Help - Oil change hasn't been done yet @ 4500 miles

[firstmate]

Ok, I am way past what has been posted here because I was told to go by the DIC as to when I should change the oil. And still well over 50% oil life on the DIC.

I haven't done what DOC advised, to do an initial oil change early and then change again at 1500, so have I risked anything in my LS3 engine by "not" doing this?

What is my best course of action at this point, just get in there and get the oil and filter changed asap? Do I need to take any other steps at this point?

Yes I am a female and won't be doing it myself, thought I do see some that do. I will be taking it to the dealer, but wanted to know what I should look out for or what I should do otherwise. Any help is appreciated!!!

Thanks!!!

[Dakota Kid]

You will be fine, just go have the oil changed. It is synthetic and has a longer shelf life....

[CamaroScotty]

If it were my car, I'd ignore the DIC....although I find it more credible for cars running synthetic - like the V8 Camaro's and vettes... Mobil one!

Best thing to do is talk to your service advisor. And be prepared for a hefty oil change cost....lots of quarts of synthetic in there! Maybe $80ish??? Depending on the dealer.

[firstmate]

Will dealer's/service allow you to bring in your own oil to save a bit on the mark up, and just charge you the labor? Might not be an option but thought I would ask.

[Banshee]

Changing your oil is not hard, actually more simple than changing a tire. You can do it in 20 minutes (plus 30 min for a thorough drain). Very easy.

I would drain it thoroughly though after a hefty warm up and allow the oil to drain for at least 30 minutes to ensure all that metal leaves. You take it to a dealer and they will not wait until all that nasty crap is gone.

[mamaro]

Originally Posted by Banshee

Changing your oil is not hard, actually more simple than changing a tire. You can do it in 20 minutes (plus 30 min for a thorough drain). Very easy.

Consider doing it yourself. Hey, I'm a 61 year old grandmother, and I'm changing my own oil. That oil change is so important, and you need to either trust the person changing it, or be able to watch over them while they're doing it.

[Gentry78]

you will be fine just go get it done or have somebody come over and teach ya

[firstmate]

thanks for all the tips and info. When you change your own oil, do you have to take it to an auto parts place and pay a disposal fee or something, is that it? Does the old filter have to be done that way as well? Thanks again for all the help here!!!

[MEDISIN]

Most autopart stores will dispose of your used oil free of charge. For a few bucks you can get an oil drain pan (catch) with a built in pouring spout. Makes it easy to put back in your oil jugs and run it back to the autopart store for disposal at your leisure.

Oil drain plug and filter are SUPER easy to get to on this car.

[97one]

Originally Posted by firstmate

thanks for all the tips and info. When you change your own oil, do you have to take it to an auto parts place and pay a disposal fee or something, is that it? Does the old filter have to be done that way as well? Thanks again for all the help here!!!

After you drain the old filter just put it with your other trash.
Any place that sells oil has to take your old oil. Like any Auto parts store or any gas station.
Changing the filter is very easy, not like most cars where it is under the car.
If you get the filter from NAPA the NAPA gold #7090 is less than $8.00

Good luck you will be fine.

[djs]

don't feel bad. I talked to three chevy dealers about this. one is a huge corvette dealer and they told me to go by what the computer says. I have 1500 miles and I have 85% oil life left. that would be changing at about 10000 miles. I talked to my selling dealer and I told them I wanted a oil change at 1500 miles and they said I should wait till 3000 miles. another dealer said wait for 6000 miles. go figure...

[2010SSRSM6]

It's all a matter of opinion. I'm at 3900+ miles and still on the original oil. It will be getting changed soon, because, honestly, its freaking me out still being there.

[Banshee]

Will not changing the original oil until the DIC informs you to hurt your car? Maybe not in the first 60k miles, but definately an increased risk of premature wear in every internal engine component. Could very well have an impact after 60K. Remember when there was no DIC and everyone responsible changed their oil every 3k (and less) up until 8-10 years ago? Back then, there was little risk of increased engine wear because you did not listen to an OLM or DIC to tell you to change that metal and sealaant infested filter and oil..there was NO widley known knowledge of Blackstone lab analysis telling us how our engines were wearing, there was NO internet to research and discuss these topics...so we were naieve and just did the 3k change.

I changed my oil at 890 miles, and again at 4132. Will I see better wear by getting all that sealer and metal out of there early? Many, many people say yes. I say it is always a 50/50 proposition. Preventive maintenance now, or expensive reapirs later. Maybe my car will fare the same wear as someone who waits until the DIC states to change the original oil...or maybe not.

I do it for two reasons. My uncle is an engineer at GM's dyno lab (ceramics and wear) and piece of mind. Yea, I paid $86 more to do two full synthetic oil changes and Mobil1 filters, but I am a firm believer in taking care of my stuff. I have a 20 year old Snapper lawnmower, a 92 Chevy 4.3 L with over 324k and they all run excellent and the 4.3 is unopened and burns no oil, has uniform cylinder compression and still gets 25-27 mpg.

A member made a post in the cosmetic section and stated that he throws away his microfiber mitt after every 3 washes because "no matter how much you wash it, you can never get all the dirt out". His opinion or truth? It is a $6 mitt. If you don't want excessive swirls, replace it. Myself, I have the original and washed my car...oh, 50-60 times? I see no appreciable swirls. But then again, depends on HOW you wash car and how you wash mitt.

Again, all comes down to what you feel you should do based not only what you research, but what your gut says. My gut says to believe my uncle and the advice he gave me 25 years ago. A 325k 4.3L engine doesnt lie.

[Schlok]

get an oil filter wrench for the car, just changed mine at 4300+ miles. Without the wrench you'll never get the filter off.