MaverickZ71

Always refuel when it gets down to 1/4 tank, especially in hot weather. Anything lower than that just wears out the fuel pump faster. And that way, you won't have to worry if you can make it to the next gas station or not.

7 May 2026 2009 Silverado 1500 Z71 4x4 5.3L 113,162 miles, 5125 engine hrs. Changed oil and oil filter with 6 qts Valvoline Restore & Protect 5W-30 and AC Delco Ultraguard UPF48R, replacing same oil and filter installed last September, approx 1600 miles ago. This was the second fill with Valvoline R&R. Drained oil was dirtier than usual for the mileage and actually had a few tiny sludge clots in it, and the oil filter felt heavier than new. Guess that's the VR&R doing its job.

2009 Silverado 1500 Z71 4x4 5.3L with automatic transfer case and 3.42 gears. Owners manual lists both 80W-90 non-synthetic and 75W-90 synthetic. Which was factory fill? Which would a GM dealer use for a current day drain and fill?

FYI. Multiple new AC Delco/GM oil filters becoming available, since First Brands, owner of Champion Labs went bankrupt:

THIS. GM can't build oil cooler or transmission cooler lines worth a damn, since the 1990s. We're on the 4th set on our 09 Silverado. In our experience, they sweat in a year or two, and then immediately proceed to dripping and worse. If you have skid plates, they act as catch pans and help to hide the extent of the leaks. The NAPA ones last longer than the genuine GM parts.

Still do, Grump!

GM issued a TSB that said using an AC Delco Ultraguard oil filter UPF48R (available at GM dealers, some parts stores. or online) may resolve this situation. The problem seems to happen the most on coldest weather startups. Be sure to use a Dexos-approved 5W30 synthetic motor oil, or equivalent. From what has been said here, it sounds like the UPF63R may be the best of both worlds, then.

Cheap service manual (NOT the manufacturer's factory service manual) says you must use silicone dielectric grease in the boots and put anti-seize on the spark plug threads and tighten them with a little torque wrench. I'm old school and have never done any of that crap before. Hell, I've never changed spark plugs in aluminum heads before. Is all that REALLY necessary? Can't you just snug them with a ratchet and be done? My only torque wrench is a big one to tighten the wheel lug nuts to 140 ft lbs.

Gotta love AI. Apparently the whole front end flipped upside down, but they were somehow still able to remove the transmission from the front. And that's not a dirt floor like most GM dealers around here.

I mean...a $9995 Chevy Aveo came with one in 2004...just like everything else...so...

Only ~$70K+ for those vehicles. So the General can't afford to throw manuals costing them $10-15 in there. Cheap grifting bastards!

I want one.

A homeless guy asked me for money today, so I looked in my pocket for change, but all I had on me was a $100 bill. I thought to myself "Do I really want this $100 going towards alcohol, gambling and wild women?...Nope, not today!!" So I gave him the $100.