5w30?

Aren't we supposed to use 10w30?

I scanned through but didn't see it....

Bobby, How many miles was on the engine that blew up?

crap wrong austin, for some reason i thought it was the austin from jersey...woops lol

130k

Won't make any real difference. Both are 30 weight base (at normal temps, they're 30 weight oil), but when its cold out, the conditioners in the 5w make it thinner. You would only notice it when its cold out and even then, it would just help with startups. After that, it goes back to 30 weight as the engine warms.

Still if the engine was designed for a thicker start-up viscosity I'd imagine it'd have some effect as to the long term wearing of engine components.

There's a reason why GM designated that particular viscosity for that engine.

Damage to bearings usually occurs during cold startup this is when it is important to have a good quality oil that leaves a nice film after shutdown,I would'nt say using 5-30 would cause damage but I certainly would'nt recommend it in the south I always use RP 10-30 and after every oilchange cut open the oil filter to check for debris it your finding any metal bitsyou have a problem that needs to be addressed,low oil pressure is a classic sign of excessive bearing clearance and nothing will save it .Chico(pops)

When you get the new engine, I wouldn't recommend changing it when it hits 20%.

I change mine at 40-50% but never under. This always equated to 3000 miles on my car. The more numerous changes is worth it.

Ey Bobby, I haven't seen this post, but I can't believe something like that happens to a car as your which is so cared.

Hope she gets well soon!

Yeah my DIC just hit 50%, but it's been about 3 months and a couple days and about 3,400 miles since my last oil change. Most of it is highway miles so it's not that bad. I will probably be changing it this weekend though.

I'll use my $50 gift card that I got at work for being employee of the month! YAY

....now I gotta look at some rotors/brakes.

First off, sorry Bobby about your engine, I hope whatever you decide will last you the life of the car this time!!

Second, I'm not trying to start a different subject on the oil change meter topic, but we change our oil when the meter says Low. That usually amounts to around 7k miles on the change, although we do have to add some oil during the oil changes! The motor has 175k i think on it or close to it. It might blow up tomorrow now that I've said that, but I was just stating our method on the oil changes. Many people hate Quaker State, but we have always ran that in all our cars the majority of the time and that is the same for the GTP, 10W-30. We have ran some high mileage Valvoline for a few oil changes, but back on the QS.

I never wait that long, my oil light has never even said "low".

Every 3k or 3 months

I'm a proponent of changing oil based on how the motors used. Stop and go no short runs every 3k. If it's all highway 7k. I did this long before I had a car with an oil life monitor and I have to say that the monitor on these cars falls in line with my thinking. I changed my oil before I drove my car from Maine to CA (roughly 3500 miles) and my oil life meter was at about 45%. Since my wifes been using it to commute to work and school it says low at about 3k.

low with 3k? wow.

The one thing I'd waste my money on is changing oil every 3k even though its not needed.

Given, Austin's engine may not have died due to oil. Could have been coolant, unusual wear in one location, etc.

Austin: Keep us tuned on your decision. Look behind you. That 100 guys that got your back aren't the Verizon network. Its just us. Chillin.

In the immortal words of Obi-Wan Kenobi...

"If you should strike me down, I will rise to become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."

130k...thats scary Bobby, especially since mine just turned over 128k I do know what you mean about a mechanic you can trust, so I hope you get it running again soon. I can attest personally to what nice car you have and I thank you for that experience.

May the Force be with you...always.