What is the quarts "range" on the dipstick on these trucks?

[viven44]

Smart man!

I got roasted when I asked the question about 8 qts not being enough. Granted things may have changed with the oil pan size, but a number of years ago, I think up to about 2015, all the V8 trucks indicated 8.5 qts with filter. Then with a single piece of paper, GM updated the oil fill with filter from 8.0 to 8.5 qts, nothing changed with the motors that had already been been built.

I checked my oil level when I purchased the truck and before the first oil change at 500 miles and matched the level on the dipstick. 8.0 qts did not even touch the stick when I initially poured the oil in. Sure I could have waited until overnight, but this was not my plan.

I run 9 qts and have ZERO issues. More oil to be diluted by fuel, more oil to get dirty, more oil to lubricate the engine. Given all the 6.2l problems are OIL related, this is not going to hurt anything. I also WILL NOT run 0W20 oil in the engine. Either 5W30 or 0W40. After tracking the oil temps on longer highway cruises, I am going to switch to 0W40 and see what happens with oil temps and the oil analysis.

The 6.2l in the Camero's spec 0W40 and the DI 5.3l and 6.2l in boats (doubt they have DFM in these) spec 5W30. 0W20 was speced because GM sold too many 6000 lb trucks and they were worried about the CAFE numbers.

If using 9qts puts you at or below the max level on the dipstick (of course when checking on level ground), I'd say you are good. If you are a lot higher than the dipstick max by using 9qts that would be concerning. We don't want the crank aerating the oil.

 

[jfoj]

Fine line between "lugging" or Low RPM/High Loading and High RPM/High Loading. High RPM full throttle runs just "wears" things out due to the sheer number of revoltions the engines makes as long as you do not stress things to the breaking point. Low RPM "lugging" just beats the engine down in a much shorter period of time and loads things like bearings probably beyond their limits.

The issue to get these 6000 bricks to obtain 18 MPG or more on the highway, the large engine cannot be spinning too many RPM. So the TCU (Transmission Control Unit) really manages Torque. The 6.2l puts out a lot of Torque at lower RPM so the transmission is programmed to use the Torque to keep the RPM's low. Behavior is different on the 5.3l as it does not have the raw Torque the 6.2l has, so it runs at higher RPM's to pull grades, downshifts a lot more. It may run at similar RPM on flat surfaces as the 6.2l, but find a small inclince and the 5.3l is spinning more RPM to keep up speed.

This lower RPM operation puts a lot of load on the engine, specificaly the rod bearings. With the oil temp these engines run on the highway at 225F+, and I only have a good 1st set of data for like 64F ambient temps, not the crazy Summer temps of the high 90's-100's and the pavement being like 130F from cooking in the sun all day, 0w20 starts to look and operate more like 0W10 and under extreme conditions the oil is more like 0 weight overall. Not ideal.

It is not the engines are not getting enough oil, it could be, but what oil the bearings are getting is just too thin to hold up under the extreme loading and keep the engine bearings properly lubricated and componets cool enough. Oil also has a job at cooling the engine, once the oil gets too hot, it cannot perform its intended lubrication purpose and the oil viscosity will need to be adjusted for the operation requirements of the engine at higher oil temps.

While thinner oil has lower pump loss and lower "frictional loss" or drag on moving parts rotating on the bearing surfaces, you can gain Horsepower using a lower viscosity oil. There is balancing point to keep the oil cool enough so it does not thin out more than expected and under severe duty thinner oil may not provide enough engine protection with a sufficient oil wedge in the bearing area once the oil temp increases and the oil thins out. UNFORTUATELY GM recommends 0W20 for towing as well! No way in hell I would run 0W20 with the oil temps I see when the truck is loaded with nothing but a full tank of fuel and my smiling face.

Pretty much all of these 6.2l failures lately are bearing problems, and usually bearing problems are due to lubrication problems and overheating due to insuficient cooling. And for all the 20,000+ 6.2l failures, these are highly unlikely any sort of manufacturig problem or defective part at this point in their lifespan. Many environmental factors, useage factors, maintenance factors and the common element to almost all the engine failures is 0W20 oil.

 

[jfoj]

If using 9qts puts you at or below the max level on the dipstick (of course when checking on level ground), I'd say you are good. If you are a lot higher than the dipstick max by using 9qts that would be concerning. We don't want the crank aerating the oil.

9 qts may be slightly above the full hash mark, but there is plenty of room below the windage tray and I have checked for foaming or aeration and seen nothing. Keep in mind, just check the engine oil immediately after shutting down the engine and see where the oil is shown on the dipstick, oil not fully drained back from the top end of the engine block.

Based on a number of folks indicating the full measure is around 8.7 quarts, we are talking about less than 10 oz extra oil in an area the footprint of the oil pan. You are looking at probalbly less than 1/4" overall.

 

[Vladimir2306]

Dump the 0W20 and move up to 5W30 or 0W40. The same 6.2 in the Camero is spec'ed for 0W40. And trust me the Camero does not weight 6000 lbs and run below 1700 RPM on the highway!

This is not the first time I write here. Our engines cannot have 5-30 and 0-40. The engine is designed for 0-20 for the entire service life of the car. The oil pump is designed for this oil, giving it a thicker one, and the pump gives pressure designed for 0-20, you violate the lubrication regulations of the parts laid down by the manufacturer.

 

[Vladimir2306]

Smart man!

I got roasted when I asked the question about 8 qts not being enough. Granted things may have changed with the oil pan size, but a number of years ago, I think up to about 2015, all the V8 trucks indicated 8.5 qts with filter. Then with a single piece of paper, GM updated the oil fill with filter from 8.0 to 8.5 qts, nothing changed with the motors that had already been been built.

I checked my oil level when I purchased the truck and before the first oil change at 500 miles and matched the level on the dipstick. 8.0 qts did not even touch the stick when I initially poured the oil in. Sure I could have waited until overnight, but this was not my plan.

I run 9 qts and have ZERO issues. More oil to be diluted by fuel, more oil to get dirty, more oil to lubricate the engine. Given all the 6.2l problems are OIL related, this is not going to hurt anything. I also WILL NOT run 0W20 oil in the engine. Either 5W30 or 0W40. After tracking the oil temps on longer highway cruises, I am going to switch to 0W40 and see what happens with oil temps and the oil analysis.

The 6.2l in the Camero's spec 0W40 and the DI 5.3l and 6.2l in boats (doubt they have DFM in these) spec 5W30. 0W20 was speced because GM sold too many 6000 lb trucks and they were worried about the CAFE numbers.

How did you conclude that all the problems of the 6.2 are related to the oil? There are no investigation results yet. At the same time, the 0-20 oil was also on the K2 generation, on which people drove hundreds of thousands of miles around the world.

 

[jfoj]

This is not the first time I write here. Our engines cannot have 5-30 and 0-40. The engine is designed for 0-20 for the entire service life of the car. The oil pump is designed for this oil, giving it a thicker one, and the pump gives pressure designed for 0-20, you violate the lubrication regulations of the parts laid down by the manufacturer.

Just do your research, the same oil pump is used on the 6.2l in the Camero and depending on what documentation you find and read for the Camero the recommened engine oil is either 5W30 or 0w40.

The Camero LT1 engine is pretty much the same as the L87 with the exception of a few different parts and tuning for higher output.