Oil Consumption

[Silverado4x4]

I retired at 56.

[riddler]

2 minutes ago, Silverado4x4 said:

I retired at 56.

Congratulations thats Awesome!

[Z45]

55 with 30 yrs.  

[asilverblazer]

22 hours ago, KARNUT said:

Don’t get hung up over this. No disrespect intended. People have a different opinion of what constitutes using oil. I stated mine. 

 

23 hours ago, asilverblazer said:

...Generally, these never showed any 'measurable' oil loss per the dipstick(s). Oil was always within the marked area. Could it have been higher in the marked area one time vs another, I have to assume so, but the level on the stick never warranted a more significant dipstick reading accuracy check. 

 

...Could it be that your measurement method isn't accurate enough to show an amount of oil loss? (This isn't an insult; I am exploring the measurement limitations of dipstick readings.) 

My interest isn't what is or isn't oil use, I'm interested in your measuring the use (or lack of) to compare to my own experience/measurements.

[asilverblazer]

6 hours ago, KARNUT said:

Not enough to see on the oil checking device.

My question(s) are direct to this point, with no insult intended, could the dipstick not be showing an amount of loss comparable to what I see by measuring the volume drained at change time?

 

6 hours ago, KARNUT said:

In this extended oil changing world with oil change countdowns or lights. If engines used say a qt every 2500 miles or up to even 4000 miles. With oil changes reaching as high as 15000 miles. Normal for most people is eight to ten. Vehicles should potentially be seizing up all over the place. Especially in hilly terrain. Just how many people actually check their oil? Maybe 10 percent. Those are the people that probably change their oil early.

I think most GM vehicles light comes on at max 7500 miles. I've also noted how much larger the oil pan capacity has grown - 10 quarts in my L5P, 9 in the Yukon, 10 in my previous Sierra. If 5 quarts in yesteryear could last 5k miles, the 10 should be doing 10k miles. That thought process isn't about oil life and degradation, but I'm alluding to maybe the capacity has grown to account for the 'loss' and prevent "seizing up all over the place" due to oil starvation. 

[riddler]

48 minutes ago, Z45 said:

55 with 30 yrs.  

Good to see all of the smart logical early retirees.

[KARNUT]

1 hour ago, asilverblazer said:

My question(s) are direct to this point, with no insult intended, could the dipstick not be showing an amount of loss comparable to what I see by measuring the volume drained at change time?

 

I think most GM vehicles light comes on at max 7500 miles. I've also noted how much larger the oil pan capacity has grown - 10 quarts in my L5P, 9 in the Yukon, 10 in my previous Sierra. If 5 quarts in yesteryear could last 5k miles, the 10 should be doing 10k miles. That thought process isn't about oil life and degradation, but I'm alluding to maybe the capacity has grown to account for the 'loss' and prevent "seizing up all over the place" due to oil starvation. 

So using that analogy. Honda,Toyota, VW and others go extended. All my Hondas at 5K miles are at 50 percent with oil changes. My Camry I bought new my Grandaughter now drives gets 10K oil changes. All mentioned vehicles are past 100k miles. Most past 150K. Two at 170K. I’m the only one who checks oil. The only one who changes early. When they visit I check their oil, tires etc. if they were to use oil I would swap out with them. So I know they wouldn’t run dry. They don’t use oil according to the dipstick. One 2010 Mazda 3 we found really cheap another grand daughter drives. It’s getting near 180K no oil usage. That’s again is according the dipstick. I can’t make it any clearer. 

[riddler]

6 minutes ago, KARNUT said:

So using that analogy. Honda,Toyota, VW and others go extended. All my Hondas at 5K miles are at 50 percent with oil changes. My Camry I bought new my Grandaughter now drives gets 10K oil changes. All mentioned vehicles are past 100k miles. Most past 150K. Two at 170K. I’m the only one who checks oil. The only one who changes early. When they visit I check their oil, tires etc. if they were to use oil I would swap out with them. So I know they wouldn’t run dry. They don’t use oil according to the dipstick. One 2010 Mazda 3 we found really cheap another grand daughter drives. It’s getting near 180K no oil usage. That’s again is according the dipstick. I can’t make it any clearer. 

This topic is exhausting! I think I have the record for most replies. I should get a trophy to go with my new t-shirt. @Atlas 

[riddler]

On 6/1/2026 at 6:11 AM, diyer2 said:

We get rid of one instigator, and another one shows up. 

Have a a seat before you collapse, You'll never get rid of me.

[KARNUT]

3 minutes ago, riddler said:

This topic is exhausting! I think I have the record for most replies. I should get a trophy to go with my new t-shirt. @Atlas 

It’s at the point of amusement. I’m retired I have time. It’s fun seeing people try to convince me I’m using oil. I’m buying oil at the prescribed time. It gets drained and new goes in. Do I add in between, no. My oil doesn’t even get dirty in 5k miles. I don’t even see any drop on the stick. I check in the same place. All is well.

