Oil life question

[Doubeleive]

Interesting.

Would you say I could rule out the coolant thing than if I I’m not experiencing loss of coolant or overheating? Or could it still be a concern with the oil life and oil itself etc. I will check that cap asap

I wouldn't even worry at all unless you know you are loosing coolant and are unable to find a leak anywhere. head cracks are less likely on this generation anyway, there were some bad heads on the gmt800's that were prone to developing leaks and that was only a specific model which I do not know by memory.

 

[iboughtatahoe23]

I wouldn't even worry at all unless you know you are loosing coolant and are unable to find a leak anywhere. head cracks are less likely on this generation anyway, there were some bad heads on the gmt800's that were prone to developing leaks and that was only a specific model which I do not know by memory.

Everything is adding up to my oil life now. It is making sense. The stop and go traffic, the cold short trips etc. cold weather below freezing. I’m sure it all plays a huge role in engine life so now it is making sense

 

[iboughtatahoe23]

Just thought this was cool. I asked AI how detrimental letting the engine warm up to operating temps before shutting it off and it said:

“Not letting your car reach operating temperature before shutting it off isn't ideal, especially if it's a regular habit. It can lead to what's called "cold short trips" which can cause condensation to build up in the oil and exhaust system. Over time, this can dilute the oil, reducing its effectiveness and potentially causing corrosion in the engine. It's best to let the engine run until it reaches operating temp when you can, to keep everything in top shape.”

I really hope there isn’t to much condensation. So again am I looking for white goo? Or actual water droplets under the cap. White goo I’m guessing if it mixes with oil

 

[15burban]

White goo, yellowish goo, any type of goo. You'll know once you see it. Although my pontiac work beater with 260k miles always has a little yellowish goo under the cap during the colder months. My average drive too work is over an hour so it definitely is warmed up and it doesn't leak or lose any coolant. Unless there's a lot of it under there I wouldn't worry too much.

 

[Marky Dissod]

You may want to think of ways to give your engine more of a chance to warm up:
Start your engine, go back inside for a min to pee, kiss her, double-check the stove is really off, etc
If you've 6 or 7 short errands, go all the way to the one that gives your engine a chance to warm up as much as possible first.
That way, even if you shut the engine off, at least it's warmER

IN WINTER ONLY, if you can't think of any other ways to make your trips longer,
use a piece of cardboard to block off 20% -33% of the bottom of the radiator.

 

[Doubeleive]

Even though it's generally not freezing to bad here I usually auto start mine and let it warm up for 10 minutes before I take the kids to school in the morning I just make it a habit to start it at 7:45 and let it run

 

[Marky Dissod]

Even though it's generally not freezing too bad here I usually auto start mine and let it warm up for 10 minutes.
Before I take the kids to school in the morning I just make it a habit to start it at 7:45am and let it run.

Was gonna click 'like' on this, except I'd make it 5min instead of 10min, just in case any part of the cooling system happens to fail in that time frame.

 

[Doubeleive]

Was gonna click 'like' on this, except I'd make it 5min instead of 10min, just in case any part of the cooling system happens to fail in that time frame.

I keep mine pretty well maintained not worried about auto starting it at all especially if I can trust it to go 140

 

[Marky Dissod]

I keep mine pretty well maintained not worried about auto starting it at all especially if I can trust it to go 140MpH.

I've no doubt you maintain it well.
My only concern - my underlying fear in life, actually - is that, even if one does everything they're supposed to as they're supposed to, there is always a nonzero chance that the next dice roll will come up snake eyes.

That, plus the fact that I've watched several aluminum block engines with no H2Opump, start from below freezing and reach 221F in 5min or less.

 

[Doubeleive]

I've no doubt you maintain it well.
My only concern - my underlying fear in life, actually - is that, even if one does everything they're supposed to as they're supposed to, there is always a nonzero chance that the next dice roll will come up snake eyes.

That, plus the fact that I've watched several aluminum block engines with no H2Opump, start from below freezing and reach 221F in 5min or less.

If that happens I'll dump it in the Delta and file a insurance claim like every one else around here does lol, they recently pulled 12 cars out of the water at the end of the road by me and that's only 1 spot there are miles and miles of places around here and the Delta mendota goes all the way to so. Cal.
I don't know if I would really do that but it wouldn't be hard I've had it for 7 years now long paid for and it's not worth a lot, would probably just buy something newer. Until then it's reliable and runs good

 

[adriver]

Curiosity got the better of me and I found this on another forum:

The GM OLM calculates an OCI based on idle time, engine revolutions, oil temp, coolant temp, ambient temp, oil pressure, and some other things. If it overheats, the OLM immediately goes to zero, upon reaching 260F.

