Got my second Vette - oil question

Don't worry it will start nagging you somewhere between 15-10%. What does your DIC tell you your oil pressure is when you press the gauge button ? I believe they have different sending units?? Mike

I bought a 2000 Vette (other one is a 1990); both are coupes. The 2000 has heads-up display. The "trip" gauge states that oil has 53% life. My question, what is a good rule of thumb to change the oil; i.e. at what % should I change?

Also, the oil pressure appears to be broken (since it is registering maximum psi), could this be a connection problem, or do these have other elements I should know about?

Empty3

Mike the DIC displays the maximum psi, 130, and the heads up display is pegged all the way to the top. The ride is strong so I do not suspect an oil pump issue.

Empty3

Your oil pressure sending unit is likely the cause and would need replacement. It's located under the intake manifold so that has to come off to get to it. Not a difficult or very expensive repair.

Dave WI

Empty3 wrote:

should I change?

psi), could this be a

Found this on the web earlier this year. Was impressed and switched the C4 to this sked in January. My C5 warranty runs through March 2007 so will have one more DIC/owner's manual change late this year. Then, will switch the C5 to this sked. Meanwhile, I'm keeping oil topped up on the C5 and will make a filter change next month.

Note that the game here is regular topping-up of the crankcase along with regular filter changes. My old approach was to arbitrarily change oil every 6 months and allow level to drop down to the add mark.

This may not be applicable to the L98 since all the work was done on a LS-1. I feel comfortable with the idea though. Won't know how the DIC numbers compare until late 2007 -- should be interesting.

I've kept our 3.8L V6s on conventional oil with a 4 month change interval. (Usually 55-60% DIC oil life for those engines.) Both of those engines have a lot of short trips so I avoid synthetic.

-- PJ '89 Hookercar '02 e-blu coupe

should I change?

psi), could this be a

With my C5 (a 98 vert) I completely changed my oil changing schedule.... I now change it yearly or every 5000 miles.. with Mobil 1. and I never drive 5000 miles in a year... All the other Corvettes use regular Oil ...change at 1000 miles or 4 times a year...

I look at Oil Changes as very cheap Insurance... Plus I have a couple of lifts in the garages and changing oil is a quick job...

Bob G.

64 72 & 98 Convertibles 76 7 79 Coupes

Thanks Dave, I am getting a Chilton type of book today

Empty3

Bob, nothing but Mobile 1 on my other one too. I do not know if the previous owner used Mobile 1 (I think it should be a law), but decided to go ahead and change it.

In almost 3 years, I drove my 90 about 2800 miles (definitely weekend pleasure) and changed the oil twice. I plan to drive the 2000 closer to what you drive a year.

Empty3

I bought a 2000 Vette (other one is a 1990); both are coupes. The 2000 has heads-up display. The "trip" gauge states that oil has 53% life. My question, what is a good rule of thumb to change the oil; i.e. at what % should I change?

I change the oil in my '04 Z06 at 50% life left. I use Mobil 1. Don't pinch pennies on something so important.

Ed

I'm just posting a story I read some years ago... you draw your own conclusion:

I was getting delivery on a new Lincoln the next week. We ran it on the break in oil long enough to make sure it was broken in, then changed it to this synthetic. After a year, I had put 25,000 miles on it. And incidentally, it was garaged outside throughout the Dearborn winter. Then we pulled down the engine and looked at it. And it was so clean we put it back together, put the same oil back in and ran it for another year. All together, we ran it four years. The filters, I didn't know when to change them, so I changed them every 12,000 miles. It was tuned to factory specs with new points and plugs at 28,000 and 73,000 miles. No other engine work was required. PCV valve at teardown was perfectly clean-it had never been exhanged." Potter showed me the wear data, the engine was carefully measured when it was disassembled. "It was fantastically low. Rings and bearings were within factory tolerance, like new parts. We had never seen that in a 100,000 mile engine before." During the entire period, Potter also had periodic spectrographic oil analyses made. These figures show, of course, very low levels of wear metals, no build up of acidity (Potter used about a quart of oil per thousand miles, so additives were periodically replenished) and the insolubles were low. "People will tell you that you can't run an engine for

I bought a 2000 Vette (other one is a 1990); both are coupes. The 2000 has heads-up display. The "trip" gauge states that oil has 53% life. My question, what is a good rule of thumb to change the oil; i.e. at what % should I change?

