funky_junk

If you don't have your oil changed at the dealership do they give you trouble if you have to have warranty work done?
I went to the dealership to have my 3000 mile oil change this morning. I figured I had about 30-45 minutes to spare so I walked around the lot. Came back after 45 minutes and asked about my car. He said he would check on it. Came back 15 minutes later and said "They're pulling it in now." I left and plan to never go back. If they are backed up or just don't have room they should tell you before I waste 1.5 hours again.

rant over.

Looks like I'm doing it myself from now on.

ZX1100F1

Just keep receipts for the oil and filter and jot down the date and mileage.
GM won't try to chicken schit you out of a claim unless it is obvious that you have slacked off on scheduled maintenance, and then they may ask to see records or receipts.

funky_junk

How often do you recommend changing the oil, zx? I know 3k is the norm but my oil life is still over 60% and the guy said they require 6k.

deejayrock

Yeah I would like to know this as well, my Tahoe has 3k on it and the manual says "1st scheduled maintainence, 7500 mi"....I know that's what the manual says but I'm looking to change it earlier than that.
Thanks, Jay

ZX1100F1

If you plan on driving the Tahoe until the wheels fall off then here’s the skinny:

Always use a good quality oil filter, AC Delco are decent, the $10 synthetic media filters are superior but may not be worth the expense (you'll have to decide).

You should make your first oil change at about 1,500 miles to get rig of all the suspended microscopic break-in particles that are not entrapped by the filter.
Then you are ok to follow the oil life monitor providing that you use a full synthetic oil (Mobile-1 5w-30 is highly recommended by GM) but many of you might have a favorite and the worst synthetic is generally better than the best mineral based product.

If you use regular mineral based motor oil then it would be wise to change the oil every 3-4k miles (or when the monitor reads about 50%) especially if towing or heavy stop and go in the heat.

Always change the oil when it the motor is at normal operating temperature and allow it to sit with the drain-plug out for as long as possible to allow as much contaminated oil to drip out as possible.
Make sure to clean the area around the filler neck and use a sparkling clean funnel (if needed) so you do not introduce any contamination to the engine when refilling.

The use of solvents in the crank case (such as Motor Flush) or any additives is strongly discouraged.

If you aren't going to keep the vehicle beyond 100,000 miles then follow the oil life monitor and use regular oil.

This topic has been the basis for some major league heated debates though and everyone has they're own ideas and opinions (which I respect).

funky_junk

How many quarts does the 07 Tahoe take?

biglg

Would like to know myself!

Also, is a synthtic blend worth using over a non synthetic oil?

funky_junk

Yes

ZX1100F1

2007 Tahoe's crankcase holds 6 quarts of oil with a filter change, which you should always do.

Synthetic blend (also called Semi-synthetic) oils offer no benefit in lubricating properties nor do they stand up any better in the heat or flow any better in the cold than standard mineral (conventional) based oils , they should be treated as regular mineral oils when it comes to oil changes.
We're not seeing any difference in performance between these two types of oils and actually most semi-synthetic oils that we have tested contain only about 5% synthetic base stock.

As a rule of thumb; use either a conventional motor oil or a 100% synthetic product.

biglg

Is this a true statement Dave?

Once you go fully synthetic you cant go back? Back to non synthetic oil???