Dealer put Castrol 10W30 in Duramax

Beaux Duke · June 17, 2002

A buddy of mine with a 2001HD with the Duramax took his truck to a local dealer for an oil change. When he started it up he got two messages on his dash display. One said low oil. So he killed it and went back in and told the Service Manager what had happened.

While he was watching from the window in the Customer Waiting area he saw them pour in 3 quarts of Castrol 10W30 for gasoline engines. The same dealer changed his oil last time and now he thinks they may have put the wrong oil in it then. He's pretty sure they used the Castrol because they only charged him $24 both times.

He called GM and they said that if he was concerned about damage he'd have to take the truck to another dealer and PAY to have them check it out.

Any one have any ideas as to what sort of internal damage (if any) may have ocurred to his Duramax?

Any suggestions as to how to deal with GM?

MarkD · June 17, 2002

Stupid question...

What kind of oil are you supposed to use w/a diesel??

Heavier weight?

MarkD · June 17, 2002

Detergent maybe?

Please forgive a Non-diesel owner.

Beaux Duke · June 17, 2002

I don't know a whole lot about diesel engines but I'll share with you what I do know.

Rotella T is an excellent diesel engine oil as it is rated API CI-4 and certified for use in diesel engines. Castrol GTX on the other hand is an excellent oil but it is intended for passenger car and gasoline light truck use. It affords protection of gasoline and turbocharged engines where API SL, SJ or SH is recommended.

So he's concerned the oil may have broken down and caused damage to his engine.

odoh · June 17, 2002

This would be a good question to ask on the Diesel Page http://forum.62-65-dieselpage.com/cgi-bin....BMIT=Go

Beaux Duke · June 17, 2002

OK, I sent a copy of the Diesel Web page address to my buddy. Since he's a diesel owner I'll let him register and pose the question.

Meanwhile if anyone else has any comments, please feel free to join in.

Thanks for the suggestion.

saulsse · June 18, 2002

For average use ergo normal operating temp ranges the standard is 15-40W per the diesel suppliment. Other weight ranges can be used but then again you are dependent on tempatures etc.

CG or lastest rating for diesels should be used.

Now the other question is ... does that dealer even have a CLUE as to how much oil that the Duramax even holds?

TxDoc · June 18, 2002

I just posted it for you.

TxDoc · June 18, 2002

Thanks to "Wally" on TDP:

"No damage if it isn't run a long way on the auto oil. A long way being 7-10K miles. I got a couple of free oil changes with my last truck and I don't trust the morons enough to even let them do a freebie!

Most dealers are blithering idiots!!!!!

They never cease to amaze me.

The more they(corporate) try and cut costs by reducing flat rate hours the less qualified the people working there will be. This includes service writers whom I tend to lump in a group lower than security guards.

I apologize to the service writers and dealership mechanics that read this forum. I know that somewhere there has to be some good ones and I give every body a chance but so far the score is about 10 to 1 in favor of ignorance and apathy!"

Shaners · June 18, 2002

It's off the topic a little, but it is amazing how little some of the service techs know about your vehicle.

I had a '97 F250 that I bought used from the dealer. The rear end was seeping fluid around the gasket and I wanted a new seal put in before I took delivery.

They neglected to notice the tag (andd they probably never looked up the application in the computer) but they filled the rear end with standard fluid and not synthetic.

When the rear end started to act up I went back and asked them if they may have done that by mistake. We looked up the work order and noticed by the cost of the fluid alone they screwed it up.

There is no doubt that some garages have some excellent mechanics working for them. My dealer that I bought my HD from is one of them. You can normally tell how good the service dept is, by talking with the service Mgr. The Mgr at my dealer personally oversees all the work that happens in his bays.

MarkD · June 18, 2002

The more they(corporate) try and cut costs by reducing flat rate hours the less qualified the people working there will be.

Tell me about it!!! My local GMC dealer has an hourly rate of $62/hour. For me to pay that rate, I expect service that borders on perfection. I realize that the service depts. have to cover overhead, but there is no excuse for the pay that finally trickles down to the Tech's.(from what I hear, somewhere in the $15/service hour range). My bro-in-law (sisters husband) is a Mercedes Tech here in Florence, SC, and he even has to buy his own tools (probably standard practice). So for the remaining $42 hour, what does the dealership have to provide??????????

There was even an additional $28 on my last bill for shop fees, hand towels/cleaner, etc.

Beaux Duke · June 18, 2002

Thanks TxDoc for posting that for me. Please pass my thanks back to "Wally" next time you're back over there.

Unfortunately my buddy thinks they did it the time before this also because of the price... $24. And since he doesn't change the oil till the light illuminates on the Warning Center display he definitely went over 7k miles.

He called a couple of dealships after this happened and both quoted him the price for a gasoline engine oil change even after he asked "Are you sure that's the price for a diesel?"

Good help is hard to find.

Thanks again guys

csimo · June 20, 2002

Castrol 10w30 is not rated for the Duramax. A CH-4 rated oil is required. Yes, leaving the Castrol 10w30 in the engine will cause damage in two ways.

First, a 30 weight oil does not have the film strength for the extreme pressures of a diesel.

Secondly, the CH-4 rating is hard to meet for oils becuase a diesel produces so much soot that must be held in suspension by the oil. Castrol 10w30 will not be able to hold 1/2 of the soot in suspension of a CH-4 rated oil. What does this mean? Sludge.