# Oil Change



## Katrina (Dec 16, 2004)

My 05 2500HD with a 6.0 has 2000 miles on it now.
I'll be leaving this weekend for a 500 mile round trip with the Outback thats mostly mountains.
My drivers computer thing says that I have 68% engine oil life left, but I'm not sure if I should trust that.
Would you change the oil before this trip? Or just wait until I'm closer to 3k miles?
I eventually want to switch to Mobil-1, but not sure about doing this on the first change either.
Any and all input is appreciated.


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## Highlander96 (Mar 1, 2005)

Jim,

I waited until about 4000 miles before I had mine done. The dealer said that since I am towing with the vehicle on a regular basis, it is better to be safe than sorry. The computer is accurate, but it is a computer. I have been letting my local dealer do the oil changes, for $20.00 and the documentation for warranty purposes, I can't go wrong.

With that said......I would probably change it now.

My $.02

Tim


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

I would change it now. If you are having someone else (dealer) do it, get your Mobil 1 yourself and give it to them to use. They will charge you at least 10.00 a qt for Mobil 1. I know...........

I use nothing but Mobil 1.

John


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## Grunt0311 (Aug 23, 2005)

Personally, I am a firm believer in religiously changing oil on gas engines every 3000 miles no matter what the computer, or dummy light in dash, says. Also, as far as switching to Mobil One, I believe that they have a warranty for your motor is you have failure. I'm pretty sure you have to use it from day 1 of oil changes. Don't quote me on that, but worth checking out.


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Jim,

I too would recommend changing the oil before your trip. Since the vehicle is brand new, there is always the possibility for metal particles and such left over from manufacturing. Add to that, the strain of towing the trailer, and I would go for good clean oil.

In fact, I will go a step further, and recommend you do the same to the transmission and differential, for the same reasons. It all adds up, cost wise, but I look at it as cheap insurance.

Happy Trails,
Doug

P.S.: I agree with John, supply your own Mobil-One!


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## hatcityhosehauler (Feb 13, 2004)

Just double check with the dealer or your manual first. I don't think GM is doing it yet, but when we bought my DW's Honda, they told NOT to change the oil before 4500 miles (first oil change only). Something about an additive put in at the factory to aid break-in. They are pretty serious about this, and the manual has a warranty voiding wavier if the first oil change is done before the specified mileage.

Tim


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## Pee Wee (May 31, 2005)

Check out this site ALOT of info 
http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi

P.W.


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## dougdogs (Jul 31, 2004)

You don't have the Duramax?? right??

According to my dealer, and seconded by the folks over at "The Diesel Place" (forum) the 2500HD's should have the rear gear oil changed BEFORE towing. (front and rear if you have 4X4)

Not sure if this is true for the gas engines too, but I had mine changed after about 1200 miles. Has to do with changing the oil after the gears have seated themselves.


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## Grunt0311 (Aug 23, 2005)

Hey Doug, what is this Diesel forum you speak of







? I would like to get some questions answered on my TV.

Thanks action


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## dougdogs (Jul 31, 2004)

Grunt0311 said:


> Hey Doug, what is this Diesel forum you speak of
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The Diesel Place

Great place, but mostly a GM forum

Ford forum


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## vdub (Jun 19, 2004)

Sorry, but I have to go against the rest of the folks on changing the oil. The oil that comes in your rig from the factory includes additives that aid the break in of the engine and should not be short changed. Go by the book. Check your owner's manual and change at the rate it says.


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## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

I would have to go along with vdub on this one









Don


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## bweiler (Sep 20, 2005)

i agree - abide by the mfg instructions on break-in. You should be able to use your Mobil 1 after. If you start within 1st or 2nd change, you'll be fine. I noticed that several of my vehicles took a little longer for the break in and gas mileage to settle down when using synthetic on the 1st change. Best money you can spend on normal maintenance - especially when you turn the key in winter conditions. I always changed at 5,000 with Mobil 1, but I guess it depends on conditions (i.e. all highway miles)


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

vdub said:


> Sorry, but I have to go against the rest of the folks on changing the oil. The oil that comes in your rig from the factory includes additives that aid the break in of the engine and should not be short changed. Go by the book. Check your owner's manual and change at the rate it says.
> [snapback]57613[/snapback]​


I'm with vdub. The factory puts in a special "break in oil" - Please go by the book and make sure anything you do, does not void or effect warranty. The oil life meters are good and should be followed. (GM won numerous awards for this technology). They actually monitor the oil... mileage between oil changes can vary based on driving (highway, city, towing). The intent is to increase the life of the motor and reduce the number of oil changes which helps on the pocket book as well as the environment.

Double check the manual and/or call the GM Tech Support.

