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Oil type 160k

P

peacewoodcarver

Full Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2020
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10
I'm having rear main seal replaced.
165K miles.
2007 Chevy Avalanche LTZ 5.3 flex fuel.
Do I use (previous) Mobile 1 5W- 30 full synthetic or 5W-30 sae blend or
5w-30sae Advanced milage oil.....

OR 10w-40. ** (mechanic is recommending 10w-40 weight because Im at 165K miles)**


And.... what brand oil filter?
 
5w 30 or 10w 30.
I ot think 10w 40 would hurt anything but I'm not sure how many option ae available
 
ask what mileage has to do with weight of oil.

does not air temp mean more?
heck why not use High mileage oil?
 
Used Mobile 1 5/30 in my 07 for 315K miles. No issues at all. Took the engine out to rebuild and delete
AFM add some goodies, and the machine shop said it needed nothing but a fresh cross hatch in the bores.
Rebuilt with all stock size bearings.. Hard to beat that..
 
07AVSS said:
Used Mobile 1 5/30 in my 07 for 315K miles. No issues at all. Took the engine out to rebuild and delete
AFM add some goodies, and the machine shop said it needed nothing but a fresh cross hatch in the bores.
Rebuilt with all stock size bearings.. Hard to beat that..
Click to expand...
Won't 13W-30 protect seals little better at higher milage?
 
That is possible I suppose. I never had a single leak issue with my truck, but it was driven on a very regular basis.
Leaks can occur for a variety of reasons, sitting a lot being a big one, but I do not know if a small viscosity change
will make much difference where leaks are concerned but others may know more on that topic. I was always taught
to use the best oil and stick with the same brand in the same engine. My garage floor is very clean..

Wix on the filter..

:)
 
07AVSS said:
That is possible I suppose. I never had a single leak issue with my truck, but it was driven on a very regular basis.
Leaks can occur for a variety of reasons, sitting a lot being a big one, but I do not know if a small viscosity change
will make much difference where leaks are concerned but others may know more on that topic. I was always taught
to use the best oil and stick with the same brand in the same engine. My garage floor is very clean..

Wix on the filter..

:)
Click to expand...
It hasn't been driven much within last 8 years.
The previous owner used only Moble 1 SAE full synthetic.
I bought it from him last year and put in 5W 30 sae synthetic blend per owners manual.

Mechanic replacing rear seal and gasket requested thicker oil due to 165K milage...
I'm hesitant to change due to being told all Avalanche LTZ 5.3 flex fuel engines must ALWAYS use 5w-30.
 
07AVSS said:
That is possible I suppose. I never had a single leak issue with my truck, but it was driven on a very regular basis.
Leaks can occur for a variety of reasons, sitting a lot being a big one, but I do not know if a small viscosity change
will make much difference where leaks are concerned but others may know more on that topic. I was always taught
to use the best oil and stick with the same brand in the same engine. My garage floor is very clean..

Wix on the filter..

:)
Click to expand...
How can I find correct wix filter number for 2007 lz fuel flex
 
Just to add my thoughts, all of our family GM vehicles use Mobil 1 5W-30 and either NAPA Platinum or NAPA Gold, (made by WIX) oil filters.

Sometimes the Platinum filter is not available for certain engines, so the Gold filter is used.

Both have served me well for many years.

Our oil change interval is, or is close to, each even 5K mark on the vehicle's odometer.

This makes it easy to see at a glance where I am in terms of an oil change for any of our vehicles.

I do not go by the oil life monitor and I simply reset it at each oil change to keep the message off of the dash.

Generally, I have 10-15% oil life left according to the OLM at each oil change.

My 2003 Avalanche has 272K miles, my 2004 EXT has 236K miles and our GMC Acadia has 152K miles.

I see no good reason to ever switch so-called "weights" of the oil I use.

No where have I read in an owner's manual that a so-called "heavier" weight oil is recommended simply due to a vehicles age.

I would change to a different viscosity oil if the climate I was consistently driving in was to show that a different viscosity was recommend in the owner's manual.

Here is a link to your truck's filter selections at NAPA.

