Engine oil life indicator--reliable?

[nonickatall]

There are 2 things that come to mind. First, is the truck inside all the time and temperate? Or outside with humidity, and wild temp swings?

Secondly, I'd probably just do a yearly service no matter what just to keep it consistent and fresh.

What effect should that have on Oil? Oil at a running engine reach approximate 230°, what should happen to the oil in a car, which is due to weather between -40° and +120°?

The water that would accumulate over the years through condensation is marginal. In contrast, when the engine is operated for short distances and gets hot and then cools down again, quite a lot of water gets into the circuit. Which can also be seen from the fact, that vehicles mainly operated over short distances, often have light brown oil foam on the oil cap.

And oil does not get old. You can store oil for 100 years and then use it 2123 in the last gmt800. Will be no difference.

What wears oil is the mechanical breakage of the long hydrocarbon chains in the oil that provide the lubricating effect and the input of harmful chemicals via the combustion process and water.

So if you want your engine to get old, you should stick to the manufacturer's oil change intervals, use good oil, don't install cheap oil filters, don't neglect the rest of the maintenance and, above all, react and repair defects immediately.

And you should avoid driving a car too often for short trips. Anything under 2 Miles can also be done by bicycle or by car, where it doesn't matter if it dies, e.g. a Ford.

And you should warm up your engine before stepping on the gas. And driving at full throttle should be avoided anyway, especially with American V8 engines, which are simply not built for high revs.

I think an LQ motor can get very old, if you stick to these things. and if something breaks, it is really easy to repair and the supply of spare parts is excellent.

In contrast to the shit engines that Germans are now building..

Do i say that as a German? Fck, yes ....

 

[B-train]

Good, and valid points.

 

[iamdub]

...driving at full throttle should be avoided anyway, especially with American V8 engines, which are simply not built for high revs.

 

[nonickatall]

View attachment 403883

Great footage, i love that sound.

But should you do that with a pushrod driven engine regularly if you want to since it's getting old?

 

[SilverSport]

I feel the OLM is another tool for the toolbox...remember the algorithm was written with the OEM oil type installed but I prefer to use full synthetic oil in the proper weight...with my other GM vehicles I usually hit the time interval rather than the mileage which has come down to about 10 months/just under 5K miles...

I usually can find full synthetic motor oil on sale or with rebates at least as cheap as trying to find Dino oil and use at least an AC Delco oil filter or better...

good luck with your choice...I think the OLM is helpful in making mine

Bill

 

[Marky Dissod]

Y'know how running the fuel tank empty and dry is generally considered a very bad idea,
and most people try to refuel well before the fuel tank hits 0%?

Finish the oil life monitor analogy for yourselves as you see fit.

My suspicion is that most of you don't drive as many stop'n'go local 'city' miles as NYC cabdrivers - which makes most of you lucky in that respect.

May we all hit 300,000 trouble free miles ...

 

[Stonefort]

Mine is usually at 30% when I hit 5k miles and change it. Work is only 2.9miles away. I use Euro Blend Quaker State 5-40w, it's a light 40w and has been good for me here in Tx.

 

[iamdub]

Great footage, i love that sound.

Thank ya! I think that was with the cutout open.

But should you do that with a pushrod driven engine regularly if you want to since it's getting old?

I do a lot with this fat old bish that I shouldn't. I've taken it faster/higher RPM than that a couple of times since. I've upgrade the valvetrain to be what should be plenty stable for 6K RPM. As for the rest of it- crank, rods, pistons, all associated bearings... They're the original 223K mile pieces.

It's not my daily driver but I still don't want it to blow up. I know I'm pushing it.

GM is famous specifically for doing what they do with a pushrod engine. They've dabbled with OHC and 24- and 32-valve stuff but continue to match and beat with pushrods and 16 valves what the competition has moved to OHC to accomplish. 6K isn't much. The LS6 spun faster and the LS7 spins even faster than that.

 

[Stonefort]

Great footage, i love that sound.

