96' 1500-constantly adding oil but doesnt leak??

arees · June 28, 2014

1996 silverado, im having to add oil about once every two weeks, but theres no signs of oil leaks, any suggestions?

DaveH71 · June 28, 2014

You're burning it.

txab · June 28, 2014

You're burning it.

Yep. Only answer there is to this question

arees · June 28, 2014

what needs to be done to fix the problem?

txab · June 28, 2014

You're probably looking at a rebuild or another engine. For your engine to burn oil it's either (or both) getting past valve guide seals or rings.

How many miles on this engine? How many miles between adding oil? How much oil are you adding each time?

arees · June 28, 2014

You're probably looking at a rebuild or another engine. For your engine to burn oil it's either (or both) getting past valve guide seals or rings.

How many miles on this engine? How many miles between adding oil? How much oil are you adding each time?

225k miles...i have to add 1 quart approximately every 1,000 miles

1997SierraSLT · June 28, 2014

I'd say you got your life out of that engine. That's quite the oil burner if you need a quart every 1000 miles. You can add many quarts of oil for what it would cost to rebuild the engine.

Do you have to smog it? If not, add your quart every thousand and drive it till it dies.

arees · June 30, 2014

I'd say you got your life out of that engine. That's quite the oil burner if you need a quart every 1000 miles. You can add many quarts of oil for what it would cost to rebuild the engine.

Do you have to smog it? If not, add your quart every thousand and drive it till it dies.

i do have to smog it, thanks for the info

1997SierraSLT · June 30, 2014

That's a tough dilemma then. Not sure that vehicle would pass a smog inspection but it would be worth a shot to roll the dice and if it passes, just continue to keep adding oil.

It's been a while but I'd estimate a rebuilt long block would run you about $2,000 (no installation/labor). The truck itself with that many miles on it is probably only worth $2,500 to $3,000 if in pristine condition. The issue with putting money into a truck this old with this many miles on it is that every other drive train component on the truck also has 225,000 miles on it. The truck could become quite the money pit in a short period of time.

arees · July 1, 2014

That's a tough dilemma then. Not sure that vehicle would pass a smog inspection but it would be worth a shot to roll the dice and if it passes, just continue to keep adding oil.

It's been a while but I'd estimate a rebuilt long block would run you about $2,000 (no installation/labor). The truck itself with that many miles on it is probably only worth $2,500 to $3,000 if in pristine condition. The issue with putting money into a truck this old with this many miles on it is that every other drive train component on the truck also has 225,000 miles on it. The truck could become quite the money pit in a short period of time.

very helpful, thanks so much, time to get rid of it