oil consuption

walkerkd · March 4, 2002

hey guys i gotta a problem.. have had my truck since jan 18 i have 5800 miles now. i gotta a problem i ran it 3k changed oil put synthetic oil in it ran it to 5k had the spin on filter changed and oil checked.. ran 8 miles this past weekend. got to station and checked the oil.. nothing..!!! OMG waited a minute nothing again! damn whats up called the dealership they told me that it was normal because the engine was new but after this oil change if it does it again call them to bring it in! whats up guys anyone else having this problem??? ???

swl2126 · March 5, 2002

Did you have oil pressure?

Stepside Z · March 5, 2002

I am going to assume that you have an 8.1 liter. I have heard of an oil consumption problem with that engine. Check out http://www.alldata.com/recalls/

CMNTMXR81 · March 5, 2002

As I posted in your thread in the other forum, Big Blocks (from all three manufacturer's) have had an oil swilling problem since they originally designed way back when. Oil consumption with GM big block V8's is nothing new.

walkerkd · March 5, 2002

thanks guys its my first gm i have always bought ford or dodge diesels and i made the switch because this is a awsome truck. i just dont want to break it i haul alot of live stock im either pulling my 40 or 45 foot stock trailer alot and just worried about that. im going to put the larger oil filter and i guess go to using rotela or doesn anyone have a suggestion on a good conventional oil .. thanks for all your help..

CMNTMXR81 · March 5, 2002

Just want you to realize that big block gas motors use oil. Although as I mentioned in your other post (I think it was yours at least ), that you may have something excessive and may need to be looked into. If it's not leaking it on the ground, I'd guess it's getting by the valve guides and/or past the rings and burning.

My preference for a conventional "Dino" oil is Valvoline as it is for a few others around here. But I've heard good stuff about that Rotella stuff from many truckers.

walkerkd · March 5, 2002

yea i run rotella in my hot shot rigs(dodge and fords) im going to look into a dmax next year see if the bugs have been worked out.. anywho thanks alot for all you help. i guess its rotella for now. i can tell you this. i hooked up to my truck my 40 foot stock trailer with cows when accross the scales at 25k this truck will flat out haul this truck stock against my 2000 dodge stock also will maintain speed better that the dodge pre hard to believe out of a gas engine.. im stoked.. just conceraned about the oile consuption thats all..

CMNTMXR81 · March 5, 2002

Oh, they're strong motors allright, and Whipple already has a supercharger out for it.

What I would do, is keep a log of mileage when you check the oil noting excessive loss. If you've put 500 on since the last check and you're down a quart, it should raise someones eyebrows as that is excessive. Also keep service logs as well as when and who you spoke to in the service department.

I saw too many people come through our service lanes that had legitimate problems but got screwed since they didn't document on their end also what problems they were having.

Kansas Kid · March 5, 2002

I am not sure, but I believe that a quart of oil being used for every 100 gallons of gas is the GM spec. And with the big blocks that 100 gallons goes by pretty quickly, especially when towing. But like CMNTMXR81 said, big blocks have used oil since the beginning.

Did the dealership do your oil change at 3k miles? Might be possible they didn't get it full at that time. Not likely, just trying to think of something. ???

Shaners · March 6, 2002

Did the dealership do your oil change at 3k miles? Might be possible they didn't get it full at that time. Not likely, just trying to think of something. ???

Believe it or not, that happened to me once. I think the same dipwad that did that is the one that didn't put synthetic lube in the rearend. That did a number on my limited slip that had been running in synthetic since new (from the factory).

Larry · March 6, 2002

Kansas Kid is correct, normal oil consumption for ALL GM gasoline engines is 1 qt per 100 gallons fuel used…granted, most engines exceed that spec except for big blocks. So, if you are averaging 10 miles to a gallon with a big block, you can expect to add a quart every 1000 miles. My 9K mile HD with a 8.1 swallows a quart every 12 to 16 hundred miles.

kanton1 · March 6, 2002

After putting 1500 miles on the truck since first oil change, my level was 1 quart low. However, 1400 of those miles were doing 65-75 on the freeway this past weekend. From what it sounds like this is within spec. I will keep my eye on it. Truck has 2500 miles on it.

Good Luck,

Kyle