Changed the oil at 3500 miles. Then am planning the second at 7500. At 6500 now and the oil life moniter is at 5% life left. do i just ignore that and push it out until i am ready ? I know the moniter is not a moniter but a
Suggestion based on your driving habits. I just want to make sure the thing won’t go into limp mode. I will be hauling my toy box (12,000 lbs) on Thursday and my boat this weekend and don’t want to have any issues. Anyone have some advice.

It's not going to go into limp mode. Sounds like you have about 150 miles left, how far are your tows?

About 3.5 hours or 150-200 miles each way, Thursday and Sunday. Through the desert. Boat is short, garage to launch ramp.

It will increase significantly (change time) with mileage. The older the truck gets the longer it will take to get to zero%.

If you are still with conventional oil, I would stick with what the DIC tells you.

If you are switching or have switched to synthetic, I would re-set it or just pick a mileage. I have found that 10,000 works well for my application - regardless of where the DIC is at that point. The DIC won't know whether you are running conventional or synthetic.

Is yours REALLY an '09 with an LML??

I plan on synthetic oil after the 3rd change or after 10,000 miles or so. so it would be a good idea to change the oil prior to the pull ?

I am not trying to steal your post COMPWEST. I was wondering the same thing as far as how long before an oil change. Should it be miles or when DIC tells me? If its miles then how many? If it is what the DIC says, at what %? I get 5 free oil changes a year from my dealer so the cost is not an issue for me, I just want to do my DMax right.

I plan on synthetic oil after the 3rd change or after 10,000 miles or so. so it would be a good idea to change the oil prior to the pull ?
Again, is yours really an LML from 2009???

Probably won't change a thing.

But, fresh motor with metal surfaces finding their new homes - it can't HURT the engine to change it.

Is it mandatory? No.

As a happy-medium, you might just crawl under, change the FILTER, drop a new quart in it, and run it until your change. Filters are cheap and easy to change.

I am not trying to steal your post COMPWEST. I was wondering the same thing as far as how long before an oil change. Should it be miles or when DIC tells me? If its miles then how many? If it is what the DIC says, at what %? I get 5 free oil changes a year from my dealer so the cost is not an issue for me, I just want to do my DMax right.
The five free changes would be based off of your DIC. At 5%, you're ready. Some guys here use "25%" as their change time.

Again, if you later switch to synthetic, you can pick a 100+% or just a mileage. I had mine tested at 10,000 miles (on the truck) with 7,000 on the Delvac-1 oil and they said it could go another 7,000 or so with a filter change. I just figure 10,000 is good and safe, but not over-kill.

2009, Lmm. Where did you see LML ?

2009, Lmm
Ah. Ok. Your garage confused me.

LMAO, I was like .......What ?

OHH, The garage is f&%%ed up....sorry

Moving to Maintenance & Fluids...

I would probably go with dropping the oil and filter before the trip since you are towing on top of it- the filter drop is a good idea, but if you are going to do that you just as well do both at the same time.... (I am presuming that you are talking 7500 miles on the oil since the last change, not 7500 on the truck with the oil just changed at 3500?).

Changed the oil at 3500 miles. Then am planning the second at 7500. At 6500 now and the oil life moniter is at 5% life left. do i just ignore that and push it out until i am ready ? I know the moniter is not a moniter but a
Suggestion based on your driving habits. I just want to make sure the thing won’t go into limp mode. I will be hauling my toy box (12,000 lbs) on Thursday and my boat this weekend and don’t want to have any issues. Anyone have some advice.

Did you reset the oil life monitor after the first change???????

3000 miles and only 5% oil life left is very strange.

I did my first change at 5K miles, I'm now at about 10.5K, and oil monitor shows 58% oil life remaining.
I'm planning approx 10K between changes.

I know its sounds strange but yes i did the first oil change at 3500 miles and reset the monitor. I was going to wait 4000 miles or until 7500 miles total for the second change. Now at just 6500 miles total on the truck i have 5% oil life left. Thats a 3000 mile oil change. WTF? I guess i will change the oil tomorrow and see what happs.....

I get approx 8,500 miles between oil changes, using oil life monitor.

I have a 09 LMM and change every 7500 miles with Rotella T.....my 04 went thru the same routine with no problems and I tow a 13000 lb 5er about 6000 to 7000 miles a yr in the Rocky Mountains......No problems

I don't recall the mileage(s) when mine first tripped, but it is SHORT intervals until about 700-7500. After I dumped in synthetic at 6000, the mileage went much longer. Not, of course, due to the syn, as the monitor can't know the difference. However, I think they program it that way so that we change the oil obsessively the first few times for the fresh motor.

