Valvoline Dino 5W-30 11,039 2003 Trailblazer

[rbarrios]

Did some UoA a while back.
On my 2003 Trailblazer- 4200 Inline 6.
I always use the OLM until the light comes as I only have a light and no % is displayed. But my oil change intervals were always in the 10,000 mile range.
the 4200 takes 7 quarts with filter change.
I always measured what came out- and I always removed about 6.5 quarts. never burned oil.
I did the analysis at 2 important points- soon after 100K... (104K) and before it hit 150K (146K).
I still have the vehicle- though my daily driver is now my 2010 Traverse (Ive included an UOA on another thread for the Traverse)
The vehicle still runs great.
Its most recent California Smog check- it passed with flying colors (if that means anything)
The analysis pointed to possible coolant loss ....
none has occured- coolant has not dropped in level.
As for silicon- I did find out why that number was high...
Turns out that one of the air filter tubes- was not seated right- I was checking stuff under the hood -put a little pressure on one of the parts as I looked at something else and heard a pop--- that pop was parts seating correctly...
So 'dirty' air was bypassing the filter.
The vehicle now has 154,000

 

[hate2work]

Blackstone is suggesting you go 1000 more miles next time? lol

They are on crack

 

[bodeh6]

That is a long time on Dino oil. You are brave.

 

[Newtonville]

Is your fax number same as home phone? Thanks..

That's a nice long lasting engine with those longer changes.

 

[Mr Nice]

7 quarts of of for an inline 6, I never would have thought that engine had such a big sump.

 

[finalyzd]

Wow long time on dino. Wonder how it looks on the inside

 

[Nick R]

Just more proof that the GM OLM is perfectly calibrated for Dino. OLM comes on when the TBN is 1.1. Perfect.

 

[hate2work]

Roberto, go back and black out your personal info. Or maybe one of the mods can do it. You don't want that hanging out on the web.

 

[rbarrios]

GM had to give it a big oil pan- because the pan has a 'hole' thru it.
the 4x4 models had parts running thru the oil pan- this to keep the front end/hood low... the engine is tall as it is.. and it sits low.
But yeah- thats 7 quarts of oil--- not the typical 4 or 5..

 

[rbarrios]

I did ask for extended oil usage.
But I would not have gone 12K- I would have followed the OLM

 

[rprx]

Nice report on dino oil - thanks for sharing that.

 

[Gary Allan]

Nice flash point, no blips on the metal numbers, low insolubles, and virtually no shearing. Either it didn't shear or it oxidized enough over the 11k to compensate (almost exactly) for it.


There's nothing more you can ask out of any oil. The silicon is a mystery. While you found a plumbing leak, I can't see where it did any damage with the usual suspects. You've got no metals of merit for the mileage in use ...even after compensating for the sump size.

Good work.

 

[addyguy]

Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
Nice flash point, no blips on the metal numbers, low insolubles, and virtually no shearing. Either it didn't shear or it oxidized enough over the 11k to compensate (almost exactly) for it.


There's nothing more you can ask out of any oil. The silicon is a mystery. While you found a plumbing leak, I can't see where it did any damage with the usual suspects. You've got no metals of merit for the mileage in use ...even after compensating for the sump size.

Good work.


Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[jeepman]

Congrats on the great report, and having the guts to go the distance on the OLM. This report shows how good the modern oils are, especially dino's and how accurate the OLM readings are. IMO, don't change a thing.

 

[rbarrios]

With my Trailblazer- Ive been using the OLM since new. (well the factory fill + 2nd oil was changed with much less mileage)
Other than that- always followed the OLM.
Will continue to do so.

 

[Mokanic]

Ashland oil deserves some credit for putting out a good dino oil. Not alot of flashy advertizing either.

 

[rbarrios]

Ill continue to use this oil-- and its readily available.
I buy the 5 qt jugs at wal-mart...

 

[buster]

Originally Posted By: Mokanic
Ashland oil deserves some credit for putting out a good dino oil. Not alot of flashy advertizing either.


True.

 

[webfors]

Excellent report!! VWB continues to impress me. At $10 for a 5L (5.25 quart) jug, it's a great deal. Looking forward to feeding the new corolla the 4 jug stash of VWB I have in the basement.

 

[dnewton3]

That is very impressive!

You have set quite a nice standard there. The OLM seems to be working well in concert with reality in this circumstance.

And here I thought I was pushing the envelope with 7.5k miles on dino ...