i guess i need to keep track of my miles and forget about the dash -dic- thingy. when i got my 08 2.4 it had about 37000 miles , i changed the oil when the dash said to, the oil looked bad. now at about 44000 miles the dash says 57% , the oil looks and smells bad. i'm changin it. are their any suggestions on flushing the oil system? on hoopties i used to just pull up to the kerosene pump and put about a quart in , drive it home and change. kerosene is about the same thing as the flush they sell at the parts store-Gunk brand. i really don't want to put that in my hhr, but i don't like dirty oil. even though i put about 3300+ miles every two weeks , i don't feel like changing the oil every 2 weeks , especially with synthetic , but i guess that's what i need to do. i need to buy oil by the barrel and wash and reuse the filter. also i really don't trust that little filter. anyone know where i can get a remote mounted filter for my 2.4? doesn't the 08 2.4 have a factory oil cooler? could i add one into that line?

 

That filter is as good as most canister type filters. If GM didn't believe in it, why would they put a 100K warranty behind it?
I'm not even going to get into the changing the oil every 3K thing..... Anyone else?

 

Catdaddy,

That's what Synthetic Oil is all about, It will clean the inside of your engine to look almost new over time. The first few oil changes will get dirty fast, then after the major dirt is gone, it will scrub the walls clean little by little. I change my own oil in all my cars for around $30.00 each.

Dino...

PS, Oh your filter is just fine...

 

Put a can of seafoam in it for a few miles and then change the oil. I also suggest snythetic, been running that since the first change on mine. the DIC seem's to work pretty well IMO.

 

i'm not trying to start some big debate. i don't see how anyone could pull their oil stick out and see dark brown oil that smells burned , and not want to change it . i am serious , and i am looking for advice. i would really like to put a remote filter on. if i continue to drive all these miles daily my engine will have 85800+ miles annually. i plan on keeping it for as long as possible. i'm allready looking for a replacement engine to keep in storage. my hhr is paid for i need to do what is required to keep it. thanks. this is the 1st time i've used synthetic , so i'm not used to seeing my oil look like that. this is the 1st time i heard that synthetic will look dirty. i don't know what the guy put in it before. he restores /owns some classic cars, 57 chevy , 69 camaro, old impala , so i think he took good care of it.

 

Mine has never smelled burnt. I get about 6500-7000 miles between changes with my driving. If you want to flush the engine, dump a pint of seafoam in the crank and put a few miles on it (drive a day or so). Then change the oil. The seafoam will clean the motor. That way if you do have an sludge built up, it should clean it up. Mine has Mobile 1 in it since about 5K miles.

AS far as relocating the filter, I see no need for it. Seems to filter well and if you did decide to change the filter between changes for what ever reason, easier to do. Plus not sure how you would set it up on the block.

 

Oil is rally a mild solvent as well as a lubricant. It's job is to trap, control and carry dirt to the filter while still lubricating the engine.

If the oil did not get dirty it is not doing its job. Even soap is based on oil from animals.

Unless you have an engine problem your doing some extream driving and getting the engine very hot or is in a very dirty enviroment you should be fine.

I can't tell over the web but if the engine is in good working order the smell is nothing to worry about.

 

are you people saying that i should wait for the dash thing? i had some motorcraft synthetic here that i had bought to put in my van , before the trans went out. i put in that and a quart of some champion protectant/treatment that got because it was cheap/being disconitued or something , it says its time released. and filter i got from the chevy dealer parts. i think the owners manual suggests different maintainance for severe duty. i plan on using mobil 1 from now on. i also want to add some Zmax treatment , i think it may work better on a cleaner engine , so i may add the seafoam , before the Zmax. also , are you people telling me that your oil looks dirty brown and smells at 56% on the dash -dic- thing? i do not mean to sound redundant. some things bother me worse than others , and this dirty oil , being the life of my engine , is one of those things.

 

catdaddy, if you are really driving 3300 miles every 2 weeks. That is in excess of 235 mile every single day. that means that you spend about 4 hours a day, every day, in your ride if you are mostly at expressway speeds. If I subtract the time that you are on this site (me too), I figure most of these miles must be expressway. That is the best kind of miles you can get for oil life as long as it's not too hot.

If you don't follow what the DIC says, you are really wasting your money. If you buy good oil and good filters there is no reason that you should have to do it much less than that. GM did a lot of research on this.

It is up to you, but that's my

 

As far as the DIC, yes I follow that. Does my oil look new when I take it out? Nope, looks like oil thats ready to be changed. Never a bad smell though.

Motorcraft oil, as long as it was the correct weight, should have been ok.

Additives, unless you see a problem (smoking etc) I would not run any. I've heard a lot on ZMax, but never from anyone that actually used it. If you can't fix a problem and an additive helps until you can, just research the type. Seafoam is all petrolum. Don't leave it in forever.... But it does clean.

Yes, severe maintenance is different than normal. But all highway, is not severe, stop and go city is. You obously put a lot on miles on yours, if it's highway mileage, that's easier on the motor than city driving.