Putting Amsoil in a tahoe

[mskyfshntchr]

I have a 1997 Chevy Tahoe with about 130,000 miles. 5.7 v-8. I've had it for about 10,000 miles. It has had 5w/30 in it. Wife and her dad run Amsoil in their vehicles.

I'm wondering what the advantages would be to switch?

Anyone done this and had problems?

Any advice/info/experiences aer welcome.

Thanks!

[PierBridge]

I don't see any benifit of switching over to Amsoil at this point just keep changing her every 3,000.

[jltimm]

Alot less oil changes, less waste oil, better lubrication, easier cold weather starts, longer life.

[BoxMN]

FWIW, I have 98 k1500 with 5.7, and about 160k miles on it. I have used 5x30 since day one, and I don't think I ever changed it sooner than 5k miles, except maybe first oil change. Doesn't leak a drop, nor burn a drop and still going strong. I see no reason to change oil every 3k miles anymore, engines are better and oil is better now than the days when 3k was the "rule".

I actually learned this from oil company guy and his engineering buddies. But everybody do whatever they want. No need to, IMHO, and for me, no sense in doing Amsoil this late in the game... Oh yeah, I plan to keep mine for another 150k, and doing the same thing until I see a problem.

Good luck with whatever you decide. The 350 is an awesome and time tested engine. That's why I am keeping mine.

[stick]

I can support both angles. I had an '89 Ford Ranger which overall was no vehicle to write home about (but I loved mine). I was a 2-3000 mile conventional oil guy and never had an issue with it. I ended up driving it to U-Pull-R Parts (sent it off on her own terms). NEVER had an engine issue.

I take care of 3 vehicles, it used to be 4, so I switched to Amsoil and now change the oil every 12 months or 25K miles so that I'm not living under the vehicles changing oil. No issues thus far. One of those vehicles is a 2002 Yukon.

I'd say both are a good choice...

[theoilman]

I'm sure everyone reading expects me to say change to AMSOIL, but in this case, consider carefully before changing from running a GM small block 305 or 350 with 130,000 miles (or any of these engines over 80,000). I will do my best to keep from commercializing here, and stick to the topic, but this topic makes this difficult for me.

First of all, you can change any sound (not burning or leaking an excessive quantity of oil{your definition}) engine to AMSOIL (or any other synthetic). With a 305 or 350 (or 4.3 V6) GM engine there is a potential problem - most with this higher mileage have tired valve guide seals and worn valve guides. I have seen several changed to AMSOIL that the synthetic cleaned the varnish/gum that was holding the tired seals together and revealed the problem. (The oil did not damage the seal, it just cleaned and revealed it that you may not know about before-hand.) I have seen a couple that were so bad the heads had to be pulled and do a valve job on because of changing to synthetic.

On this engine, tread carefully!

The benefits - others have touched on them: 1 year/25,000 miles normal driving or 1 year/15,000 mile severe duty (most people) oil changes. Much easier winter starting (yes, I'm in Florida and this is not a big point here, but when I started with AMSOIL I was in Peoria, IL with -26deg and this alone made it an easy sell). Better fuel economy - advertising says 3% to 5%, but most people report considerably better - at least 1/2 mpg in your Tahoe. Smoother running, reduced emissions (yes, it seals the rings tighter reducing blow-by and other contributors to emissions), cooler in summer.

Yes, it is higher priced - 5W-30 or 10W-30 at $7.40 sugg retail, but with the 1 year oil change, better fuel economy, less trouble, it is actually lower cost than petroleum lubes. And with the Pref. Cust. program you can cut the costs another 25%.

Any more questions, please contact me privately - phone or email, both in signature below.

[PierBridge]

Thanks Oilman good stuff as always!

[anyfishwilldo]

I have 250000 on my 95 k1500, and have been using Amsoil for the last 100000. The old girl runs fantastic and maybe will let me get to the 500000 mark I am shooting for.

[Macgyver55]

 Quote:

With a 305 or 350 (or 4.3 V6) GM engine there is a potential problem - most with this higher mileage have tired valve guide seals and worn valve guides. I have seen several changed to AMSOIL that the synthetic cleaned the varnish/gum that was holding the tired seals together and revealed the problem. (The oil did not damage the seal, it just cleaned and revealed it that you may not know about before-hand.) I have seen a couple that were so bad the heads had to be pulled and do a valve job on because of changing to synthetic.