Empty3

I bought a 2000 Vette (other one is a 1990); both are coupes. The 2000 has heads-up display. The "trip" gauge states that oil has 53% life. My question, what is a good rule of thumb to change the oil; i.e. at what % should I change?

Also, the oil pressure appears to be broken (since it is registering maximum psi), could this be a connection problem, or do these have other elements I should know about?

Empty3

Once a month, you must drive yours quite a bit. I drive mine about twice a week (maybe put 50 miles on it).

Empty3

Why not follow the manufacturer's recommendations? For my '02, that's annually or when the DIC says to do so. Both the L98 and LS-1 are driven at least 20 miles (40 miles round trip) anytime they come out of the garage. If either of these cars were 'short-trip' critters, I'd think differently--particularly since I'm using Mobil 1 with its lousy hygroscopic characteristics.

GMs recommendation fits in with the Kublin (an Amsoil guy) method <

>. Buy the best filters you can find and change them a couple of times a year. Keep the oil topped up. I drive my C5 about 5K per year. The C4 is a commuter and runs about 8K per year.

My service schedule: Every 3 mos or 3K miles: Inspect, lube, top up oil and tire rotation. Every 6 mos: Replace oil filter. Every year: Change engine oil. (Unless DIC has triggered an earlier change.)

-- PJ

Hey PJ, 10-30 or 10-40?

Empty3

Used to use 10-30 in the C4 but switched to 5W-30 to match the oil that goes in the C5. No real difference in either oil pressure or consumption in the L98 between the two weights.

The L98 runs 25-30 psi at idle and 55 psi at highway speeds--had that been a lot lower, I might have stuck with 10-30. The L98 has about 58K miles on it and uses just over a pint every 3 months. Possibly some dilution going on but I have no means to measure it. Commuting seems to have reduced the amount of white exhaust smoke on start (typical of L98 valve seal leakage). The car likes daily driving.

Too soon to tell much about consumption for the C5 but I've not had any of the C5 oil consumption issues that were in the spotlight several years ago.

-- PJ

Thanks!

Empty3

For the real aficionado, you may want to get your Babies on regular schedule of oil analysis this will show condition and any problems that may be unknown to you such as coolant leaks , dirt ingestion from poor air cleaners, or other potential hazards.

These kits are very accurate and as far as I am concerned being a fleet technician worth there weight in Gold.

I have found more problems on stuff that couldn't be seen with the naked eye, ask a ford powerstroke owner to do one. Fuel in the oil on most of those in which the owner never knew..wonder how much life was shaved off in the interim? Makes you wonder.

I personally found a coolant leak on my wife's Venture van intake that was never evident in the oil. No milk, no sludge no nothing. After the gasket was changed two more samples confirmed the repair corrected the issue.

should I change?

psi), could this be a

'I bought a 2000 Vette (other one is a 1990); both are coupes. The 2000 has heads-up display. The "trip" gauge states that oil has 53% life. My question, what is a good rule of thumb to change the oil; i.e. at what % should I change?'

REPLY: I believe that the oil life percentage indicator is based on using Mobil 1 Oil and that GM claims it isnt necessary to change it till it gets down to 0 % . However, on my 2006 , when my oil life indicator read 55% remaining, i had accumulated a bit over 5,000 miles on the oil ; as cheap as oil is, ive decided to change my Mobil 1 oil with oil filter at no more than 4,000 mile increments regardless of the oil life indicator percentage . Considering the kind of Car it is, I think its unwise to follow the oil life indicator imho.

Why do you feel it is 'un-wise' ? When systhetic oils never wear out, and the only real reason to change oil is because of contaminates that collect in the oil. Systhetic oils do not 'ash' like mineral oils, so contaminates are greatly reduced, and since all modern cars (built in the past 20 years or so ) all use fuel injection which also reduces the amout of raw gasoline that gets into the oil..... I don't see any reason to use mineral oil thinking and change it every 3 to 4 thousand miles. Granted its your car and you can do what you want, but I just wondered WHY you felt with all the improvements in engines and oils you wanted to change it so often. It certainly won't HURT anything to do so, except time and oil cost.