oil usage 2003

ecooper72 · October 27, 2014

2003 gmc 1500 slt, v8 5.3 bought with 77000 miles on it, the previous owner i knew. he changed oil on time with conventional oil. it was due when i got it, so i just went to synthetic as i thought it was better, few changes etc. i do it myself so not to bad on $$$. i have 6000 on the first oil change that i did and the check oil level warning came on it was a quart and a half low!!! ive topped it off now but, what could this be? no obvious leakage , low miles, what can i check for to lead me in the right direction. should i go back to conventional oil? do i need an additive , is this common. its my first truck, but i drive similar at work all the time, our v10's eat oil like crazy. just bummed out that this could be something major??!!

efritz · October 28, 2014

Every GM LS motor that I have owned or encountered burns some oil, normally about a quart over 5000 miles. Mine has done that for 250,000 miles, heck even my new 2013 burns a half quart over that time. Don't worry a bit and don't let people tell you it's gonna blow up or cause a natural disaster or whatever. It'll be fine. Change the oil and run 'er hard, those are the best gas engines ever made!!

Colossus · October 28, 2014

Ditto. Somehow we as a nation got out of practice of checking the oil level when we fill up with fuel. Not a bad thing to do. Oil consumption is a fact of life, be it on trucks, or on cars.

ecooper72 · October 28, 2014

so is synthetic oil have advantage if ill be adding some every 3000 to 5000, is conventional oil just as good and just change it more often? my concern was the oil hadnt been changed when i got it for 4000 miles or so, and the level was fine. do either of you use conventional or synthetic oil?

thanks

Colossus · October 30, 2014

Synthetic does have some advantages. It better controls operating temps, it does lube things slightly better, and is excellent to use in high or low ambient temps. Some will allow for extended oil changes as well, so long as you use a premium oil filter. You'll be just fine running a 5W30 Synthetic in your engine. Make sure it is a full synthetic. Brand name wise.. well, I am partial to Mobil-1 Full Synthetic, mainly because it is easy for me to aqquire, and for a decent price either at Costco or Walmart. Go what whatever brand you want, just make sure it is a major brand, but be warned of some of those "premium" oils such as Royal Purple and Amsoil where you pay more for just their name then you really do anything else. You can go to all those oil study websites and waste time reading all that garbage or you can just settle for a good long trusted brand such as Mobil-1 or Quacker State or Pensoil or Shell or Chevron or Castrol 5W30 full synthetic (Newer GM trucks must use DEXOS approved) and get yourself a premium filter such as a NAPA Platnium or Fram Platnium (only Fram I would buy though) or if you plan on doing 5000 mile oil changes, even the good old GM blue AC/Delco filter will be fine. I wouldn't go more than 5000 on your year of truck though. As for oil consumption, I wouldn't expect synthetic to fix that. That's just something that's gonna be there. I've owned a 99 Silverado 5.3L, an 05 Sierra 5.3L, a 07 Sierra 5.3L, and had a work truck that was an 01 Sierra 4.8L and every one of those would use between 1 to 1.5 quarts of oil between oil changes. That is pretty typical and normal.

efritz · October 31, 2014

If you don't like oil consumption put 10-40 synthetic blend in it, that really slows it down on mine. it won't hurt it, We put Rotella 15-50 in some of the really beat work truck 5.3's and they like it...

SouthernSilveradoGuy85 · October 31, 2014

They say when you go from conventional to synthetic that you're supposed to use synthetic blend for an oil change before you to to full synthetic. I think it has something to do with the seals. I didn't do that though with my 98 I had. It had about 140,000 on it when I switched to synthetic and no leaking or oil burn for the next 6,000+ miles I put on it before I got rid of it.

As for the advantages... Really it just doesn't break down as fast so it last longer which means more miles between oil changes. I believe it also lubricates better so it helps more with the friction.

Colossus · October 31, 2014

They say when you go from conventional to synthetic that you're supposed to use synthetic blend for an oil change before you to to full synthetic. I think it has something to do with the seals. I didn't do that though with my 98 I had. It had about 140,000 on it when I switched to synthetic and no leaking or oil burn for the next 6,000+ miles I put on it before I got rid of it.

it's just an old wives tale about the seals leaking when switching to synthetic. If they do leak after switching to synthetic then they were already leaking or getting ready to leak anyway. I've seen a good number of engines with over 100,000 miles do perfectly fine when they switched to synthetic. Now.. for some of those older higher millaged engines, you may consider using a high millage oil as the additives that are in them tend to be benneficial to those older engines.

kstruckcountry · October 31, 2014

Switched mine to synthetic when I got it, almost 50,000 miles ago. On a 7500 mile oil change it'll use about half a quart. It's normal to use a little.