But should you do that with a pushrod driven engine regularly if you want to since it's getting old?

What he is doing even on a well used one is absolutely no sweat for them. Yay LS engine!

 

[clogan2]

For our Tahoe, I follow the oil life monitor, and change it at 15% or so. That usually equates to ~8,000-9,000 miles. I use the oil recommended in my owner manual: DEXOS 0w-20.

For my 'Vette and pick up truck, I change it annually, and that equates to <3,000 miles.

 

[ZKWBQD]

Hello, I've got a 2003 Tahoe with 125k miles. It comes with the engine oil life indicator that gauges the oil life based on engine revolutions and temperature (it displays as a percentage).

Given the age of the truck, are these indicators still reliable, as long as they are reset after every oil change? I'd be curious to know if anyone with a similar age truck still opts to get oil changes on a mileage basis.

If the indicator is accurate, would that be a more conservative route maintenance-wise compared to just simply using mileage?

Change your oil and filter every 3,000 miles. Pay no attention to the indicator.

 

[NotJLB]

Hello, I've got a 2003 Tahoe with 125k miles. It comes with the engine oil life indicator that gauges the oil life based on engine revolutions and temperature (it displays as a percentage).

Given the age of the truck, are these indicators still reliable, as long as they are reset after every oil change? I'd be curious to know if anyone with a similar age truck still opts to get oil changes on a mileage basis.

If the indicator is accurate, would that be a more conservative route maintenance-wise compared to just simply using mileage?

I came planning to ask the same thing. 2004 Escalade ESV. 125K miles. One owner. Good Carfax. I've always done 3000 miles on all vehicles, but I'm thinking that's not necessary any more. I tend to check the dipstick for level and condition of the oil. So . . . . . .
- - - - -
I should add that we were on Valvoline's 225K Mile Engine Guarantee. They wanted every 3000 miles, and they would end the guarantee for a vehicle if you did 3 oil changes over 4000 miles. I did that on four vehicles.

Valvoline ended that guarantee, and we replaced one of two of the vehicles, so I am not as **** about oil changes now.

All of our vehicles have over 125K miles, and we have had virtually no oil-related issues.

 

[NotJLB]

Hmmm! I just found this in the owner's manual:

If the system is ever reset accidentally, you must change your oil at 3,000 miles (5 000 km) since your last oil change. Remember to reset the oil life system whenever the oil is changed.

I wonder if WalMart resets it, or if I have to remember to?

Other than that, it does not mention what the oil change interval should be, even in the maintenance schedule. It says to go by the Oil Life indicator.

Also, our vehicle has gone over 2000 miles since the last oil change and the Oil Life Indicator is at 76%. That seems suspicious.

Site Maintenance

www.cadillac.com

Page 5.11 ish. and 6.2

 

[Marky Dissod]

our one-owner '04 Escalade ESV with 125K miles ... has gone over 2000 miles since the last oil change and the Oil Life Indicator is at 76%.
That seems suspicious.

It may or may not be, depending on how conservatively / wisely you've driven.
To brutally oversimplify, the Oil Life Monitor measures how the driver treats the engine and engine oil.
Some things 'count' moreso than others, however.
For example:
engine revs accumulated before Closed Loop are counted much less favorably, than engine revs accumulated during Closed Loop
Each time the engine is started, the colder the engine oil / coolant, the less favorably those engine revs are counted
engine revs accumulated in 3rd or 4th gear with the TCC locked are counted more favorably than engine revs in 1st or 2nd with the TCC unlocked
(that's how GM favors highway mileage over metro / urban stop'n'go mileage)

In the manual, it clearly states:
"It is possible that, under the best conditions, the oil life system may not indicate that an oil change is necessary for over a year.
However, your engine oil and filter must be changed at least once a year, and at this time, the system must be reset."

