Using thicker oil in 2022 Tahoe 5.3L Engine

[Gearz]

I have always been a believer that the manufacture should know what's best for the engine they designed but it is a lie and all there trying to do is squeeze another few tenths of a mile out of a gallon of gas to pass regulations. They don't care if the engine suffers once your out of warranty but to have a dealer change the viscosity and having a paper trail will cause you to VOID your warranty. Change your own oil and as long as there's no slugged in the engine there won't be a issue. I use 5W-30 in my 2017 Rav4 which calls for 0W-20 but I waited to long because the the VVT started making a rattle on start ups at 45k and now has 95k. My 11 Tahoe uses 5W-30 and doesn't make a sound with 150k and it's never been apart, six months or 5k oil changes. Don't change the viscosity drastically like 0W-16 to 10W-40 but 0W-20 to 5W-30 is fine. No mileage issues and it is quieter at start ups. My 2 cents!

 

[PPK_]

it depends on what year.. on a '22.. i think you do want a 5w30 or 0w30. you want a heavier oil.. this is to reduce the oil that blows past the rings.. and ultimately ends up as coked intake valves.. this what you really don't want. an intake valve - coked over.. needing a lot of effort on the valve train to open the valve each cycle. this is what causes you to lose a lifter. and wipe of the engine from metal in the oil.

i think you want a cache can too to reduce as much oil as you can going into the intake.

on the crank... 20 works.. 30 does work as well. i think run better than 87 octane to keep the pinging down in the engine. that can wipe out a crank too.

i am more concerned about lifter value.. that is why you want the heavier oil. also run a intake cleaner every oil change... you can look at your tach and see if it is at 550 perfectly.. or if it is going up and down. that is when may have a coked up intake closing late... bummer. it is what it is.

 

[steve45]

My dealer Service Adviser told me they are mandated by GM to use recommended oil and they have no choice. When I asked about doing it myself I was told they recommend against it but if its done it would have to be shown to be the cause of any issues. Given that its so new and under warranty I wont be going against the recommendations of the GM Engineers. But I enjoy learning more about oil here.

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! What do the GM engineers know, anyway? They're the ones that created the camshaft problem in the first place. As well as all the transmission problems, etc.

IF you have a problem, how will the dealer know what oil you ran in it? If you think they're going to test the viscosity or send a sample to a lab for analysis, save the oil you currently have in it and if you have a problem, put your old oil in it before going to the dealer.

 

[2024 White Tahoe]

I switched to 5w30 in our 5.3 Yukon last oil change. Feels smoother and happier. Did the same last year with my previous 2019 Silverado 1500’s 5.3 with the same results.

Interesting tidbit - I now have a 2024 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. Toyota specs 0w16. I ran 0w20 and then last oil change switched it to 5w30. With it being a hybrid the engine goes off and on a lot and I can REALLY tell the start ups are smoother and it runs quieter. I’m 3,000 miles in and can’t tell a noticeable difference in mpg.

How does an inanimate object, a motor vehicle, feel happier?

 

[vcode]

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! What do the GM engineers know, anyway? They're the ones that created the camshaft problem in the first place. As well as all the transmission problems, etc.

IF you have a problem, how will the dealer know what oil you ran in it? If you think they're going to test the viscosity or send a sample to a lab for analysis, save the oil you currently have in it and if you have a problem, put your old oil in it before going to the dealer.

What camshaft problem?

 

[swathdiver]

My 22 Tahoe has a 5.3L engine. It's now out of warranty. I've never liked the EPA forced 0-20W oil. I would like to start using 5-30W oil. I'm curious if anyone has done something similar and if the dealer objected to doing the work.

As best I can tell, the bearing clearances are the same between the LS and LT engines. GM now says to use 0W40 in the 6.2 LT engines in the recall. The older LS engines did just fine with 5W30 or even 10W30. The thinner oil sacrificed longevity for fuel economy. You don't have to use it.

How does an inanimate object, a motor vehicle, feel happier?

Mine runs cooler, revs better and is just plain happier with clean oil running through it's veins (oil galleries)!

 

[Vladimir2306]

It is absolutely forbidden to use index 5 instead of 0. You are ruining your engine on cold start, the most harmful mode for the engine. If you want to try thicker oil, pour 0-30, but not 5-30.

 

[West 1]

Vadimir, I think you are over stating the need for 0 weight oil. For many years the engines ran fine with straight 30W oil, yes they did not live as long but most of that was due to carburetors rather than fuel injection. Fuel injection and electronic spark control doubled engine life as soon as it was introduced.

