chevy619

I was wondering what are common flaws, problems, parts to fail etc for a 2001 silverado z71 cab & half? So i know what things to look forward to and to keep an eye on.

Also the guy i bought the truck from ran 15w-40 oil and was wondering what do most of you run, probably just 10w-30. Any certain type of oil seem to work best in these trucks? I ran valvoline in my previous truck.

Just trying to take care of this truck and make it last. Thanks

MDTAHOE

Why would he run 15w-40 it is completely wrong and may have done damage to the engine. The only reason I can think he would do such a bad thing would be because the truck has low oil pressure with the correct oil. Yes the heavier oil will give better pressure reading but it reduces volume. The engine is designed for 5w-30 which is what you should use. In the winter depending on where you live you could use 0w-30. The first # is the cold rating so the lower the # the faster it moves through a cold engine. At operating temp 5w-30 and 10w -30 are the same. If you live somewhere that does not get very cold the 15w-40 may not have done too much damage

country_09

I use 10w-30 synthetic year round(doesn't get too cold here in Texas!) lol. But like said above 15w-40 is ridiculous. And the only thing I've really seen with my 01 and a few of my buddies same year model is the fuel pump, hubs, idler/pitman arms, and I did have to replace a water pump on mine and my bro's 01 Tahoe. Other than that, they've been the best trucks I've seen

chevy619

Okay so I should put 5w-30 in it when I change the oil.

country_09

That's what the cap says lol. I just know that when I use it, my infamous engine knock is louder in the mornin

96 Junk That Moves

I have a 96 with 260k on it and use 10w-40 Mobile 1 and have no problems. I run the oil for 10k and change filters every 5k. Mobil says this is ok to do and it seems to work well for me.

basilkies

Yah I find it hard to believe that oil weight will have much effect on engine wear. While I suspect it could be the difference between problems on a engine with say 250,000 miles over one with 300,000, I would bet that the bigger issue here is possible fuel mileage and I'm guessing that it would be barely measurable. Anyone got some numbers?

chevy619

Ok now another question. Just regular valvoline or should I run synthetic? Is there really any advantage to running sysnthetic or even a high mileage oil? I have heard bad things about switching between conventional and synthetic oil.

Cpb200

i have a 99 silverado with a 6.0 with 260,000 miles and i use shell rotella 15w 40 in my truck and just about everything i live in louisiana like 30miles from the gulf so it doesnt get that cold and we use it in our fire trucks and many people here swear by it down here its a good oil depending where u live but works for me
i do have 4.10 gears and gas milage sucks with 11 city and 15 highway if im lucky
my dad used to be a master tecnition for chevrolet 15 years ago and he swears by it

synthetic a lot of my friends run and they say its great and they stick by it also u can get about 10k miles before an oil change and they have reported no problems with the switch

basilkies

The advantage of synthetic oil is that it is not acidic and has a lower PH. Engines tend to produce acids when they burn fuel, so synthetics help neutralize the negative effects of the acid. So, my gut tells me that synthetics must be better for the engine.
Has anyone played around with oil filter changes, it seems to me that it can't get that clogged and that you could run it for more than two oil changes?