Thor


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## Katrina (Dec 16, 2004)

Ok, checked the owners manual. It says to change the oil when the computer says that It's time. My calculations say that this would be somewhere around 8 thousand miles







I thought: No way am I waiting 8K for the first change.
Stopped by the dealer this morning and spoke with the service advisor. He said that I should wait until 3 or 4K and then have it changed. I then asked him how much they charged, he said 10 bucks through this month. I think that for 10 bucks, I'm gonna go ahead and get it done tomorrow.
The owners manual also stated that the transmission should be done at the second service. I could'nt find anything about the diffs being serviced and the service manager acted clueless about this. Maybe time to find a new dealer as I think they should know maintenance intervals on this stuff.


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Katrina said:


> Maybe time to find a new dealer as I think they should know maintenance intervals on this stuff.
> [snapback]57678[/snapback]​


You would think!









Happy Trails,
Doug


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## vdub (Jun 19, 2004)

I have a friend that worked for the local dealer as the parts manager. He had worked their for about 20 years when it was locally owned. Then it was bought by a big-city conglomerate. Management stayed the same, but policy changed. Seems they directed the "pushing of fluids". He quit. The other day when I took my rig into the Dodge dealer for it's first oil change (at 7k). They put a sticker in the rig saying that the next oil change was in 2.5k, even though the book says to change it every 7k. Seems they want to change the oil way more often than recommended. My cyincal nature suggests to me that they would increase their "fluids" profit considerably by changing 3 times more often. I doubt that would hurt my engine, but I also doubt it would help. I think I'll stick with the book. Maybe I should pose the question the diesel forum.


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## dougdogs (Jul 31, 2004)

my mistake about gear oil changes "before" towing (although that is what I did)

from "The Diesel Place Forums"

Quote...Rear diff- The 2500HD and 3500 trucks use an American Axle 11.5" rear end. Its available with the Eaton limited slip option (G80). The Diesel engine equiped trucks only come with a 3.73 gear. The 8.1 trucks have either a 3.73 or a 4.10 option. The OEM fluid is 75-90 synthetic lube, commonly referred to as "grape juice" for its smell. A synthtetic lube must be used in the rear axle and it must meet GL-5 requirements. I dont know the additive package of the aftermarket lubes but I would think that the quality lubes contain the necessary additives for the limited slip. It is not necessary to add any additive to the rear end when servicing. Capacity is 4 quarts. It is recommended by Eaton to service the rear axle after the first 500 miles of towing or 5000 miles of driving. end Quote

from this thread fluids D.I.Y.


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## Katrina (Dec 16, 2004)

dougdogs said:


> my mistake about gear oil changes "before" towing (although that is what I did)
> 
> from "The Diesel Place Forums"
> 
> ...


Doug, that sounds like a good argument for doing that right after this trip. Did you have the dealer do it? What did they charge you?


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## matty1 (Mar 7, 2005)

GM recommends you follow the oil light, change when it tells you. Have to remember that the "3000" mile golden rule was created way back when 3000 was a lot of miles on a engine not manufactured to todays high tolerances using oil that was not as good.


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## dougdogs (Jul 31, 2004)

Katrina said:


> Doug, that sounds like a good argument for doing that right after this trip. Did you have the dealer do it? What did they charge you?
> [snapback]57701[/snapback]​


Dealer did do it for me, and I have 4wd so both axles were done. The gear oil is synthetic (= expensive!) with the gaskets for the covers, oil and labor it was a little under 175!

I did it before towing the 5th wheel, and had about 3500 miles on the odometer when I did it.

I might have it done again before next years towing season, by then there will be about 15-16 K on the odometer


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## Katrina (Dec 16, 2004)

dougdogs said:


> Dealer did do it for me, and I have 4wd so both axles were done. The gear oil is synthetic (= expensive!) with the gaskets for the covers, oil and labor it was a little under 175










Oh well, I'm not sure I trust anbody else to put the right lube in, so I guess it's the dealer.


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## Highlander96 (Mar 1, 2005)

My GM service writer had a different position. The oil sensor is a nice feature, but it is not fool proof. I was waiting for the oil light to come on and it never did. The writer and I thought it would be a good idea to change it as well.

Funny side note. About six of the guys that I deer hunt with all worked at the GM Truck and Bus Group (now closed)







and some were lucky enough to jump over to the Allison Plant (three miles from my house). They all swear by 3,000 miles. Old school yes, also very preventitive. Not a high price to pay for peace of mind!

Again,

My $.02

Tim action


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## wingnut (Mar 21, 2005)

Wow, didn't know Eaton had so many stances on things. I work for a big truck dealer and we put Eaton rears in 90% of what we sell. They tell us to only use synthetic and first service is 300,000 miles. the axles are warr for 5yr or 750,000miles which ever comes first. I wonder if there is that much difference in policy. I don,t know about a new pickup YET, but it sounds like 500 to 5000 miles is a very short amount of time. I will ask my Eaton Rep. He is due in next week.