[Chuck FB]

6 hours ago, Atlas said:

 

My LZ0 was delivered new and it had an extra quart showing on the dipstick. That's when I went asking if it was factory, dealer/PDI, or some other error and the consensus was the factory adds an extra quart. I fill with the recommended 7 quarts, not 8, and just keep an eye on it. Nice to know there's apparently an extra quart of capacity in the sump, I guess.

 

I have not cut open the filters. I use AcDelco PF66's. I'm now in the "critical" period where most of the LZ0's tend to fail if they have a bad thrust bearing. Ugh. I don't want to know, I just want it to either explode, or be fine.

 

The coolant control valve is a real Duesy. My LZ0 reportedly has the newer design CCV. I'm getting a faint coolant smell after shutdown sometimes. I was hoping it was just burping and other seating of hoses but at 3k miles I'm still getting it. If the engine doesn't blow up, I'll probably take it in for the coolant smell. The levels in the overflow (both for engine, and turbo circuit) are still full, so it can't be losing much.

 

Ok that confirms the extra quart theme they are still going with which must mean they have noted some initial use more so then some engines and probably the bigger factor in all of this probably isn't the engine so much as its the insane distance or OLM that lulls a lot of the driving public into driving their new vehicle off the lot and not even doing one short interval oil change because the manufacturer doesn't say different and if the dealer follows that logic as well. Selling the rarely needing to be serviced concept seems to go over well with the public that wants to get away with as little as possible for dollars spent on the vehicles maintenance and I bet there are 3.0 engines just like other vehicles out there that never have their oil checked by the owner which goes back to why they probably felt the need to add that extra quart to avoid a costly theme. 

 

Speaking of cutting filters open, it was probably over two years ago now that a youtuber who buys vehicles to do longer term reviews and pulls a fifth wheel through the mountains of Colorado on summer trips and that becomes part of the testing. Anyway he had a GM HD with the 6.6 gas and a Ford 250 with the 7.3 gas at the same time and of no surprise the Ford had more power etc but somewhere along the way in the few thousand miles he put on the truck, he changed the oil and was seeing glitter and cut open the filter and yeah, things were not looking spectacular. The truck about that time or soon after seemed down on power compared to what it had been and then threw some engine code, I expect the cam/lifters were failing and so he brought the truck back to the dealer and made some deal to get out of it as he knew it would sit for months waiting on a new engine as they were so backlogged at the time. He kept the GM for some time after that using it exclusively until he sold it after buying his next vehicle to do a review on. Definitely the filter can tell a story when things are starting to go sideways, but it would be a sickening feeling to cut it open and be faced with an ugly mess like that and be running a magnet through the pleats and the oil on the dirty side of the filter and see all the fines sticking to the magnet. 

 

The dealer may have some ideas based on experience as to where that coolant smell is coming from, I would imagine if they can't find it but its smelling they would put dye in it to they could give it a run cycle and use the black light to see where it pops up, if its a hose connection, water pump, rad or even a head gasket etc. 

[asilverblazer]

2 hours ago, KARNUT said:

It gets drained and new goes in. Do I add in between, no. My oil doesn’t even get dirty in 5k miles. I don’t even see any drop on the stick.

I think this is the closest I'm going to get to reconciling your statements with my experience. 

 

Can you confirm you haven't measured the amount of oil drained from your engine to verify what quantity was in the engine at time of drain? 

 

For what its worth, the quote above EXACTLY replicates my observations on my 2015, 2016 and 2018, no measurable drop on the stick. EXCEPT that when I measure the oil volume drained from the pan - the drained volume is about a quart less compared to a new fill. 

[KARNUT]

6 minutes ago, asilverblazer said:

I think this is the closest I'm going to get to reconciling your statements with my experience. 

 

Can you confirm you haven't measured the amount of oil drained from your engine to verify what quantity was in the engine at time of drain? 

 

For what its worth, the quote above EXACTLY replicates my observations on my 2015, 2016 and 2018, no measurable drop on the stick. EXCEPT that when I measure the oil volume drained from the pan - the drained volume is about a quart less compared to a new fill. 

So you’re saying when you fill with new oil it reads full. But when you drain it, it reads full but comes out a qt low? I have no words.

[Atlas]

3 hours ago, KARNUT said:

My oil doesn’t even get dirty in 5k miles. 

 

Then why even change it?

 

 

3 hours ago, riddler said:

Have a a seat before you collapse, You'll never get rid of me.

 

What got you the boot before this?

[Atlas]

13 minutes ago, asilverblazer said:

I think this is the closest I'm going to get to reconciling your statements with my experience. 

 

Can you confirm you haven't measured the amount of oil drained from your engine to verify what quantity was in the engine at time of drain? 

 

For what its worth, the quote above EXACTLY replicates my observations on my 2015, 2016 and 2018, no measurable drop on the stick. EXCEPT that when I measure the oil volume drained from the pan - the drained volume is about a quart less compared to a new fill. 

 

I'm stumped but it sounds like a brain teaser. I'm assuming you're already accounting for any oil saturated in filter media that gets tossed with the old filter, although that would be a fairly large filter to hang on to an entire quart.