Oil life %... How accurate is it?

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

Matthew Jeschke

Full Access Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2017
Posts
1,832
Reaction score
1,219
Location
Sahuarita, Arizona
I go by 5k miles or when oil looks dirty... i check on white paper towel.

Oil life meter cannot tell when cleaners in oil have been saturated with dirt. I believe is a gemmick so manufacturers can reduce their environmental impact. But doesnt really do what is says.

Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk
 

Floep

Full Access Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2011
Posts
105
Reaction score
37
Hey KBUSHKILL your serpentine belt is running one groove to far to the rear on the water pump pulley in your picture
 

kbuskill

***CAUTION*** I do my own stunts!
Joined
Mar 11, 2017
Posts
5,213
Reaction score
8,068
Location
NE. FL.
Hey KBUSHKILL your serpentine belt is running one groove to far to the rear on the water pump pulley in your picture

How is that?

The water pump runs off of the back (non-grooved side) of the belt.
 

Floep

Full Access Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2011
Posts
105
Reaction score
37
Take a look at the last picture of #5 Dec 5 follow the grooves of the belt visible above each other, on the one pulley all grooves are occupied, on the other one, one groove is empty and the other side that belt rib is hanging in air
 

kbuskill

***CAUTION*** I do my own stunts!
Joined
Mar 11, 2017
Posts
5,213
Reaction score
8,068
Location
NE. FL.
Take a look at the last picture of #5 Dec 5 follow the grooves of the belt visible above each other, on the one pulley all grooves are occupied, on the other one, one groove is empty and the other side that belt rib is hanging in air

Optical illusion due to the angle of the pic I suspect.

It all lines up I assure you... lol
 

thompsoj22

Full Access Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2018
Posts
689
Reaction score
714
Location
california native "REPUBLICAN" high desert
I run my OCIs out to between 10-15k miles BUT...

I run Mobil 1 full synthetic 15,000 mile oil and I have a dual remote mount oil filter setup running two M1-301A extended performance filters and an aftermarket oil cooler so the oil system holds 8+ quarts of oil now.

Here are some oil filter specs for reference...

M1-113 (factory size oil filter)
View attachment 211983

M1-212 (this is the biggest filter you can run in the factory location due to oil pan clearance)
View attachment 211984

M1-301A (I run two of these on my Burb)
View attachment 211985

So to run some rough numbers...

Factory filter is 28.21ci

M1-212 filter is 37.95ci

M1-301 filter is 65.55ci X 2 on my truck = 131.10ci for a total of...

4.65 times the oil filtering ability of the stock filter.

3.45 times the oil filtering ability of the biggest filter you can run in the stock location.

This is not to say that a larger filter actually filters better than a smaller filter but the potential is there and the filters would also take longer to become clogged than the smaller filter if ran to the same interval.
View attachment 211986
View attachment 211987


Im not being negative, it is quite a filtration system with added quanity. However under hard accelleration/high rpm/temps are you sure the rubber lines arent absorbing/expanding and reducing oil pressure at critical close tolerance friction areas. if you were going to tinker with the system further i would install hard lines where ever possible?
 

Matthew Jeschke

Full Access Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2017
Posts
1,832
Reaction score
1,219
Location
Sahuarita, Arizona
There is really nothing that I can do at this point other than keep the oil changed and see how it does. No way that I am adding anything to the oil that would break this sludge apart and stop up all the filter screens. I am just going to run it. The sludge is soft enough to be removed easily with a paper towel with no degreaser so it is not a hard baked on type deposit.
However after seeing this sludge on the old Tahoe 6.0 my New Denali 6.2 is going to be at 5k or less synthetic change intervals no matter what the OLM says........................
Oil is recycled anyway so not like I am killing the planet or something. I mean shoot man the Ta"**"e is a Hybrid I can get some green credits from the tree huggers for that right? "Keep It Green"
ten-thousand-10000-dollar-bill.jpg


View attachment 212039
Id not be afraid to put just a little seafoam in there. Like a tbs 100 miles prior to changing oil or so.

Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk
 

kbuskill

***CAUTION*** I do my own stunts!
Joined
Mar 11, 2017
Posts
5,213
Reaction score
8,068
Location
NE. FL.
Im not being negative, it is quite a filtration system with added quanity. However under hard accelleration/high rpm/temps are you sure the rubber lines arent absorbing/expanding and reducing oil pressure at critical close tolerance friction areas. if you were going to tinker with the system further i would install hard lines where ever possible?

