Just checked my oil catch can - wow

[NeedlessKane]

Originally Posted by gringo

I think you got bigger problems than not just changing the catch can often enough. That much accumulated oil in 10K miles on a non-direct injected engine means you're probably burning oil and lots of it.

I agree - I check my oil level every few months - nothing out of the norm. I was totally shocked when I checked the catch can today - definitely a first time having it that full.

[CO2010ss]

Originally Posted by gringo

I think you got bigger problems than not just changing the catch can often enough. That much accumulated oil in 10K miles on a non-direct injected engine is NOT good.

I agree I just emptied mine and at 6000 miles there was only maybe a 1/2 inch of oil tops in the can.

[CamaroFred]

Originally Posted by NeedlessKane

I change it when the oil life gets to 20-30%. It's a weekend car that doesn't get drive hard. With a synthetic oil, 10k isn't excessive at all.

If the oil was supposed to be changes at 3-5k mile intervals then GM would've programmed their management system to reflect that.

How do you get 10,000 miles on a weekend car in a year?
Mobil1 recommends no more than 12 months on the oil, regardless of mileage.

[NeedlessKane]

Originally Posted by CamaroFred

How do you get 10,000 miles on a weekend car in a year?
Mobil1 recommends no more than 12 months on the oil, regardless of mileage.

It gets used on several road trips trips throughout the year that are quite lengthy, and I have a 85 mile commute to work so it gets used every so often for that as well. No hard at all.

[NeedlessKane]

Originally Posted by CO2010ss

I agree I just emptied mine and at 6000 miles there was only maybe a 1/2 inch of oil tops in the can.

This is the first time I've seen this much in the can , and this is definitely the longest I've gone without checking it, unfortunately.

My driving style hasn't changed - I'm lost as to what could have changed.

[Dmpsix]

Anytime you start a thread with "Catch can"

At least 3 pages are guaranteed

[chuckie669]

Dayum. I would probably have that much if i waited 10k.

I try to check mine every 3-4 weeks and I'm always amazed how much oil gets captured.

[jd10013]

I change my oil at about 15% on the OLM, which usually works out to 6500-7000 miles. never uses a drop. some of you guys must run the dog poop out of yours.

[ravensjeff]

My catch can is bone dry.

[chuckie669]

That's crazy to hear. I've had four catch cans on four separate ls motors. Never had one not capturing oil. Guess I'm just hard on my cars.

[MPrento84]

Originally Posted by shibbs

Change your oil more often.

An unmaintained catch can is more dangerous than running without.

100% agree.

Didn't they revise the valve cover design after the early years so the pcv didn't pick up as much oil splashing around?

My car is a 2010 and it catches a lot, I'd say about 1oz per 1,000 miles.

[christianchevell]

I would agree, my engine with over 10k miles on it produced about 1/2 ounce in 3k emptied it yesterday; when considering the volume of your can you display about ten times my collection, makes you wonder.
For a 10K oil change many do not do that mileage in a year, for full synthetics the 5k mark is used, conventional oils are 3k ,( in engines other than ours), the dexos 50/50 blend is 5k.

Now using amsoil you could do 10k changes according to them, you could also run with a very dirty filter for 100k if you really want and see if it totally affects the flow of oil to the low oiling LS top end until it grenades.

You save on oil so you can do black stone reports.....which costs 28? And then you can check to see if anything is falling apart yet, what happens when Mr.Blackstone says welcome to the 'Jungle" and you've eaten something pressing every last bit of the usage out of the oils ZDDP, or it anti foaming ability, or its sheer ability, or its viscosity, etc, etc.
SO yes you don't want to see brass or this or that but it does not measure so many other aspects of oil to consider and is a report on the oil in the engine and what has been floating in it and its condition, but yes a guy could have great reports then suddenly.....hey the cams eating itself to death, or so much contamination suddenly its bearings being chewed from a failure and rebuild is required practically.

The point being I have seen people use the reports over time and then yup, it goes south they can pick up on it early enough to avoid major failure, but that's after they are starting to eat a cam from a stuck lifter or two or the core goes bad etc.....

Changing the oil is for most a no brainer as what the oil manufacturer recommends is modified heavily by driving a car in race conditions or/ hard driving and yes you always need plenty of ZDDP in your oil and the right viscosity as it says in our manual 5 w 30 and that's what our oil system is made for and needed to oil the top end.

Increased oiling needs for a modified engine, oils made specifically for the engine in a specific application is what the world is going too along with CAFE standards this coming year so are oil standards changing. SO be very wary or picking the wrong oils in the future people as some will have like zero ZDDP in it.

I myself use driven racing LS30 oil and read their bulletins and tech articles and break in with br30 and oil is a cost I do not skimp on just as I would not use low octane fuel or cheaper tires or cheap parts because stuff happens and it does not need any help.

Oil does condense in the mix water from water vapor in more temperate climates /wet, here in Oregon its generally a condition where its recommended to do oil change every year even if its only got a lot more to go on the oils life the condensation will from and make a nice white film under valve covers and in the pans above the oil on a average Small block Chevy.

And the amount of the oil in the catch can....makes one wonder if the hoses are routed right, if the oil lost its viscosity, if the rings/bore are well worn from high mileage etc.....

http://www.drivenracingoil.com/news/.../testimonials/

I recommend reading the interesting bulletins/ articles on high temperature sheer, the LS engine oil problems, European standards oiling problems, the new oil standard articles. Good Luck to you all.

Engine Oil Life System When to Change Engine Oil This vehicle has a computer system that indicates when to change the engine oil and filter. This is based on a combination of factors which include engine revolutions, engine temperature, and miles driven. Based on driving conditions, the mileage at which an oil change is indicated can vary considerably. For the oil life system to work properly, the system must be reset every time the oil is changed. When the system has calculated that oil life has been diminished, it indicates that an oil change is necessary. A CHANGE ENGINE OIL SOON message comes on. See Engine Oil Messages on page 5‑36. Change the oil as soon as possible within the next 1000km (600mi). It is possible that, if driving under the best conditions, the oil life system might indicate that an oil change is not necessary for up to a year. The engine oil and filter must be changed at least once a year and, at this time, the system must be reset. Your dealer has trained service people who will perform this work and reset the system. It is also important to check the oil regularly over the course of an oil drain interval and keep it at the proper level. If the system is ever reset accidentally, the oil must be changed at 5000km (3,000mi) since the last oil change. Remember to reset the oil life system whenever the oil is changed. ..from the manual, I agree with the last post the 2010 being the initial year you may get a lot more than other years as it seems that way from posts over time.........

[cybergrey11]

You push the button or pump the gas pedal to reset to oil life system, don't need a trained dealer technician to handle that. Have you ever seen who actually does the oil changes at your precious dealer,a bunch of young kids that don't know what they are doing. That whole dealer maintained thing is not as great as a lot of people seem to think. I know lots of people, including my daughter ,who have worked at a Chevy or Ford dealer doing oil/tire changes,and believe me ,some pretty good stories of what goes on.

[NeedlessKane]

Originally Posted by Dmpsix

Anytime you start a thread with "Catch can"

At least 3 pages are guaranteed

I didn't mean to start a sh*t storm from a thread. I'm not a frequent poster so I didn't know that catch can posts were so polarizing.

Lesson learned!