On this engine, tread carefully

(unless you mean pre 96) I'd have to disagree about worn valve trains on GM Vortec motors. I'm not saying it can't happen, but I deal with these particular motors daily and we just plain don't see any issues with these other than intake gaskets. We have had about 75 of these Vortec 5.7 in our fleet (and hundreds of standard 350s over the years.) They have had regular oil changes, using 5w-30 their entire life. Spark plugs are replaced at 75 to 80,000 with no evidence of oil from worn valve guides or seals. Most of our vehicles are kept until about the 200,000 mark. I would consider them to be in medium/severe duty conditions and many have hundreds of hours of idling time. To date, without exception, we have not had one valve train related problem concerning guides or seals. In fact we have never had to pull a head off one for that reason. The last time I remember having any issues with valve guides or seals was in the mid to late 80s

My personal vehicle (147,000) has in fact lulled me into a sense of complacency, in that I rarely bother to check the oil level since it uses little or none in between (4000 mile) changes. I'm on my 3rd Tahoe and I've had similar results with each one.

[theoilman]

I didn't say don't, but I did say to be cautious.

Mskyfshntchr said he has only had the Tahoe for 10,000 miles - and he gave no indication of knowing maintenance history of before he bought it - information that helped base my above information.

AMSOIL's PAO based group IV based once a year engine oils are some of the most aggressive cleaning packages of all automotive oils on the market today.

Perhaps a better choice in high mileage engines would be AMSOIL's XL family of engine oils: 6-month/7500 mile oil change, group III, and not as aggressive cleaning package. At a lower price of $6.05 sugg retail, and still caries the GM 4718M and 6094M for Corvette and other high end GM requirements, and also the GF4 Starburst.

Either way, treat cautiously in a high mileage engine.

[jigeye]

I have an 07 Tahoe and was thinking of changing it over since it only has 13,000 miles. One question I have though is that if this oil cleans so much better wouldn't you have to change the filter more often?

[theoilman]

You shouldn't have to. The above questioned truck has 130,000 miles of probably using petroleum oil - building up gum, varnish and possibly sludge.

At 13,000 miles I would expect no problems whatsoever to just change to AMSOIL.

My recommendation - virtually all vehicles under 20,000 miles and most all under 40,000 miles just change the oil. If over 40,000 inspect - check the oil cap, look in to the top of the head (if no baffles in the way) - if clean or only minor varnish just change the oil to AMSOIL. If much buildup I recommend the use of AMSOIL Engine Flush to clean the engine before changing (follow instructions on the label). Most over 40,000 miles I recommend the flush. If there is a buildup and you don't clean first you may need an extra filter change and top-off after 3000 to 5000 miles.

[walleyeaddict]

Even amsoil wont fix a chevy.....lol just kiddin guys!

[fishorgolf]

I have a 2003 Yukon XL that I switched over to Amsoil 0-30 (I like the 0 for starting in 30 below weather) at 250 miles. I change oil every 6000 miles (thinking of pushing a little longer next time) and have not burned a tablespoon of oil ever. Luck? maybe? but I run amsoil in all my vehicles (4) and have never ad one oil related problem EVER. Is it a little more expensive? yes but I think I can afford .014 mile.

[eyebjim]

Amsoil is great. I used to use in all of my vehicles.

Then I had a truck that had a ton of miles on it and the oil pressure was getting thin to the point that if it idled the oil light would lite up and if you were working it hard for extended time pulling a boat in the heat of summer the oil pressure would drop out and the light would come on and I'd have to shut it down. This was with valvoline(I hadn't switched the truck over to amsoil yet). I switched to Amsoil and it didn't do this for about a year then back to the same thing. I tried a thicker weight that helped but had trouble with the oil pressure not comming up for a long time after starting when cold out. I had someone tell me to try Mobil 1 and the thing went for another year with Mobil 1 in it after the Amsoil of same weight couldn't handle it anymore. I am a true beleiver in Amsoil but I put Mobil 1 in my vehicles now except the sled and thats just because I have yet to see Mobil 1 in a 2 stroke oil.

Just My $0.02.

[fishorgolf]

I agree that Mobil one is basically just as good as amsoil. The reason I use amsoil is my guy carries it and I can get the weights I want. 0-30 for the truck. 5-40 for my 2 VW's and BMW.

[jigeye]

I ended up putting in Mobile 1 a few days ago only because Costco had a good price on it. I plan on running it 10,000 before the next change in my 07 Tahoe.