Actually I have "too much" oil pressure.

When I pulled the bottom end apart I replaced the oil pump with a Mellings HV/HP pump.

The oil pump in the AFM engines are HV from the factory.

I decided that since I had an occasional lifter tick that I would replace the oil pump and O-ring, along with timing chain etc. while I was in there. The truck had 185k on the clock so I figured a little extra pressure wouldn't hurt anything.

After it was all complete I had 70-75psi cold idle and 60-65 hot idle.

The ECU didn't like seeing those numbers because it is "too high" (not within the factory programmed parameters).

So I drove it for a while, changed the pressure sensor (no change) still "too high".

I added the dual filters and external oil cooler in hopes of losing some pressure (dropped it a couple psi... still "too high".

I finally ended up buying a oil pressure switch extension pigtail and adding a resistor to trick the ECU into seeing a "normal" oil pressure reading because I got tired of having the CEL on and not being able to remote start.

The gauge is still fully functional it just reads about 20psi lower than it did before.

The remote start is a great feature. Most people use it as a creature comfort. Heat the truck up in the winter or cool it down in the summer, which is nice and an added benefit BUT for me.... I do it because I am a firm believer in letting a vehicle get up to operating temperature before taking off and driving.

Moat of the wear and tear on an engine is at start up before the oil is up to temperature and flowing good. A lot of folks start their cars and take off as soon as the let go of the key... not good IMO.

But to answer your question more directly. My original plan was to do stainless braided lines with AN fittings but I wasn't sure on the exact length so I went this route to see how it was all going to work. Now that I know the lengths I will eventually make some or have some hydraulic hoses made up.
 
Last edited:

homesick

Full Access Member
Joined
Sep 19, 2018
Posts
527
Reaction score
833
Actually I have "too much" oil pressure.

When I pulled the bottom end apart I replaced the oil pump with a Mellings HV/HP pump.

The oil pump in the AFM engines are HV from the factory.

I decided that since I had an occasional lifter tick that I would replace the oil pump and O-ring, along with timing chain etc. while I was in there. The truck had 185k on the clock so I figured a little extra pressure wouldn't hurt anything.

After it was all complete I had 70-75psi cold idle and 60-65 hot idle.

The ECU didn't lile seeing those numbers because it is "too high" (not within the factory programmed parameters).

So I drove it for a while, changed the pressure sensor (no change) still "too high".

I added the dual filters and external oil cooler in hopes of losing some pressure (dropped it a couple psi... still "too high".

I finally ended up buying a oil pressure switch extension pigtail and adding a resistor to trick the ECU into seeing a "normal" oil pressure reading because I got tired of having the CEL on and not being able to remote start.

The gauge is still fully functional it just reads about 20psi lower than it did before.

The remote start is a great feature. Most people use it as a creature comfort. Heat the truck up in the winter or cool it down in the summer, which is nice and an added benefit BUT for me.... I do it because I am a firm believer in letting a vehicle get up to operating temperature before taking off and driving.

Moat of the wear and tear on an engine is at start up before the oil is up to temperature and flowing good. A lot of folks start their cars and take off as soon as the let go of the key... not good IMO.

But to answer your question more directly. My original plan was to do stainless braided lines with AN fittings but I wasn't sure on the exact length so I went this route to see how it was all going to work. Now that I know the lengths I will eventually make some or have some hydraulic hoses made up.

Cooler oil temperatures are gonna have higher pressure than warmer temps will. Small block Chevys have ALWAYS had a bit of lifter noise at idle. It's like a 'Thing'.

I do agree with you on the benefits of a warm-up though. When I was younger I went for full operating temperature before moving. These days I don't drive as hard as I used to do- a little less warm up works with my gentler right foot.

joe
 
Last edited:

swathdiver

Full Access Member
Joined
May 18, 2017
Posts
19,104
Reaction score
25,033
Location
Treasure Coast, Florida
The remote start is a great feature. Most people use it as a creature comfort. Heat the truck up in the winter or cool it down in the summer, which is nice and an added benefit BUT for me.... I do it because I am a firm believer in letting a vehicle get up to operating temperature before taking off and driving.

Same here, and back before these little remotes, I'd leave the house first and light off the motors and let them get up to temperature and even then do not drive hard until the transmission has a chance to warm up some too. Same with today.
 
Last edited:

Forum statistics

Threads
128,801
Posts
1,805,612
Members
91,783
Latest member
Banjomatic
Top