Spring Maintenance

[LuvRving]

Hi Folks!

My 2012 3500 GMC diesel has about 52000 km (32500mi) on it. The transfer case fluid has been changed at 35000 km and I change the oil and filter at every 6000 km as well as a complete lube job. I change the fuel filter every spring. Otherwise, it has a complete route checkup. athe tires are rotated on a regular basis. At every oil change I have a spin on transmission filter changed. I do many of these changes even before the recommended times...I try hard to to take good care of it and avoid issues during the summer. It is recommended that the transmission fluid be changed at 72000 km with extreme use; I may change it soon anyway.

Just wondering if there are other things I can do now to treat it well. The 3 year warranty is done now with 2 more years left on the drive train...I may get a new one in 2 years but I know it's got lots of life left yet.

Thanks for any recommendations!

About another 40 days before the fifth comes out of storage....I love spring!!!!!!!!

[Don Wilson]

Joe,
You take such good care of the truck it should last over 200,000 miles unless the weather conditions (snow and salt) in your area are causing rust issues on the body and under carriage.

Don

[snoking]

Changing oil every 3728 Miles is a bit of a waste of good oil! Sounds like a Quick Lube sales job! Chris

[LuvRving]

No Quick Lube sales job! I go to my GM dealership and tell them what I want done and they do it. They do advise me that the oil changes are a little frequent but that's the way I am with my trucks. At my dealership I get every third oil, lube and filter free. They treat me well on my trades as well...the dealership and the customers know what they're getting when they buy my used vehicle. This truck is my 13th from the same dealership since 1976. Never had a break down on the highway! If there is ever an issue I will be satisfied that I did the maintenance. I'm a happy camper!

Salt is a problem here but I get the truck undercoated every fall. There is 3 feet of snow around my driveway but it will go quickly.

[Secondhand Mike]

I have my oil and filter changed on my diesel every 5000 miles and fuel filter and tire rotation every 10,000 miles.
Mike

[snoking]

No Quick Lube sales job! I go to my GM dealership and tell them what I want done and they do it. They do advise me that the oil changes are a little frequent but that's the way I am with my trucks. At my dealership I get every third oil, lube and filter free. They treat me well on my trades as well...the dealership and the customers know what they're getting when they buy my used vehicle. This truck is my 13th from the same dealership since 1976. Never had a break down on the highway! If there is ever an issue I will be satisfied that I did the maintenance. I'm a happy camper!

Salt is a problem here but I get the truck undercoated every fall. There is 3 feet of snow around my driveway but it will go quickly.

If your truck is anything like our 2004 Buick Rainier the dash has an oil life indicator and the engineers have work on it to provide reasonable data to the users. I follow that pretty closely. On my 2001.5 RAM I try to do it at around 5K, but if it goes 6-7K I do not worry to much, as it holds 11 qts of oil and that in it's self extends oil life. Of course we live in this throw away society now a days. I wonder how many barrels of oil would be saved each year just in North America if people quit wasting it on early oil changes?

Here is some other interesting data:

Linda Gaines: Less idling, less oil
Linda Gaines, a Systems Analyst in the Center for Transportation Research at Argonne National Lab, studies vehicle idling. We’re all familiar with idling—sitting at traffic lights, waiting in a running car to pick someone up, watching trucks idle while their drivers make deliveries.

Cumulatively, the impact of vehicle idling is huge. In the U.S. alone, idling uses more than 6 billion gallons of fuel each year. In one study, Linda’s research team addressed a common dilemma faced by fast-food customers—do you use less fuel to drive-thru, or to park, go inside the restaurant, and then restart the car? The answer: idling for longer than 10 seconds consumes more fuel and produces more global warming pollution than stopping and restarting, so you’re better off going inside the restaurant.

Linda’s team turns their findings into practical tools to help drivers reduce their idling, and even created an online IdleBox toolkit in partnership with the Department of Energy’s Clean Cities Program.

Given the amount of oil wasted by idling vehicles each year, Linda’s work is making important progress towards improving vehicle fuel efficiency—a key piece of the UCS Half the Oil plan.

Check out an interview with Linda here.

Chris

[Mike Clay]

I change mine every 5k also. I also get a good price for trades. This is as long as I have gone. Had it changed in Chattanooga Tennessee and a couple weeks ago here in Kerrville. The oil minder was at 25% left. Normally I change it at 50%. But had a lot of tow miles on it. Now all ready for the trip home.

[Dale Crenshaw]

Mike,
Do you use synthetic oil in your Duramax? I am the next oil change, probably use Shell Rotella T6.
Does anyone else use this oil?

[watkinsk]

Dale, I use the Rotella T6 in my 2012 F350 and in my 2009 Goldwing. For synthetic it is a very reasonable price and it seems to work very well. I especially like the 5-40 weight. That weight is truly an all-season weight. P.S. I also try to use a better oil filter ...usually Napa Gold on sale...and avoid Fram oil filters at all cost

[Mike Clay]

No, only where required.

[Don Wilson]

I also try to use a better oil filter ...usually Napa Gold on sale...and avoid Fram oil filters at all cost

Keith why do you avoid Fram oil filters, I use use Wix but just wondered??

Don

[snoking]

I also try to use a better oil filter ...usually Napa Gold on sale...and avoid Fram oil filters at all cost

Keith why do you avoid Fram oil filters, I use use Wix but just wondered??

Don

Fram filters killed a lot of 5.9 Cummins. Filter material breaks fee and blocks the piston cooling jet in the block and the cylinder goes by by!! These jets are below the piston and spray oil on the piston bottom and cylinder wall!

Chris

[Don Wilson]

Thanks for the answer Chris I was not aware of that. I wonder how many people who have there only changed by a oil change place don't know what kind of oil filter they get?
I usually take my own oil, Delo 400 and Wix filter and just pay labor!

Don

[watkinsk]

Don, the horror stories about Fram oil filters are legend.
I haven't heard anything bad about Wix. In fact, one of the rumors out there is that the Napa Gold is a upper end Wix (no idea if this is true). One of the things I was taught about filters is to always look for an oil filter that uses metal end caps rather than the fiberboard end cap.
Strangely enough, but Walmart used to sell one of the best filter brands...called Super Tech. Unfortunately Wally World discontinued the brand and now sells Purolators (a brand on par with Wix and Napa Gold).

[ynot2013]

Well I was bought up with recommendation that these big American trucks will last forever and I believe 350,000 miles is nothing unusual over here, good clean air filters and regular oil filter changes will minimise engine wear. Our Cardinal and truck are a dream.