Help: Oil confusion....

Depmac9285

New member
Feb 1, 2013
3
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Lincoln, NE
I have a 2012 GMC Denali 2500 Duramax, Love the truck & engine! My problem is, I took it into my dealer at 8,600 mi, 12% oil life and had it serviced. When I picked it up, the dealer put a sticker saying next service is at 11,400 miles (3000 mi), then I receive a Onstar message, says next service is at 18,400 mi (10,000 mi). I also checked the oil put in and it appears to be Delvac 1300, but when I bought the truck I was told Delvac #1 full synthetic was used. Next, I contact the serv mgr who says the next service should be at 15,900 miles (7,500 mi), I contact GMC customer assistance and they say to follow the "DIC"... HELP !!! I am still not sure of when to change the oil, and what oil should be in the engine.. Thank You !!!
Dan Mac :confused:
 

blk smoke lb7

<-----Lots of green $
Nov 8, 2010
5,694
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belvidere,ill
I have a 2012 GMC Denali 2500 Duramax, Love the truck & engine! My problem is, I took it into my dealer at 8,600 mi, 12% oil life and had it serviced. When I picked it up, the dealer put a sticker saying next service is at 11,400 miles (3000 mi), then I receive a Onstar message, says next service is at 18,400 mi (10,000 mi). I also checked the oil put in and it appears to be Delvac 1300, but when I bought the truck I was told Delvac #1 full synthetic was used. Next, I contact the serv mgr who says the next service should be at 15,900 miles (7,500 mi), I contact GMC customer assistance and they say to follow the "DIC"... HELP !!! I am still not sure of when to change the oil, and what oil should be in the engine.. Thank You !!!
Dan Mac :confused:
Oil is cheap compared to the engine change it as often as you can aford with in reason.Im a little harder on my engine so i change mine every 3500 4000.
 

ryan415

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Oct 24, 2012
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I believe we put Delvac 1300 in all the duramax's we service at the dealer. Also I would not follow the DIC, it is not accurate. I change mine every 5000, sometimes alittle less
 

DAVe3283

Heavy & Slow
Sep 3, 2009
3,727
296
83
Boise, ID, USA
If you use reasonably good oil, you can follow the DIC, or longer. I've been changing mine when the DIC says to (about 10k miles), but I've gone as long as 12,000 between changes. Oil analysis shows I can go as high as 15k between changes with Chevron Delo 400 oil. And for what it is worth, my engine now has 295,482 miles on it, and oil analysis continues to come back good with 10k mile changes.

I wouldn't change the oil at less than 5k, you're just throwing money away IMO.
 

Kappa9012

MAN.... I Broke it again.
Aug 5, 2008
694
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Peoria Il
SOS is the only real way to get an accurate oil change interval, or play it safe and change every 3-4k miles.
 

Depmac9285

New member
Feb 1, 2013
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Lincoln, NE
Thanks everyone !!! I run Amsoil in all my other vehicles (Silverado, Mercedes, 4-Kawasaki motorcycles, Kawasaki Mule, lawnmowers, etc,etc)...

When I bought this truck the dealer told me it had synthetic oil in it, Now I just can't get a straight answer from the Dealer or help from GMC customer assist as to what comes in a new Duramax. All they tell me Delvac 1300 "meets" the recommended oil specs.

My cousin has a Chevy W/Duramax, his dealership says it came with synthetic & that's all they use (I would use them for service but they are over 100 miles away). They also go by the DIC for oil changes.

GMC Customer service now tells me that "There are sensors what monitor the viscosity in the Duramax, and to always follow the DIC.

I have always changed the oil in my Silverado 5.3 at 6,000 miles, now have almost 200,000 on it with no problems..

Again, Thanks !!!!! Dan
 

durallymax

New member
Apr 26, 2008
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Under The Hood
You can follow the DIC. I do the 2011 at around 7500 miles. We use cheap $7/gallon conventional oil but our UOA's always come back nice. The DIC is usually under 20% when I change it. The DIC max is `10,000 IIRC. 7500 is GMs reccomendation and is what the DEF is sized for.

The lube shop end of the dealership will always put 3,000 miles no matter what. That way they can have you back in every 3000 miles to find something else to fix. Its just that way. lube shops everywhere still do 3000 miles.

Anything under 5,000 to me is a waste with any oil. The Duramax is extremely easy on oil and is not picky.

I don't remember what spec but IIRC Delvac has been the factory fill.


My policy for determining OCI's for our fleet is this.