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## dougdogs (Jul 31, 2004)

wingnut said:


> Wow, didn't know Eaton had so many stances on things. I work for a big truck dealer and we put Eaton rears in 90% of what we sell. They tell us to only use synthetic and first service is 300,000 miles. the axles are warr for 5yr or 750,000miles which ever comes first. I wonder if there is that much difference in policy. I don,t know about a new pickup YET, but it sounds like 500 to 5000 miles is a very short amount of time. I will ask my Eaton Rep. He is due in next week.
> [snapback]57812[/snapback]​


Please chack and tell us what you find out. I usually try to aviod the "stealer" but even the salesman mentioned it to us on the day we took delivery.

I do my own oil, filters (trans, oil, and fuel) and grease jobs, but I didn't want to mess with the front and rear gears in my driveway.

I thought GM had some problems with the posi-rear, and I assumed the early change of oil had something to do with this


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

My GM has a percent meter on it as you scroll through the display. I normally get 10k-14k km from an oil change. My brother-in-law has been following the meter for the las 4 year and has just rolled 300k km. He does alot of driving.

The fuild business is a profitable one.

Thor


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## bill_pfaff (Mar 11, 2005)

Thor,

Am I understanding that you go by the oil life meter on your GM and run 10-14K?

What percent of that is with towing if you don't mind?

My GM shop told me that I SHOULD run by the meter. Their only recommendation was that I use synthetic if I was going to do that.

I agreed with him and have done just that so far but Iâ€™m a little leery about going the full distance given that about 1/3 of my mileage is towing. Iâ€™ve been changing the oil at the 25% mark.


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## hatcityhosehauler (Feb 13, 2004)

> Am I understanding that you go by the oil life meter on your GM and run 10-14K?


Just to make sure you understand, Thor is most likely using kilometer's, not miles. They do funny stuff up north of the border,....ehhh?









Tim


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

Yeh, I'm running on the funny system metric

The old school for us was change your oil every 5000km which is roughly 3000 miles. My old Mustang, I still due that. (Almost 40 years old now...406,000 miles)

I schedule my oil change around the 20-25% mark. Percent towing varies from one end of the scale to the other. During the summer months, I will tow my TT 5k - 8k km and will get 10k km from an oil change.

The %meter varies on drivinig habbits as well (city vs highway, flat vs hills, slow vs fast starts etc).

The synthetic oil will increase the milage between oil changes.

Thor eh


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

I just found these site. GM's Oil Life System

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

http://email.gmcanada.com/corpdb/cachq/pre...81?OpenDocument

Thor


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

For those of you who do not like clicking - Cut & Paste from a GM Site

System offers significant benefits

First introduced in 1988, the GM Oil Life System (GMOLS) is a computer-based algorithm that determines when to change the oil and filter based on engine operating conditions. The system enables owners to maximize the performance of their vehicle engine oil by sensing engine speed and temperature. There is no actual oil condition sensor. Rather, the computer continuously monitors engine-operating conditions to determine when to change the oil.

With the GMOLS, consumers have an accurate and reliable way to monitor engine oil life. When the system notifies the owner that it is time for an oil change, consumers can go to their nearest GM Goodwrench dealer and a technician will change the oil and filter, properly recycle the old oil, then reset the vehicle's oil life system. Overall operating costs for the customer will be lower, because they only have to change the oil when needed, and they can be reassured that their engine is always running with good oil, improving the long term performance and reliability of their GM vehicle.

Use of the GMOLS will often double or even triple the oil change interval for a typical vehicle when compared to the commonly recommended 3,000-mile oil change.

The GMOLS will automatically adjust the oil change interval based on engine characteristics, driving habits and the climate in which the vehicle is operated. For instance, mild highway driving in a warm climate will maximize the interval between oil changes. Depending on the vehicle, this could be in excess of 7,000 miles and as high as 12,000 miles. On the other hand, short-trip driving in a cold climate may limit the oil change to 3,000 miles or less. In general, most people that drive a combination of city and highway find that the GMOLS will indicate an oil change every 5,000 to 6,000 miles. GM data shows the OLS extends oil change intervals without risk to the engine. 

The GMOLS can offer significant benefits to the environment by reducing unnecessary use of oil. GM has built more than 20 million vehicles to date with the GMOLS. In the next five years, as the GMOLS is used as intended â€" oil changes performed only when necessary â€" hundreds of millions of gallons of oil will be saved.

The GM Oil Life System is available on all light-duty North American GM cars except for some models of Buick Park Avenue and Le Sabre, Pontiac Bonneville and Sunfire/Sunbird, Chevrolet Tracker, Cavalier and Malibu, S10/Sonoma trucks, Astro/Safari Vans, and the Pontiac Vibe. For more information about the GM Oil Life System, visit www.gmability.com.

With more than 7,000 participating dealerships, the GM Goodwrench network is the largest automotive service chain in the industry. Its technicians receive specialized training from General Motors to provide expert care for GM cars and trucks. For more information, visit the GM Goodwrench web site at Goodwrench.com.


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