NAPA is happy to ship to you if you do not have a local store.

I usually order several of each filter I need for each of our GM vehicles, just to have them in stock in the garage.
 
peacewoodcarver said:
It hasn't been driven much within last 8 years.
The previous owner used only Moble 1 SAE full synthetic.
I bought it from him last year and put in 5W 30 sae synthetic blend per owners manual.

Mechanic replacing rear seal and gasket requested thicker oil due to 165K milage...
I'm hesitant to change due to being told all Avalanche LTZ 5.3 flex fuel engines must ALWAYS use 5w-30.
Click to expand...
EXT4ME and myself are on the same page on this one. Always changed the oil on the exact same mileage intervals, did not go
by the oil life monitor. Just every 5K miles. Always used full synthetic Mobile 1 5/30. You indicated above that yours has not been driven
much for the last 8 years, That is why the seal was leaking in all likelihood. My truck was used almost daily or at least 5 days a week
for the entire 315K miles and 11 years I drove it. Never had a leak of any kind. Sitting is bad for seals , they dry out and start leaking,
I have been tinkering with cars for the last 50 years, never heard a heavier oil would help with a leak.. These LS motors can go forever with
good maintenance, oil changes being at the top of the list. Fix the seal and go right back with the same full synthetic oil, its money well
spent.
 
Last edited:
air temp? what is outside air temp you are driving in?

Every seen an oil chart viscocity chart?

Check your owners manual free to download here:

2007 Chevrolet Avalanche Owner's Manual

2007 Chevrolet Avalanche Owner's Manual
www.chevyavalanchefanclub.com www.chevyavalanchefanclub.com

Page about WHAT OIL TO USE?
Screenshot 2023-01-20 033947.png
 
peacewoodcarver said:
I'm having rear main seal replaced.
165K miles.
2007 Chevy Avalanche LTZ 5.3 flex fuel.
Do I use (previous) Mobile 1 5W- 30 full synthetic or 5W-30 sae blend or
5w-30sae Advanced milage oil.....

OR 10w-40. ** (mechanic is recommending 10w-40 weight because Im at 165K miles)**


And.... what brand oil filter?
Click to expand...
Personally I run 15w40 diesel oil and it seems to keep the engine lifter ticking to a minimum
 
High Mileage oil has an additive in it to renew (expand) your seals. Always is a very good practice to use it when you get up to 100,000 miles. One problem area that our engines have is the oil cooler block off plate (right above the oil filter with two bolts). They have a tendency to leak after a while and make it appear as if you have a rear main or oil pan gasket leak. Real easy and cheap to replace. Take it to a shop and they will tell you you need a rear main/oil pan repair $$$$$$$$ which is BS most of the time.
 
Last edited:
I would stick with 5W30 full; synthetic

Going to a 10W40 / 20W50 is "old school" thinking. From the days when bearing clearances and the like were bigger, and the oil additive package did not reduce wear as much as the modern oils do, thus this was a way to hypothetically raise oil pressure. In reality oil pressure is a simple (but indirect) indicator of adequate oil flow. Adequate oil flow is what engines actually need thru all these bearings etc, to lubricate / remove heat and prevent excessive wear / failure.

In reality as the "older generation" engines wore their clearances increased, actual oil flow also increased while indicated pressure dropped. Old school mechanics used thicker oil, (thus reducing actual oil flow) but raising indicated oil pressure, as a so called remedy.
Generally modern vehicles have tighter clearances than their predecessors, thus the manufacturers went with 5W (5 winter) weight oils, vice 10W and 20W weights.. The 5 ensures they maintain adequate oil flow in thru these tighter clearances in cold weather. Therefore alot of vehicles that recommend 5W20 list 5W30 as acceptable BUT 10W anything is not assured to maintain adequate oil flow at low temperatures.

In summary sticking with 5W30 helps ensure adequate oil flow. If indicated pressure is lower than you think is appropriate due to wear etc, the real answer is NOT thicker oil (less oil flow), but a higher volume oil pump, and / or an oil pump that has a clean (not clogged) intake.
 
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