The Oil Life Monitor has no sense of time whatsoever, it only accrues various counts of various sensor inputs.
When it accrues enough engine revs, it's time to change the oil again.
(Also it cannot tell the ambient air quality 'as in clean or dirty', and it cannot tell the difference between butter, margarine, vegetable oil, schidty motor oil, soso synthetic-ish motor oil, or synthetic motor oil.)

The GMT900 Oil Life Monitor lets the driver see the present percentage of Oil Life left.
Too bad the GMT800 OLM does not (if I'm wrong, someone PLEASE correct me!).

Engine oil life indicator--reliable?

Hello, I've got a 2003 Tahoe with 125k miles. It comes with the engine oil life indicator that gauges the oil life based on engine revolutions and temperature (it displays as a percentage). Given the age of the truck, are these indicators still reliable, as long as they are reset after every...

www.tahoeyukonforum.com

 

[SilverSport]

remember too that our GMT800s pre date the use of synthetic oil as the engine lubricant specification...if you use synthetic oil it seems that most on this Forum and others with similar vehicles recommend the 5K miles or 1 year mark for oil changes...

GM Oil Life Monitors I've dealt with usually display the Change Oil Soon/Change Oil Now sometime after the 1 year mark...I've only seen it once on a car I took care of that hit the 1 year mark but only had 4K miles...it seems our GMT800 vehicles will just display Change Engine Oil...changing the oil seems like cheap insurance to me...

I've read elsewhere that the current (and any vehicles updated) GM OLM is calibrated for 7500 miles max on oil changes but again, I've read most here do the 5K mark oil changes and I don't prefer to go longer than that.

my 2005 Denali 6.0 is at just over 5 months and 2600 miles and the OLM indicates about 50%...

Good luck with yours...

Bill

 

[nonickatall]

remember too that our GMT800s pre date the use of synthetic oil as the engine lubricant specification...if you use synthetic oil it seems that most on this Forum and others with similar vehicles recommend the 5K miles or 1 year mark for oil changes...

GM Oil Life Monitors I've dealt with usually display the Change Oil Soon/Change Oil Now sometime after the 1 year mark...I've only seen it once on a car I took care of that hit the 1 year mark but only had 4K miles...it seems our GMT800 vehicles will just display Change Engine Oil...changing the oil seems like cheap insurance to me...

I've read elsewhere that the current (and any vehicles updated) GM OLM is calibrated for 7500 miles max on oil changes but again, I've read most here do the 5K mark oil changes and I don't prefer to go longer than that.

my 2005 Denali 6.0 is at just over 5 months and 2600 miles and the OLM indicates about 50%...

Good luck with yours...

Bill

In my opinion, the car manufacturers only introduced the oil change thing after a year because of vehicles that are used in extremely short-distance traffic.

If you haven't reached 5,000 miles after using a car like this for a year, you're probably driving a lot from your front door to McDonald's or Walmart, which is 100 meters away.

Of course, this causes condensation to collect in the oil, which is not good for the whole thing. But if you only drive your car for 250 miles twice a year in one go, because you pull your camper into the mountains by car, then it's enough to change the oil after 10 years, if the 5000 miles are full. Oil doesn't go bad.

The reason why car manufacturers artificially set oil change intervals higher is because companies that operate company vehicles judge them based on the maintenance costs per mile.

And of course a service every 5,000 miles is more expensive than if I extend the oil interval to 25,000 miles, like German manufacturers do with their crappy long-life oils. And that's also the case with diesels, where I already have a significant amount of soot particles entering the oil. I think that's catastrophic.

They also claim that the oil for automatic transmissions or differentials is a lifetime filling.

When people tell me that, I always tell them: Yes, that's right, you don't need to change the oil anymore if the transmission is end of lifetime...

But in my opinion, what is even more important than changing the oil every 5,000 miles is that you use high-quality oil. I see this again and again in vehicles that are driven with cheap oil, which collects carbon dioxide.

Personally, I only use Motul oil, which is pretty much the best in Germany. And my engines are clean inside...