I worked as an engine specialist for Federal Mogul, we supplied most of GM engine bearings for the 30 years I worked there. I would have no issue changing from 0-20 to 5-30 or 5-40. The engine bearings would last longer not shorter. Roller lifers need a fast oil supply but even those would be fine with 5-30 or 40. If you wish to run 0-40W that would offer the same start up speed of flow while still offering good protection for the bearings.

Run what you are comfortable with but no GM dealer is goind to decline coverage because the engine has 5-30 in the crankcase.

One exception I know of, Ford with their 4.6L V8 early on stated the engine had to have 5-20 W oil, in that engine the oil pump was so weak it would flow 5-20W but if the owner switched to thicker oil and went to start the engine on a cold day the oil pump could not push the oil and it would starve rod bearings and cause engine failure. Only in cold climates, 15-25* mornings were too cold for that combo. We saw lots of failures. Melling came out with a better oil pump right away for that application and fixed the issue.

I did not see this on any other engine but I left the industry in 2019 so information is a little out of date now.

 

[B-train]

Another interesting tidbit to add fuel to the fire about CAFE garbage (across all makes):

I bought a 2025 malibu as an extra car for the family in case we need something if one of the yukons goes down, or a kids car messes up. It has a 1.5L turbo motor that specifies 0w-20. In prior years of cars with turbos (Ford fusion) they always had a thicker oil than non-turbo - 5w-30 vs 5w-20 persay.

In looking for a replacement car for one of my kids, I've been eyeing the 2016 and newer malibu. After looking at several of them with the same 1.5L motor, they ALL had 5w-30 on the oil cap!! I'm not sure what model year it changed to 0w-20, but it holds true to the CAFE grasping at anything they can to eek out a smidgen more MPG on the factory tests.

I changed the oil at 6k miles (1st change at dealership at 2200 miles) and put in 5w-30. It runs as smooth as a top, not one issue.

Moral of the story: bean counters and ignorant officials will never know what is actually BEST long term - they see $$$$, pats on the ass for saving a tree or two (speculation), and how good the charts and graphs will look at the next meeting. Their blinders don't allow them to see the larger picture of failed motors, people paying through the nose for unnecessary repairs, and the additional environmental impacts (think DEF and Regen systems, having to manufacture new motors because of their programmed failures), etc.

Years of wrenching and doing development work tells me to stick with what I've been doing all along. Plus, seeing what the OEMs use for non-CAFE motors shows more real truth about what they will actually work well with, and hold up long term under heavy use.

 

[fondupot]

It is absolutely forbidden to use index 5 instead of 0. You are ruining your engine on cold start, the most harmful mode for the engine. If you want to try thicker oil, pour 0-30, but not 5-30.

Maybe in the great white frozen north of Russia, the 0W vs 5W makes a difference on cold start. But in normal operating conditions the difference at startup is negligible.

 

[jfoj]

Thin oils benefit the CAFE requirements, allow the manufactures to show a slightly higher power output for their specs and helps the manufacturer sell more vehicles because the engines will will not last. This also keeps the dealership service departments busy either under Warranty of outside of Warranty if people do not take their vehicle to an independent shop.

0W20 and lower viscosity oils SUX, do not use it. All the cry babies that are worried about Warranty coverage are just that, cry babies.

The other MAJOR issue is that Tri-Metal engine bearings have effectively been phased out. It started in Europe where the environmental cartels banned Lead in everything from electrical solder to engine bearings. Most of the current bearings are Bi-Metal aluminum bearings which are hard and very unforgiving to thin lubricants. Many manufactures ended up using coated bearings to offset the stupid aluminum problems, GM did use coated bearings in most locations, but some bean counter decided to stop running coated rod bearings and this is where a lot of the current problems cropped up with major engine failures. The coated bearings were originally thought needed for the ASS (Auto Stop/Start) but in reality they are a life saver for these engines running 0W20 engine oil. But again, GM stopped using coated rod bearings in most engines some time ago, they still use coated main bearings in most of the V8's last I was aware. Thicker oil and coated bearings reduces critical nature of the final bearing journal finish. Thicker oil and coated bearings are far more forgiving and a much better option for these 6000 lb trucks that haul, tow and are under extreme low RPM loading.

