5.3l Out Of Oil!

freshmkm · February 20, 2008

I recently purchased a 2001 Tahoe to use as a third vehicle. I have noticed that there is a fair amount of blue smoke on initial startup.....coupled with a ticking noise for about 45 seconds on initial acceleration. I attributed the noise to the typical chevy tick. I am concerned about the oil, especially since the "check oil level" light came on and sure enough, I am out of oil.

I am sure that there is no leak, there is no puddle in my garage and in my usual spot at work, plus there is no visible oil anywhere on or under the motor.

I know that the 5.3 likes to eat oil, but 4 quarts in less than 3000 miles, that seems a bit much........Any ideas???

Thanks.

Bish · February 20, 2008

I recently purchased a 2001 Tahoe to use as a third vehicle. I have noticed that there is a fair amount of blue smoke on initial startup.....coupled with a ticking noise for about 45 seconds on initial acceleration. I attributed the noise to the typical chevy tick. I am concerned about the oil, especially since the "check oil level" light came on and sure enough, I am out of oil.

I am sure that there is no leak, there is no puddle in my garage and in my usual spot at work, plus there is no visible oil anywhere on or under the motor.

I know that the 5.3 likes to eat oil, but 4 quarts in less than 3000 miles, that seems a bit much........Any ideas???

Thanks.

If you have blue smoke and no oil on floor, you are getting blow-by past the rings or leaking valve stems if it only blows smoke after sitting. Not a good situation for the motor. I had an 01 Tahoe and after 205K miles it still burned zero oil so I'm guessing it was not well maintained. You have a few options.

1> Get rid of it.

2> Just add oil and ignore

3> Put a thicker oil in (5w50) to reduce the blowby

4> Run some Engine Restore.

I would hesitate to recommend any solution in a can (restore) but I have actual experience with the product. About 15 years ago I had a girlfriend that had a riceburner that burned TONS of oil. I tried engine restore and it stopped burning oil for the year that she kept driving it and I was sold. Not sure if it would do other damage but in this case it worked great.

Good luck with it whatever you choose to do. Not a good situation though.

Paul58 · February 20, 2008

I don't know about the 01 5.3L, but my 07 takes 6 quarts of oil if I change the filter. Are you sure the right amount of oil was put in at the last oil change? Still seems to be burning a lot of oil in a short time span, not a good sign...

strafingmoose · February 20, 2008

yeah, engines guzzling coolant and/or oil are in some sticky situation usually.

Mikeee · February 20, 2008

yeah, engines guzzling coolant and/or oil are in some sticky situation usually.

In other words ... SELL SELL SELL

Zembonez · February 20, 2008

I know that the 5.3 likes to eat oil,
Thanks.

Not sure how you could know this since IT ISN'T TRUE, but there is an obvious and serious problem with your engine that needs immediate attention. The fact that I am having to tell you this means that you likely will not ever understand it...

d3athsong · February 20, 2008

In other words ... SELL SELL SELL

Yea, cause someones gonna buy a tahoe with a 5.3 that looks like a 6.5 diesel starting up at -30 C.

If nothing else, let this be a reminder to everyone to check their d@mn oil level every now and then.

marko · February 21, 2008

In other words ... SELL SELL SELL

Yea, cause someones gonna buy a tahoe with a 5.3 that looks like a 6.5 diesel starting up at -30 C.

If nothing else, let this be a reminder to everyone to check their d@mn oil level every now and then.

And, if you want to be decent about it, TELL TELL TELL. Or see how good it feels to look in the mirror after that if you don't. I'm not suggesting you would do anything but the honest thing though.

ZZ327 · February 21, 2008

some of those OBS 5.3Ls and 6Ls have a cold start up LIGHT ticking and it usually goes away. Blue smoke and engine ticking isnt normal no matter what anyone says of ANY brand.

Ive never heard of any of the Small blocks normally taking oil. Other than the now discontinued big block 8.1 Liter

freshmkm · February 21, 2008

Thanks for the uplifting words of encouragement!! I have only owned the thing for three weeks. I was able to get into it tonight and actually was down only two quarts of oil. I fired it up and didn't notice the smoke or the tick.....I fell the tick is normal because it is has been near zero for the last two weeks....My 06 Durango Hemi and 99 Wrangler have a bit of a tick in this weather too.

