileage' oil would fit the bill for you. Valvoline MaxLife seems to be popular around here.

 

[eddyzima]

5w30 maxlife blend @ 11.97 for the 5qt. jug it is a steal

 

[Pablo]

I have a tendency to think GM motors do well on HDEO's, that applies mostly to V8's, but the 6's as well. I think in Georgia, I'm recommending HD oil for your Trailblazer: Amsoil ACD 10W-30

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Quote:

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Wow, that was quick! Thanks...
It is the 0inline 6 and I don't know what kind of oil, I have taken it to a couple different places and am simply not sure what kind has been used. Consumption.. well I am over the '3000' by about 1500 miles and i checked it just two days ago because I thought I smelled oil burning but the dip was at the low level so I know I need to add some till I get it changed. I would guess the normal consumption as I don't regularly add oil. Driving this is new to me, I have previously been a car person. I wanted to find out a brand that is best. so you feel the 5w-40 is the best type? Thank you sooo much!

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If you are only going to check the dipstick every 4500 miles, I would run Rotella 5W-40.

 

[carieg197]

Cool! thanks!!!!

 

[carieg197]

Thank you again, you have been very helpful and I appreciate it!

 

[carieg197]

Thank you for your input, I have several to choose from so I think I will go with the RTS-5W-40, walmart is closer.. *grins* but if they are too high I will check out the the 10-w-30... take care!

 

[beanoil]

Maxlife 5w30. The straight 6 in that GM model is not a GM motor. This vehicle is a joint venture between GM and Isusu. From experience, I know that 6 (well, at least mine did!) will get very poor mileage on thicker oils. While the Shell 5w40 is a very robust oil, I would still recommend the Maxlife 5w30, and a AC Delc0 PF61 filter. Good luck.

 

[ProStreetCamaro]

Quick question for you. Do you know if there has been any work done to your engine? Namely engine replacement? In 2002 GM had a horrible time with the I6 in the trail blazers and actually issued a TSB on it. Some people got new engines out of it.

I would suggest a good quality 5W-30 such as maxlife blend.

 

[JTK]

Quote:

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... The straight 6 in that GM model is not a GM motor. This vehicle is a joint venture between GM and Isusu..

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I too was a GM atlas series, GM T360 chassis owner. A 2005 Trailblazer LS 4x4, 4.2L. Never have I seen evidence that this engine had anything to do with Isuzu. They are very smooth, fairly easy to work on engine. Original poster; keep in mind they hold 7qts of oil. UOA shows these engines to be easy on oil. Honestly, I'd concentrate more on a fluid/filter change on that 4L60E trans, diff and xfer case oil changes and power steering fluid change.

Joel