First Oil Change on 5.3

[jrjohnson966]

I just completed the first oil change on my 2004 Silverado 5.3 at the 1200 mile mark. After reading numerous posts, I applied what I had read and not a drop of oil touched the ground. I poked a hole in the bottom of the oil filter and let it completely drain before removing. I also had my drain pan properly positioned for the drain plug removal and managed to be in the right spot for the stream. There was also quite a bit of metal shavings on the end of the drain plug, but nothing that seemed too excessive for a new engine.

 

The owner's manual calls for a PF-44 filter(a PF-46 is now used), but I opted for the larger PF-59. I carefully prefilled the oil filter before installing. I filled the crankcase back up with Pennzoil 5W-30 and fired the truck up. Took about 20 minutes from start to finish and no problems were encountered. This oil change was much easier than the years I spent pulling my 1989 Chevy S-10 up on ramps just to be able to get under it. I was able to crawl right under the 2004 Sliverado with it on my driveway and had planty of room to manuever.

 

I plan on changing the oil and filter again in another 1800 miles when I hit the 3000 mile mark and switch to Mobil 1 Synthetic with a Mobil 1 filter.

 

Would it make much a difference whether or not 5W-30 or 10W-30 was used when I perform my next and all future oil changes? I live in Texas and the temps rarely get below freezing during the winter, but regularly reach highs near 100 during the summer.

[asepgrad98]

i would go with 10w30. It has less viscosity index improvers and will not down shear down as quickly as 5w30

[GMCTech]

My only suggestion would be that you go back to the PF-46.

 

The Oil Life System uses some preset paramenters to determine oil life remaining, and a couple are based on that oil filter specifically. Namely, oil pressure, and filtering ability.

 

Also, use the 5W-30 for the same reasons.

 

I guess if you are planning on servicing your truck faithfully every 3000 miles it won't really matter and my point is moot. - The Oil Life System doesn't really apply.

 

 

Hope this helps.

[asepgrad98]

^the larger oil filter will increase overall oil volume. This and using 10w30 instead 5w30 will make the oil last longer. So it will still be ok to go by the OLM.

[Black02Silverado]

Sounds like your up on keeping things well cared for. If you are going to run synthetic and change every 3k miles you really don't need to spend the extra cash on a Mobil 1 filter. The regular AC will work just fine. Now if you are going to extend out past 5k then the Mobil 1 would be a better choice. Some use the UPF44 filter that you can get online. This is a synthetic media filter that most of the C5 covette owners use.

 

You can also read up on a ton of oil information at this site. Go to the used oil analysis section. There isa ton of good information in there on all the different brand of oils and how well they are holding up in various vehicles at all kinds of mileage.

 

From the information I have read it seems the 10w-30 holds up better and since your in the heat of the Texas sun that would be a better choice. You could always run 10w-30 in the summer and 5w-30 in the winter if your oil changes work out that way.

 

It doesn't get to cold here in NC, maybe into the teens some. I run the 0w-30 or 5w-30 year round. I'm currently using the Series 3k 5w-30 Amsoil and just did an oil analysis on it. So far it is holding up well and it has 11k miles on it.

[redvett]

The Oil Life System uses some preset paramenters to determine oil life remaining, and a couple are based on that oil filter specifically. Namely, oil pressure, and filtering ability.

Her is the truth about the Oil Life Monitor.

 

GM OIL LIFE SYSTEM...HOW DOES IT REALLY WORK

This is taken from the May 2003 GM Techlink publication

How often should engine oil be changed? 3,000 miles, 5,000 miles, 7,500 miles, 10,000 miles? Actually, all of these are correct, depending on operating conditions. Oil life is affected by many factors other than just miles driven. The type of driving, temperature, and engine load all play a part.

That’s why GM has developed the GM Oil Life System, an electronic watchdog that keeps track of all these variables and notifies the driver when it’s time to change oil. This system has become standard equipment on nearly all GM products since 2000.

Briefly, the Oil Life System is programmed with a certain number of engine revolutions. As the engine runs, this number is reduced until it reaches zero, and the Oil Life light or message comes on. But there’s more. Operating the engine under low or high temperatures, and under high load conditions subtracts (penalizes) extra revolutions, so the light comes on sooner. Changing engine oil according to actual need rather than an inflexible schedule provides several benefits.

First is simplified determination about when to change oil. No more decisions about normal conditions vs. severe conditions. Second is reduced operating costs for GM’s customers, who now have to change oil only when it’s needed. Third is minimizing the amount of used oil that must be disposed of. And fourth, engines will always be running with sufficiently fresh oil, for long life.

Traditionally, the vehicle maintenance schedule has been based on miles or time, while the oil change interval is now based on the GM Oil Life System.

When the change engine oil light or message comes on, it means that service is required on the vehicle. I should be serviced as soon as possible within the next 600 miles. It is possible that, under the best conditions, the engine oil life system may not indicate that vehicle service is necessary for over a year. However, engine oil and filter must be changed at least once per year, and at this time the system must be reset.

 

[03blackburb]

If you are switching to Mobile 1, you can go much longer on the changes.

I just had mine tested after 14k and it is still well within specs. I use Mobile 1 5W30. I do use the PF59 filter and change it out according to the oil life monitor and top of with a fresh quart. If you are not going to extend your change intervals, there really is no need to spend the $$ on synthetic. With the current dino oils and the addatives that are put in them they will survive 7K unless you are driving in extreme conditions in which you oil life monitor would shorten the change cycle. People are so set on every 3K from days gone past, they don't relieze that oils today whether dino or synthetic are much better than they were just 10 or even 5 years ago.

[frdfandc]

I use Mobil 1 5w30 synthetic with the PF-46 filter. I change mine every 3000-3500 miles. As a technitian at a dealership, I see sooooooo many vehicles that lack routine maintanence. Remember, you really can't over maintain a vehicle. If you stay on top of things and keep your eye on your maintenance items, your truck will last you a long time.

 

I used to have a 86 Ford Taurus with almost 250,000 miles on it before the engine started to crap out. Never even had the valve covers off of it. Did not use a drop of oil till it hit 235,000 miles (rings starting to go bad). And this was all because of changing the oil on a regular interval. I also used a synthetic oil in this car.

[jrjohnson966]

Thanks for all the information. My plans were to make the switch to Mobil 1 at the 3k mile mark. I then planned on performing my oil/filter changes every 6k with a filter change in the middle as well.

 

This 2004 Silverado is the first vehicle I have purchased since my 89 S-10. The S-10 called for 5W-30 oil, but a technician at the dealership recommended using 10W-30 instead. I currently have 217k on it and it still runs great. Changed the oil/filter every 3k since it was new and only recently began using 15W-40 due to it starting to burn some oil and a few minor drips here and there. The viscosity change has made a noticeable difference in the burning and dripping.

 

As for the 2004 Silverado, one technician at the dealership said to stick with the 5W-30 it called for while another told me, during the same conversation, he runs 10W-30 in his 2003 Silverado due to the mild winter temps, but hot summers we experience. I got differing opinions on the oil filter size as well. One said to stick with the smaller OEM filter while the other said he runs the larger filter found on 2002 models and earlier. I suppose it is all a mtter of personal preference when it comes to oil viscosity and filter size.

[03blackburb]

Lack of routine maintenance and maintenance with below par products are 2 entirely different things.

Check this out:

http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/stories...s/oil-life.html