Anyhoo.....I replaced the stock pcv valve and found that it was SHOT.....I used the fixed orafice pvc that they put on the new 5.3's and will hope that may take care of some of the issue.

FYI....I purchased this 01 tahoe Lt with 110,000 for under $5000 and do not see an issue if I have to dump some coin (and time) into some engine work. The thing is in perfect condition (except for issues stated above) and has every option that they offer. As stated above, this is a spare car and I certainly expected some issues, I just felt that you gents could have offered some advice besides to SELL IT.

Thanks for the tips though.

s-ten · February 21, 2008

For $5,000 and and it being an extra car I would say just make sure you check the oil regularly and make sure your oil pressure is good. My 1991 S-10 was built with defective valve seals that caused it to leak oil when it sat, I just made sure it always had oil and it ran fine.

Like you said it was $5,000, so if you wanted you could always put a new engine in it and still be ahead.

Chestah · February 21, 2008

$5000 is very cheap for a Tahoe, even with that many miles. You got that deal because of this problem.

Edit: I am with S-Ten, pull that engine out and rebuild it.

marko · February 21, 2008

Thanks for the uplifting words of encouragement!! I have only owned the thing for three weeks. I was able to get into it tonight and actually was down only two quarts of oil. I fired it up and didn't notice the smoke or the tick.....I fell the tick is normal because it is has been near zero for the last two weeks....My 06 Durango Hemi and 99 Wrangler have a bit of a tick in this weather too.

Anyhoo.....I replaced the stock pcv valve and found that it was SHOT.....I used the fixed orafice pvc that they put on the new 5.3's and will hope that may take care of some of the issue.

FYI....I purchased this 01 tahoe Lt with 110,000 for under $5000 and do not see an issue if I have to dump some coin (and time) into some engine work. The thing is in perfect condition (except for issues stated above) and has every option that they offer. As stated above, this is a spare car and I certainly expected some issues, I just felt that you gents could have offered some advice besides to SELL IT.

Thanks for the tips though.

A plugged PCV valve can cause high oil consumption by increasing crankcase pressure. I shoulda suggested that. Glad you found it. A stuck PCV valve can cause the motor to suck itself dry of oil (actually it's more like sitting next to a very pretty girl after eating a plate of beans, if you know what I mean). With 110k miles I wouldn't expect that the rings are worn out yet. I wouldn't worry about the tick so much, five-threes are noisy. A compression test will tell you if your oil consumption is due to worn rings and/or valves (you can suspect the rings if a squirt of oil into the cylinder boosts the compression) and if the compression is normal a bit of blue smoke on startup may be the valve guides (the 5.7s were notorious for it, but I don't know about the 5.3's). I'm surprised because the 5.3's are usually good for 250k ish without smoking too much.

There is another thing you should check - is it just all leaking out of somewhere?

There - hopefully that's a bit more constructive and less moralistic.

Bish · February 21, 2008

Thanks for the uplifting words of encouragement!! I have only owned the thing for three weeks. I was able to get into it tonight and actually was down only two quarts of oil. I fired it up and didn't notice the smoke or the tick.....I fell the tick is normal because it is has been near zero for the last two weeks....My 06 Durango Hemi and 99 Wrangler have a bit of a tick in this weather too.

Anyhoo.....I replaced the stock pcv valve and found that it was SHOT.....I used the fixed orafice pvc that they put on the new 5.3's and will hope that may take care of some of the issue.

FYI....I purchased this 01 tahoe Lt with 110,000 for under $5000 and do not see an issue if I have to dump some coin (and time) into some engine work. The thing is in perfect condition (except for issues stated above) and has every option that they offer. As stated above, this is a spare car and I certainly expected some issues, I just felt that you gents could have offered some advice besides to SELL IT.

Thanks for the tips though.

That's a GREAT price. I only got 6K for my loaded 01 with 206K. I would see what the consumption is like with the new PCV valve. I also agree you could dump a couple grand into the motor if you needed and you would stil be ahead of the game.

ken1mod · February 21, 2008

I would not hesitate to use a thicker oil. The thin oils, 5w30, are more for fuel mileage and really do not add much of that but the manufacturers want to advertise every tenth of a mile. While my 5.3 with 130 thousand miles uses no oil whatever I put in it between 7000 mile changes, I choose 10w40 for extra protection. Hard working aircraft engines still use straight 50 oil. Multigrade aircraft oils are 20w50.

Ken