Also all the experts that want to run the oil to 7500 miles or even much longer are fools. The stupid Europeans had 15,000 mile OCI, but most have reduced to 10,000 mile OCI. The Euro spec oils are loaded with more additives in order to try and get to these 10-15k mile OCI. Just change the oil by 4-5k miles depending on vehicle use and driving conditions. Modern DI engines are actually very hard to oil and 3-4k OCI is probably wiser.

While Oil Analysis may say the oil is still good and you can run it for many more miles, it is full of dirt and contaminates that the oil filter CANNOT remove. The ONLY way to get the stuff the oil filter will not capture out of the engine is to drain the engine oil. Keep in mind on these truck the oil cooler loop will keep quite of bit of old dirty oil that cannot be drained during an oil change so the only option for this is frequent oil changes, "The Solution To Pollution Is Dilution!". The needle bearings in the roller lifters will be grinding away on all the particles the oil filter cannot capture and if you have no other failures, the needle bearings in the roller lifters will continue to suffer.

As they say, "Oil Is CHEAPER THAN STEEL".

Dealership will NEVER touch my vehicles for oil changes.

 

[swathdiver]

...CAFE garbage

CAFE is gone!

 

[jfoj]

But we will be living with the years of stupidity for a long time!!

Non technical bureaucrats, politicians and bean counters making technical decisions has cost all of us a lot of money and created an entire generation of unreliable mechanical things from household appliances, HVAC systems to the vehicles we drive. They all fail too often, are far too difficult and expensive to repair and need to be replaced far too often.

 

[PPK_]

Thin oils benefit the CAFE requirements, allow the manufactures to show a slightly higher power output for their specs and helps the manufacturer sell more vehicles because the engines will will not last. This also keeps the dealership service departments busy either under Warranty of outside of Warranty if people do not take their vehicle to an independent shop.

0W20 and lower viscosity oils SUX, do not use it. All the cry babies that are worried about Warranty coverage are just that, cry babies.

The other MAJOR issue is that Tri-Metal engine bearings have effectively been phased out. It started in Europe where the environmental cartels banned Lead in everything from electrical solder to engine bearings. Most of the current bearings are Bi-Metal aluminum bearings which are hard and very unforgiving to thin lubricants. Many manufactures ended up using coated bearings to offset the stupid aluminum problems, GM did use coated bearings in most locations, but some bean counter decided to stop running coated rod bearings and this is where a lot of the current problems cropped up with major engine failures. The coated bearings were originally thought needed for the ASS (Auto Stop/Start) but in reality they are a life saver for these engines running 0W20 engine oil. But again, GM stopped using coated rod bearings in most engines some time ago, they still use coated main bearings in most of the V8's last I was aware. Thicker oil and coated bearings reduces critical nature of the final bearing journal finish. Thicker oil and coated bearings are far more forgiving and a much better option for these 6000 lb trucks that haul, tow and are under extreme low RPM loading.

Also all the experts that want to run the oil to 7500 miles or even much longer are fools. The stupid Europeans had 15,000 mile OCI, but most have reduced to 10,000 mile OCI. The Euro spec oils are loaded with more additives in order to try and get to these 10-15k mile OCI. Just change the oil by 4-5k miles depending on vehicle use and driving conditions. Modern DI engines are actually very hard to oil and 3-4k OCI is probably wiser.

While Oil Analysis may say the oil is still good and you can run it for many more miles, it is full of dirt and contaminates that the oil filter CANNOT remove. The ONLY way to get the stuff the oil filter will not capture out of the engine is to drain the engine oil. Keep in mind on these truck the oil cooler loop will keep quite of bit of old dirty oil that cannot be drained during an oil change so the only option for this is frequent oil changes, "The Solution To Pollution Is Dilution!". The needle bearings in the roller lifters will be grinding away on all the particles the oil filter cannot capture and if you have no other failures, the needle bearings in the roller lifters will continue to suffer.

As they say, "Oil Is CHEAPER THAN STEEL".

Dealership will NEVER touch my vehicles for oil changes.

there is my 500 mile change on my 2024 5.3-it is full of a catastrophic mess of containtiments... which the filter did not get... at the end of the day... you need clean oil if the engine is to last.

 

[B-train]

Thin oils benefit the CAFE requirements, allow the manufactures to show a slightly higher power output for their specs and helps the manufacturer sell more vehicles because the engines will will not last. This also keeps the dealership service departments busy either under Warranty of outside of Warranty if people do not take their vehicle to an independent shop.

0W20 and lower viscosity oils SUX, do not use it. All the cry babies that are worried about Warranty coverage are just that, cry babies.