If it is under warranty, I go by the book. If the offer a high and a low "based on conditions" I pick the high and send a sample in. If something with their recommendation seems freakishly high I'll send a sample to confirm. The reason I do this for under warranty is due to the simple fact that if anything happens, I have less chance of the finger pointed at "improper maintenance" in their eyes.


If its not under any kind of warranty, then run it to the OEM's reccomendation and pull a sample, go longer, check again, and keep going until I find the limit. Then go to 3/4 of that limit and sample. If it is good, then thats what I use for the OCI and I will send one sample in annually for that machine. If an issue arises I will increase the UOAs until corrected.


Our feed truck is a good example. N14 Cummins. Cummins recommends 250hrs OCI. We put that on in a month, after some UOA's at intervals I've determined 1000hrs is a safe point for the cheap $7/gal oil we run for now.

With that truck, it costs about $110 to change the oil with filter and labor. I figure we'll probably get 5 years of use out of it. With a 250hr interval it would get changed 12 times per year, now its only getting changed 3 times. Thats a savings of $990. Over 5 years time that's just under $5,000.


Now lets look at the idea of "is it cheaper than an engine".

That engines useful life is generally 25,000hrs or so. For simple math we'll say it is.

That would mean you would change the oil 100 times. Lets say you use the $150 oil change special instead of doing it yourself for easy math. You would spend $15,000 on oil changes. You would save $11,250 by using a 1000hr interval. Now the big factor is will the engine wear out faster using the longer OCI. Who knows. If it makes it to 1000000 theres a lot of other factors playing into its wear.
 

Kappa9012

MAN.... I Broke it again.
Aug 5, 2008
694
0
16
Peoria Il
a measurement of viscosity is not the best approach for monitoring oil. I see a lot of SOS samples that have normal viscosity, but the oil is worn out and needs changed, as well as containing wear metals.

like durallymax eluded to, there are a lot of factors on oil degradation that should be reviewed, OR play it safe and change it early.
 

Depmac9285

New member
Feb 1, 2013
3
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0
Lincoln, NE
I agree with changing it early,,,

One of my problems has been with GMC & the Dealership I bought the truck from, just can't get a straight answer from them.

Thanks everyone for all your help !!!!!
 

duramaxJoe08

smokinjoe
Aug 27, 2011
35
0
0
Princeton Iowa
If your tuned change 3500-4000 stock 5000 don't listen to dealers they make money off working on your truck... Plus your filter can only hold so much crap.
If I pull or drag race I change at 1500 mi just think about the oil running through your HOT Turbo that has to break it down
 

durallymax

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Apr 26, 2008
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Under The Hood
If your tuned change 3500-4000 stock 5000 don't listen to dealers they make money off working on your truck... Plus your filter can only hold so much crap.
If I pull or drag race I change at 1500 mi just think about the oil running through your HOT Turbo that has to break it down

You aren't any smarter than a dealer reccomending 3000 or 8000 with out a UOA. Everything else is pure speculation and seat of the pants feel.

Not being a dick, but its like saying you have x amount of horsepower by how fast your truck feels.
 

duramaxJoe08

smokinjoe
Aug 27, 2011
35
0
0
Princeton Iowa
You aren't any smarter than a dealer reccomending 3000 or 8000 with out a UOA. Everything else is pure speculation and seat of the pants feel.

Not being a dick, but its like saying you have x amount of horsepower by how fast your truck feels.

I send out samples every oil change to monitor sample differences... Perk of my job... solids are always higher after my pulls oil always checks good...

I agree 100% I not smarter than the dealer just trust myself more.
 

durallymax

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Apr 26, 2008
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I send out samples every oil change to monitor sample differences... Perk of my job... solids are always higher after my pulls oil always checks good...

I agree 100% I not smarter than the dealer just trust myself more.

Then you do have the knowledge. Most post that they've done samples to back it up.

I know 10 year olds smarter than dealerships.
 

gr8shot

Practically stock
Apr 28, 2009
262
3
18
Grand Island, NE
I've sent in samples from my old lmm and now my lb7 at 10k miles on delvac 1300. Both were fine at that mileage. If the filter were out of capacity, it'd be pretty obvious. So no need for me to throw money away JMO tho. I haven't tried going longer than 10k yet and not sure that I will.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
 

durallymax

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Apr 26, 2008
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Under The Hood
Napa Gold.


Im going to be testing some Delo 400LE in one of our trucks to see how well it performs compared to what we have.

Were trying their grease now and liking it alot.

Delo is good stuff but its a little tougher to come by for a fleet. Readily available at walmart though.