Since the 2010s, GM also started including hard limits into the OLM: most GM cars from the past 10 years or so will have a max OCI of 7500 miles or one year, except the Volt, which has a max OCI of 2 years and no mileage limit. The hard limits probably started when GM introduced dexos oils, after they had some problems with the HFV6 timing chains from long OCI suggestions.

Older pre-dexos GM cars with the OLM didn't have any hard limits programmed into the computer, but suggested not to exceed a year or 12k.

More reading here:

GM's Oil-Life System Improves Timing of Oil Change

This past November General Motors announced the expanded inclusion of its oil change indicator on 90% of their production over the coming five years. The Oil-Life System is currently in use on some...

www.machinerylubrication.com

So I have an 02, and for my vehicle the OLM is based off only two things: Oil temp and RPMs. Whether or not your newer model includes all that extra, I don't know. (We didn't even get all of that before 03).

It's winter time, so I would expect that Oil life to be reduced.

IMO, that OLM is not for "us". It's not for car guys/gals. It's not for people who care enough about your vehicle to come on to a website and learn about their vehicle. It's a dummy light for people who need to be told when to take their vehicle into the dealership. It's not for people who change their own oil; if you do, keep your own records.

Personally, I can tell when it's time, and if you want to learn, you can check the dipstick to keep an eye on the color, or even better a catch can with a quick window.

Last, also know that the OLM has NO CLUE what kind of oil you put in there. If you put in dollar store brand conventional, or you put in Amsoil synthetic, you're going to get the exact same timer with the exact same oil life according to that countdown. Keep your own records, here's what I just keep a notepad file for:

268,869 THROTTLE BODY CLEANED (22May2023)
268,869 MAF CLEANED (22May2023)
268,869 AIR FILTER CLEANED (22May2023)
269,383 BRAKE LINE REPLACED -USED/PULLED ACROSS REAR AXLE. (06Jun2023)
269,383 CLUTCH BLEED LINE REPLACED - TICK PERFORMANCE LS1 KIT (06Jun2023)
269,383 BRAKE FLUID FLUSHED - DOT 4 LIQUID MOLY #22078 (FOR FUTURE - 2 QTS > BRAKES AND CLUTCH LINE) (06Jun2023)
269,383 OIL CHANGED PENNZOIL PLAT FULL SYNTHETIC 5W30 6QTS WITH FRAM EXTRAGUARD FILTER (06Jun2023)
269,383 TIRES ROTATED - BACK TO FRONT, FRONT CROSSED TO REAR. 45 DSF, 44 PSF, 40 REAR (06Jun2023)
269,383 SHOCKS ADJUSTED FRONT QA1 - -1 COMPRESSION, +1 REBOUND (06Jun2023)

 

[Foggy]

The gen IV engines in our suv's do not have a oil temperature sending unit or gauge at all.
So I really don't regard the oil life monitor to be as accurate as it could be.. Yes it takes coolant
temps, etc into it's calculations.. but if you don't KNOW oil temps, I don't know how you could
calculate oil life very well.
BTW, I never let my oil life go below 50%.. or over 3,000 miles (but I don't drive it everyday)

 

[iboughtatahoe23]

Just an update. Went and got oil changed today at valvoline. Since I posted this my oil has went from 37% to 32%. Got oil changed and did the engine flush as well. Mild condensation on oil cap. No coolant I don’t think.

 

[Doubeleive]

The gen IV engines in our suv's do not have a oil temperature sending unit or gauge at all.
So I really don't regard the oil life monitor to be as accurate as it could be.. Yes it takes coolant
temps, etc into it's calculations.. but if you don't KNOW oil temps, I don't know how you could
calculate oil life very well.
BTW, I never let my oil life go below 50%.. or over 3,000 miles (but I don't drive it everyday)

the tech2 reads oil temperature even though there is no physical gauge, there is a temp sensor if memory serves me correctly I believe the oil level sensor pulls double duty as a temp sensor also

 

[Doubeleive]

Just an update. Went and got oil changed today at valvoline. Since I posted this my oil has went from 37% to 32%. Got oil changed and did the engine flush as well. Mild condensation on oil cap. No coolant I don’t think. View attachment 419275

I would pull that cap off again and wipe the inside off real good with a paper towel and post a picture of what the towel looks like afterwards.
hard to gauge the color with a black background. looks like oil but there is some redish/orange tint in the photo could just be the reflection. the inside center does looks like condensation but can't tell the color
also presuming that was before they did the flush?

 

[iboughtatahoe23]

I would pull that cap off again and wipe the inside off real good with a paper towel and post picture of what the towel looks like afterwards.
hard to gauge the color with a black background. looks like oil but there is some redish/orange tint in the photo could just be the reflection. the inside center does looks like condensation but can't tell the color

Next time I step out I will take a photo

Edit: will add that she is running like a top. Could just be the placebo effect tho haha