The other MAJOR issue is that Tri-Metal engine bearings have effectively been phased out. It started in Europe where the environmental cartels banned Lead in everything from electrical solder to engine bearings. Most of the current bearings are Bi-Metal aluminum bearings which are hard and very unforgiving to thin lubricants. Many manufactures ended up using coated bearings to offset the stupid aluminum problems, GM did use coated bearings in most locations, but some bean counter decided to stop running coated rod bearings and this is where a lot of the current problems cropped up with major engine failures. The coated bearings were originally thought needed for the ASS (Auto Stop/Start) but in reality they are a life saver for these engines running 0W20 engine oil. But again, GM stopped using coated rod bearings in most engines some time ago, they still use coated main bearings in most of the V8's last I was aware. Thicker oil and coated bearings reduces critical nature of the final bearing journal finish. Thicker oil and coated bearings are far more forgiving and a much better option for these 6000 lb trucks that haul, tow and are under extreme low RPM loading.

Also all the experts that want to run the oil to 7500 miles or even much longer are fools. The stupid Europeans had 15,000 mile OCI, but most have reduced to 10,000 mile OCI. The Euro spec oils are loaded with more additives in order to try and get to these 10-15k mile OCI. Just change the oil by 4-5k miles depending on vehicle use and driving conditions. Modern DI engines are actually very hard to oil and 3-4k OCI is probably wiser.

While Oil Analysis may say the oil is still good and you can run it for many more miles, it is full of dirt and contaminates that the oil filter CANNOT remove. The ONLY way to get the stuff the oil filter will not capture out of the engine is to drain the engine oil. Keep in mind on these truck the oil cooler loop will keep quite of bit of old dirty oil that cannot be drained during an oil change so the only option for this is frequent oil changes, "The Solution To Pollution Is Dilution!". The needle bearings in the roller lifters will be grinding away on all the particles the oil filter cannot capture and if you have no other failures, the needle bearings in the roller lifters will continue to suffer.

As they say, "Oil Is CHEAPER THAN STEEL".

Dealership will NEVER touch my vehicles for oil changes.

AMEN! Many valid points, especially the direct injected oil dilution. I remember when the 3.6L DI motors came out. An oil change on one of them smelled like somebody dumped a cup of gasoline in the crankcase. That oil couldn't wait to get out of there once the plug was dropped.

Just run it to 7500 miles........it'll be fine. LOL

 

[vcode]

When will this conversation end? 0W20 has been used for decades now in a variety of applications, including GM's 5.3L. There are tens of millions of vehicles out there that have run hundreds of billions (if not a trillion) of miles with no major issues. I have not seen any issues with the 5.3L since they changed to 0W20 over a decade ago. You guys make it sound like using 0W20 is like pouring acid and sand into your engine when the real world says something completely different.

 

[jfoj]

Continue to drink the punch!!! I know you will because you claim 0W20 is fine for millions of vehicles. Consider the application, this is important.

But you have you mind made up, that is great, you do what you want.

0W20 is not for long term reliability in many applications.

There are an number of variables here and GM has made many changes over the years and not for the better, maybe this is why there are close to 800,000 recalled 6.2l engines. You see, the 5.3l is a different beast and puts out less torque so it cannot harm itself as easy as the 6.2l.

 

[Silverado4x4]

there is my 500 mile change on my 2024 5.3-it is full of a catastrophic mess of containiments... which the filter did not get... at the end of the day... you need clean oil if the engine is to last.

Pretty normal for the first oil change at 500 miles.

 

[Silverado4x4]

Continue to drink the punch!!! I know you will because you claim 0W20 is fine for millions of vehicles. Consider the application, this is important.

But you have you mind made up, that is great, you do what you want.

0W20 is not for long term reliability in many applications.

There are an number of variables here and GM has made many changes over the years and not for the better, maybe this is why there are close to 800,000 recalled 6.2l engines. You see, the 5.3l is a different beast and puts out less torque so it cannot harm itself as easy as the 6.2l.

You say close to 800,000 engines recalled are all the motors going to be replaced? Noooooo

 

[Z15]

You say close to 800,000 engines recalled are all the motors going to be replaced? Noooooo

The real number is under 600,000. The problem was not oil, its shoddy parts.

The fact is that 0W-20 oil has been the factory-fill for many millions of engines in the last 20 yrs from Honda, Toyota and GM (to name a few) there will still be those who want to believe the myth that 0W-20 oils will wear out engines.