The only other reason it would be getting down to 0 real fast is short-city driving.

i do alot of short city driving. lots of stop and go and trips less that 15 min at a time

i do alot of short city driving. lots of stop and go and trips less that 15 min at a time
That will speed up your change interval(s). The more highway driving, the longer the interval(s).

I was just hopeing that i would get more milage out of the oil changes. My last 2007 6.0 Gas I went 4000 between Mobil 1 oil changes and would still have 40% - 50% left on the moniter. Same driving, same guy. Thanks for everyones advice, I will change the oil tomorrow and let everyone know how it goes in a few months. I have a Blackstone Lab bottle, should i have the oil checked at this point ?

I was just hopeing that i would get more milage out of the oil changes. My last 2007 6.0 Gas I went 4000 between Mobil 1 oil changes and would still have 40% - 50% left on the moniter. Same driving, same guy. Thanks for everyones advice, I will change the oil tomorrow and let everyone know how it goes in a few months. I have a Blackstone Lab bottle, should i have the oil checked at this point ?
Oh, you will. Mine goes so long now, it made me nervous. After I had the oil tested, I didn't worry about it. In the future, with ANY long trips, you will be in the 6000-7000 category. Just be patient.

I suspect that if you do a lot of short trip city driving that it's the dpf regens that are causing the short oil change intervals. The dic uses operating conditions to predict the interval, and I saw a single in-city regen use up almost 18% of my oil life. I'm now at 2673 miles and 67%, so I'll be doing good to get 4000 miles out of this oil. That's why I'll be using Rotella or Delo rather than Mobil One.

It would be interesting to see what % fuel you have in your oil right now, but I don't know if you want to spend $35 to satisfy my curiousity!

I am looking for 4000-6000 miles per oil change. Hopefully time will allow that ....

I suspect that if you do a lot of short trip city driving that it's the dpf regens that are causing the short oil change intervals. The dic uses operating conditions to predict the interval, and I saw a single in-city regen use up almost 18% of my oil life. I'm now at 2673 miles and 67%, so I'll be doing good to get 4000 miles out of this oil. That's why I'll be using Rotella or Delo rather than Mobil One.

It would be interesting to see what % fuel you have in your oil right now, but I don't know if you want to spend $35 to satisfy my curiousity!
The DIC/ECM does NOT know what oil you have in OR the condition of it. Also it does not know when you changed the filter or how many times. All it knows is RPM, mileage and temperature. REGENs will shorten the DIC reading due to the high temps each time.

Thus, you would get the same reading if you had Mobil, Rotella, or olive oil in the pan.

The DIC/ECM does NOT know what oil you have in OR the condition of it. Also it does not know when you changed the filter or how many times. All it knows is RPM, mileage and temperature. REGENs will shorten the DIC reading due to the high temps each time.

Thus, you would get the same reading if you had Mobil, Rotella, or olive oil in the pan.


I agree that the dic knows nothing about the type or actual condition of your oil, but I think it knows more than RPM, mileage and temperature. I suspect it uses the regen state itself as another factor, and that the added fuel required to reach regen temps in an in-city regen cause it to lower the remaining oil life rapidly because that is precisely the condition that increases the fuel contamination in the oil most rapidly. On my truck, regens at 70 mph highway cruising (high temperature regens) have almost no effect on remaining oil life.

I agree that the dic knows nothing about the type or actual condition of your oil, but I think it knows more than RPM, mileage and temperature. I suspect it uses the regen state itself as another factor, and that the added fuel required to reach regen temps in an in-city regen cause it to lower the remaining oil life rapidly because that is precisely the condition that increases the fuel contamination in the oil most rapidly. On my truck, regens at 70 mph highway cruising (high temperature regens) have almost no effect on remaining oil life.
Well, I can't comment on how much a regen changes the oil life. Mine hasn't regen'd in two years. So, you definitely would have more accurate info than myself on that front.

i do alot of short city driving. lots of stop and go and trips less that 15 min at a time

I would not sweat a change before the trip, if you can, fine. If not, notnothing casistrophic will happen.

As mentioned, those driving conditions are not ideal. If you are sensitive to the feel of the truck you can often tell it is in regen and might want to plan some sort of extended, at speed driving to clear it faster.
There are several engine monitoring systems that will tell you when you are in regen, they add some $$$ but so do frequent oil changes.