[eyebjim]

Thats the other thing I like about mobil 1. 5 quart jug for $20.

[jwhjr]

 Originally Posted By: eyebjim

Thats the other thing I like about mobil 1. 5 quart jug for $20.

Yep, but that 6th single quart for $5-$6 sure hurts...

[eyebjim]

Yea I know what you mean. Thats why I just buy an extra 5 quart jug and use it over a few oil changes.

[MNice]

I do not disagree that synthetic oil is good, but I don't understand the real benefit. I have 3 vehicles, 98 bonneville, 240,000 miles, 01 silverado 156,000 miles and a 03 buick 105,000 miles. Have always done my own maintenance, regular oil changes, grease etc and have had zero oil related problems, so i don't see any real benefit.

[eyebjim]

You can go 3 times as many miles on a oil change and the oil comes out looking better than regular oil after 3000 miles.

[EBass]

97 Toyota T100 151,000 miles - I do an oil change once a year with Amsoil. The previous ower ran Amsoil to, I bought the truck because of that. I knew that if that person ran Amsoil that he took care of it. I also run Amsoil in my boat and auger.

When it warms up I want to change the gear lube (tranny, transfer case, front and rear diff) to Amsoil. My buddy did that and he said his milege increased a lot - hey Oilman is that OK? I have no idea what brand of lube is in there or if it was ever changed.

Sorry for the hi-jack

[solbes]

I use Mobil 1 currently as it's readily available and fairly cheap. I should point out that Mobil 1 changed from Group IV a couple of years back to a group III basestock (legaility in the law about making "Synthetic" claims). It's still a very good oil, but I would not run it as long as Amsoil, which is still group IV PAO.

I would also be interested to hear about the Amsoil gear lubes in transfer case and diffies. I will need a change for my '02 Dodge this spring. More MPG's will not hurt with this coming summer with gas at $4/gallon.

[theoilman]

I am replying to several of these posts in a single post.

EBass with the 97 Toyota truck, I would recommend the Severe Gear 75W90 for both differentials, transfer case and also for the manual transmission (you didn't say whether you have manual or auto). Just pull both the drain plug and fill plug on each and drain, replace the drain and fill up to the fill plug level. (I believe your Toyota has both drain plugs on all units.) No flush necessary, don't run any solvent through either. It will drain better if it is warmed up first. The quantity you will need varies with which engine you have. You can use the AMSOIL Product Selection Guide to calculate it yourself.

Several comments thinking Mobil1 is as good, just cheaper. You only get what you pay for. The last I knew Mobil1 was still Group IV PAO based, I haven't seen documents about them downgrading to Group III (Group III is super processed conventional petroleum lube, Group IV is designed and built on the molecular level with it being a completely designed and built synthetic oil). This link: AMSOIL 10W-30 comparison data (pdf file) comparing AMSOIL to 10 different brands of 10W-30 including Mobil1 extended performance (their best and latest product), using industry standard independent laboratory testing procedures. The best is going to cost more, it is more expensive to build a better product.

Several comments - It is not worth it to me, I don't need it.

Yes, AMSOIL is some of the highest priced, lowest cost oil available today. With 5W-30 prod code ASL and 10W-30 prod code ATM - best sellers retail around $8.00 it is high priced (though there are some priced higher but not better). But when you consider the benefits - better fuel economy 3% to 5%, reduced engine wear 50%, extended oil change interval up to 1 year/15,000 mile severe service, -60deg pour point for much easier winter starting, greatly reduced bother with only once a year changes, the cost actually becomes very affordable.

You want a lower price? sign up for the Preferred Customer Program for a minimal annual membership fee you can save about 25% on product costs.

Also check out the fine print on the back of the bottle of the Mobil1 extended service oil: If under new car warranty, any severe duty driving (which is almost all of us), and a number of other conditions they say do NOT use for extended service.

AMSOIL gives you 15,000 mile service under severe duty service.

[eyebjim]

Thanks for the info Oilman. I wasn't trying to knock Amsoil at all. I know it is great oil. I am going to have to investigate if Mobil 1 has indeed gone group III. If so it will be amsoil for me all the way. You are generally right you get what you pay for in most cases but when there is more than one high end anything you can find some more value in one usually. It may indeed be that the higher price is the best value. If Mobil 1 has changed to a lesser grade without informing its users that is a good way to loose customers for life. If it has not I will continue to use it. I am suspicious since I can not find anything on their web site identifying the grouping.

Anyone have any idea how to find out?