[Piper One]

Curious if anyone who tows heavy (12k plus) with a 2020 up L5P is using (burning) any oil and if so, how much and what brand you use.

I'm not, but on another forum I belong to there is a guy who is. He's saying if he leaves it in drive and lets the transmission do it's thing he uses oil but, if he drops it down into 8th he uses none. He is using some boutique syn oil from a small company. He's claiming the EGT's are too high (dangerously) if he leaves it in drive vs downshifting. I know, lots going on here.

 

[Mmecsics]

I tow heavy on occasion, 16k plus, and don’t seem to use any oil between changes. It’s always still in between the lines when I change it at 5k miles. I run Schaeffers 15w40.

 

[Bow Tie]

I use Delvac 15w40, no issues towing approximately 13,000 lb. Fifth Wheel. I typically run in drive and let the truck do its thing. Went to Key West and back (2,800 miles) checked the oil daily and never added a drop. The oil is just slightly below the full mark and almost due for a change. I think the factory tune prevents EGT getting high enough to cause issues. Truck has 15,000 miles on it.

 

[blythkd1]

As you know, I no longer have my L5P truck but isn't there a service bulletin on the later trucks that basically says an insane amount of oil burn is normal? Or am I getting it confused with something else? What are ya driving at here?

 

[Mattswaggs]

Curious if anyone who tows heavy (12k plus) with a 2020 up L5P is using (burning) any oil and if so, how much and what brand you use.

I'm not, but on another forum I belong to there is a guy who is. He's saying if he leaves it in drive and lets the transmission do it's thing he uses oil but, if he drops it down into 8th he uses none. He is using some boutique syn oil from a small company. He's claiming the EGT's are too high (dangerously) if he leaves it in drive vs downshifting. I know, lots going on here.

If that is true, it would make me think turbo seal is bad. He would be running higher boost in 10th vs 8th. 🤔

 

[Piper One]

As you know, I no longer have my L5P truck but isn't there a service bulletin on the later trucks that basically says an insane amount of oil burn is normal? Or am I getting it confused with something else? What are ya driving at here?

Most if not all manufactures have a laughable oil use bulletin that is BS but gets them outta warranty repairs. The truck in question, I'm leaning toward this guys oil being the issue but wanted to gather others experience. I haven't seen posts about L5P's burning a ton of oil or seeing any other ill effects by just letting the truck do it's thing and bark. Any failures I've seen involve shady tuning. My L5P doesn't burn a drop but I haven't done any serious towing with it yet. He also seems to think stock EGT's towing in 10th are dangerous......I can't see GM letting the engine melt it's pistons as a stock feature. Like I say, it's odd and he's a fanboy of the oil so that's possibly biasing his perspectives.

 

[FROGMAN524]

I tow a 13,000 boat trailer and burn no oil. Running AmsOil 5W-40


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[Piper One]

I tow a 13,000 boat trailer and burn no oil. Running AmsOil 5W-40


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Do you just put it in drive and let the truck do what it wants?

 

[FROGMAN524]

Do you just put it in drive and let the truck do what it wants?

Pretty much. I only manually shift when on very steep descents.


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[Hoser]

All my Duramax trucks have burned some oil. Sometimes I have to add between changes. I haven’t had to add any with the L5P, but it seems to use some between changes. But with the way I drive I expect that.

 

[Durabiopwr]

Nothing to add in specific to oil consumption vs oil brand and trans selection but burning oil will significantly reduce DPF life. The additives in the oil do not all 'burn off' and ash is the result.

They have done long term durability studies of DPFs and the most of the ash is a result of oil additives over the coarse of 150Kmi or so. The newer oil are formulated with 'less' of the non combustible additives due to DPF accumulation.

Recently some guys are commenting on the 3.0 DMAX burning oil. Bad deal if true. But GM only has to make it 100K for warranty and if you regen every 50mi THEY DONT CARE.

 

[Hate2looz]

Yup, GM oil usage bulletin on the 3.0 says 1 quart in 3000 miles for regular driving, 2000 miles for harsh driving. What a joke.

 

[Aliveguy5]

2021 L5P 17k on the motor 5w40 Amsoil signature series oil... I've never burned a drop of oil. I tow a 9k TT which is nothing for the motor but I tow it allover for 3 seasons out of the year. Never burned a drop of oil.

 

[Mattswaggs]

2021 L5P 17k on the motor 5w40 Amsoil signature series oil... I've never burned a drop of oil. I tow a 9k TT which is nothing for the motor but I tow it allover for 3 seasons out of the year. Never burned a drop of oil.

My 2017 (101,000 miles) doesn’t seem to use oil either. I mostly use it to tow. Anywhere from 5,000 lb empty gooseneck to 15,000 lb 5th wheel.

I don’t doubt that some trucks do. Trucks seem to be so hit and miss nowadays. That’s why I am keeping my ‘17 for now. It does’t have any funny issues and I don’t trust that another truck will be as good.

 

[TriGuy90]

My horse trailer is over 12k and I have not had any oil consumption at all. Running whatever comes from the factory. Put it in tow haul mode, turn the exhaust brake on and just drive. I never notice my EGTs get dangerously high on my iDash but to be fair I’m not sure what dangerously high is.

 

[Mattswaggs]

Well, what I’ve found is that even the egt-1 is after the turbo. (Correct me if I’m wrong). That is going to be a lot cooler than when you read before turbo. I have seen my EGR-1 temp pretty darn high, but from what I have understood with emissions trucks, they are engineered for it.
On my old trucks, it was understood to keep egts under 1,200. Well the egt after turbo will never be that high, usually 300 less than pre-turbo. But my egr-1 temp has been 1,300+ a few times, but I’ve heard people say they are engineered to be as high as 1,600. 😳

 

[jdwarren]

Curious if anyone who tows heavy (12k plus) with a 2020 up L5P is using (burning) any oil and if so, how much and what brand you use.

I'm not, but on another forum I belong to there is a guy who is. He's saying if he leaves it in drive and lets the transmission do it's thing he uses oil but, if he drops it down into 8th he uses none. He is using some boutique syn oil from a small company. He's claiming the EGT's are too high (dangerously) if he leaves it in drive vs downshifting. I know, lots going on here.

My truck is a 2017 (still L5P) and I have noticed some oil consumption when towing heavy (I'm about 28.5k GCW). It seems pretty inconsistent but if I had to ballpark it I'd say I've seen consumption on the order of half a quart per thousand miles or so.

 

[Mattswaggs]

My truck is a 2017 (still L5P) and I have noticed some oil consumption when towing heavy (I'm about 28.5k GCW). It seems pretty inconsistent but if I had to ballpark it I'd say I've seen consumption on the order of half a quart per thousand miles or so.

How many miles do you have on your truck?

 

[jdwarren]

How many miles do you have on your truck?

I just hit 100k miles. I think about 30k of those are towing, 20k of which were with my old TT (just under 10k lbs) and the remaining 10 or so with my current FW (about 18.5k lbs).

 

[Piper One]

@jdwarren , your truck still has the 6 spd and a 3.73 rear end correct?