 

[Mudsport96]

Here is a perfect apples to apples comparison.
My daughter has been driving the Silverado to college. It is almost all highway there is 5 miles of 35 mph, 2 miles of 45 mph, 10 miles of 65 mph, and 95 miles of 85mph. One way So double that for a round trip.

So, I did an oil change at 412,500 miles and at 415,500 the oil life monitoring system showed 76% life left...that was in 6 weeks as she walks or takes the college transit busses everywhere when she is there, all miles are to and from home/college.

My wife uses the Tahoe, she will occasionally run to the next city over 20 miles at 55mph. But, mostly around town here at 35mph tops. So 3000 miles takes months to accrue. So at 2000 miles the monitoring system shows 20%.

So while the system COULD work I would never trust it based on personal experience.

Both vehicles are basically the same drivetrain.

Engines: 5.3 L59( Tahoe) 5.3 L33 (Silverado)

Transmission: 4l60e same for both

Transfer case: Tahoe 4 button auto case, Silverado manual case

Gear ratios: Same at 3.42

Tires: same Brand, model, and size on both

Tahoe is rear disc brakes, Silverado is rear drum

 

[Marky Dissod]

... So while the system COULD work, I would never trust it based on personal experience ...

What would it take for you to trust that system?
That's NOT a challenge. May I give an example?

I do not know a single NYC cabdriver / livery driver / chauffeur who would EVER allow the oil life monitor to hit 15%.
They consider it irresponsible to allow the oil life monitor to reach 0%.
(I used to be one myself.)

Most NYC cabdrivers / livery drivers / chauffeurs apply the following 'skew' to the Oil Life Monitor:
If mileage is mostly all highway miles (NOT NYC), they'll change oil when the oil life monitor hits 17%, but NEVER over 5000 miles.
(They recall well when Toyota stopped recommending 6000 mile oil changes due to sludge buildup leading to prematurely failing engines.)

If mileage is more highway than local, they'll change oil when oil life hits 20%, but NEVER over 4000 miles.

If mileage is more local than highway, they'll change oil when oil life hits 25%, but NEVER over 3500 miles.

If mileage is mostly all local miles (NYC, 5 boros, stop'n'go), they'll change oil when oil life hits 33%.
If they intend to keep that car after the lease is up, they may change the oil as often as every 2500 miles.
Oil and filter changes every five to six weeks are normal for them.

 

[the 18th letter]

My indicator hit 40% over 6 months 3.5k miles. I meant to change at 50% 3k miles. I think it runs on a timer as well somehow. I tend to do infrequent longer trips.

 

[Marky Dissod]

This post has been proven incorrect. Read the next post for clarification. I make mistakes.

Engine oil life indicator--reliable?

The ecm / tcm / etc cannot measure time in discrete time units per se. Ummm it HAS TO count a literal timer inside the ecm. As a fact the idle speed is revolutions per MINUTE. If the ecm did not have an internal timer, it literally could not set base idle speed. As it has to set a given amount...

www.tahoeyukonforum.com

... think it runs on a timer as well somehow.

The ecm / tcm / etc cannot measure time in discrete time units per se.
It simply counts things - engine revs, input and output shaft revs, changes in sensor readings - and compares counts against other counts.

Old example:
When the engine starts up, the Intake Air Temp and Coolant Temp sensors (and motor oil temp sensors for those vehicles so equipped) are compared against each other, so it knows whether or not, and when, to start using the O2 sensors for fueling adjustments instead of Open Loop.

It cannot point to a watch, or any other objectively independent measurement of time.
If the key is on but the engine is off, it can only see that RpM=0, it's in Park, and whatever other sensor inputs / outputs are available.
More like, 'since these two or three things happened at once, everything is working as it should', or
'when I compared this value to this other value, and then saw a similar error twice, I knew something was up, so I logged a code'.

The closest it gets to measuring time, is how many engine revs vs engine speed vs road speeds vs input shaft speeds vs output shaft speeds, or something like that.