Consider pulling an oil anaylsis when you do change the oil. You or the mechanic, pull the sample half way though draining.
The analysis should relieve ongoing fears whether to trust the DIC and how long you can comfortably go between changes. In your case especially, make sure the analysis is accurately measuring fuel dilution. The $20-30 will be well spent in the long run.

Had the oil changed today, and a sample of the oil will go to blackstone this afternoon. we will see what they say. im sure i am over reacting but its my first diesel, and it cost over fifty thousand dollars, cant be to carefull.

I like the way you think!

I can see the value set in the ECM in HP tuners, for my 06 it is 9942miles. So I dont see how it adapts.

sorry guys but does the "change oil" thingy :rolleyes: actually check the oil itself, i thought it was timed to just remind you to change the oil when it hit a certain mileage. thanx fellas...

The DIC oil change monitor is not just a counter like the fuel filter monitor- at least on the 07.5+ with DPF.

I cant get the report to copy on to this page so i just copy and pasted the text so if you have seen a blackstone report you know the format and can figure out what all this means.


MAKE/MODEL: GM 6.6L Duramax
FUEL TYPE: Diesel
ADDITIONAL INFO: 2009 GMC Sierra SLE
OIL TYPE & GRADE:Shell Rotella T 15W/40
OIL USE INTERVAL:3,267 Miles


CHRIS CICOGNA
LA QUINTA, CA
PHONE:
FAX:
ALT PHONE:
EMAIL:
CHRIS: Your new Duramax appears to be breaking-in nicely at 6,734 miles. High wear metals and silicon
are not unusual finds in oils from new engines until they mature or completely break in. Iron and copper are
from steel plus brass/bronze parts and silicon is from sand-casted parts plus lubes and sealers. Our
universal averages show typical wear for a mature 6.6L diesel after 6,600 miles of oil use. Yours will start
looking that good after a few more oil changes. The oil's viscosity was normal and oil filtration (see
insolubles) was good. Check back to see improvements.
MIIHRon Oil 3267
MI/HR on Unit 6734 .. • - . Sample Date 03/30/10 - . - .
Make Up Oil Added o qts
ALUMINUM 2
CHROMIUM 1
IRON 21
COPPER 131
LEAD 5
ITIN 0
MOLYBDENUM 0
NICKEL 1
MANGANESE 1
SILVER 0
TITANIUM 0
POTASSIUM 8
BORON 19
aJ;iSILICON 21
SODIUM 3
CALCIUM 2104
MAGNESIUM 7
PHOSPHORUS 934
ZINC 1091
BARIUM 1
Values
SUSViscosity @ 210'F 71.4 69-80
cSt Viscosity @ 100°C 13.31 12.7-15.8
Flashpoint in OF SHORT >410
Fuel % - <2.0
11;';I Antifreeze % 0.0 0
r:; Water % 0.0 0.0
~·· TInBsNolubles % 0.4 <0.6

416 E. PETTIT AVE. FORT WAYNE, IN 46806 (260) 744-2380 www.blackstone-Iabs.com
©COPYRIGHT BLACKSTONE LABORATORIES 2007 LIABILITY LIMITED TO COST OF ANALYSIS

sorry guys but does the "change oil" thingy :rolleyes: actually check the oil itself, i thought it was timed to just remind you to change the oil when it hit a certain mileage. thanx fellas...


Read my post right above yours.

I can see the value set in the ECM in HP tuners, for my 06 it is 9942miles. So I dont see how it adapts.

On my 09 (with DPF) the % oil life remaining changes a LOT with driving conditions. For over 1200 miles at 75-85 MPH (empty) freeway driving it did not move from 59%. Yet, I've seen it change 19% on one tank of gas when trying to do a "city" DPF regen in the winter time. Just last week I idled the truck for about an hour and the % remaining dropped from 59 to 54% while it was idling. Yet today I drove 550 freeway miles and it's still on 54%. So I'm convinced it is adaptive on my 09. I wish I knew the rules.

On my 09 (with DPF) the % oil life remaining changes a LOT with driving conditions. For over 1200 miles at 75-85 MPH (empty) freeway driving it did not move from 59%. Yet, I've seen it change 19% on one tank of gas when trying to do a "city" DPF regen in the winter time. Just last week I idled the truck for about an hour and the % remaining dropped from 59 to 54% while it was idling. Yet today I drove 550 freeway miles and it's still on 54%. So I'm convinced it is adaptive on my 09. I wish I knew the rules.


Weird. Maybe that number is HP tuners is just a baseline for it to do calculations.