Losing Oil Somewhere?

slayer305 · February 24, 2009

Today I had the idiot light come on that said to check the oil level. I did and saw that I had about an eighth of an inch of oil on the dipstick. I only had about 3700 miles on this oil change. There is no oil on the ground anywhere that I can find. I dont have any smoke coming from the exhaust other than at cold start. Its been below 30 degrees. It has the factory 5w-30. The last oil change I went from dino oil to a valvoline synthetic blend. The truck has 111,800 miles. Any ideas?

MadCity Hoosier · February 24, 2009

When my intake gasket went out on my previous truck ('94 Daota with 318 V-8), I would burn about 1 quart per 200 miles. This was accompanied by smokey exhaust and horrible mpg. Horrible experience, but that's the first thing that comes to my mind. I hope this is not your issue.

slayer305 · February 24, 2009

When my intake gasket went out on my previous truck ('94 Daota with 318 V-8), I would burn about 1 quart per 200 miles. This was accompanied by smokey exhaust and horrible mpg. Horrible experience, but that's the first thing that comes to my mind. I hope this is not your issue.

No smoke in the exhaust and gas mileage on last fillup saturday was 14.8mpg. About the average and better for this time of year.

pennzoil29 · February 24, 2009

Did you check your radiator for oil? What engine do you have?

slayer305 · February 24, 2009

Did you check your radiator for oil? What engine do you have?

Didnt check the radiator. I looked at the overflow and nothing looked odd in there. Engine is the 5.3l.

Spurshot · February 24, 2009

I believe you're burning it. That's not far off of when my 99 6.0L uses enough oil for the light to come on. I may get another 500-1000 miles over that, but not much more. I never see any smoking even on startup. 3700 miles for a quart or so isn't great, but it isn't much either. Check your plugs for oil fouling. I doubt you'll see any sign of fouling. I know it's not perfect, but it also isn't all that bad.

VMax2007 · February 24, 2009

I believe you're burning it. That's not far off of when my 99 6.0L uses enough oil for the light to come on. I may get another 500-1000 miles over that, but not much more. I never see any smoking even on startup. 3700 miles for a quart or so isn't great, but it isn't much either. Check your plugs for oil fouling. I doubt you'll see any sign of fouling. I know it's not perfect, but it also isn't all that bad.

GM doesn't consider oil consumption "excessive" until it uses 1+ qts/1000 miles.

slayer305 · February 24, 2009

I believe you're burning it. That's not far off of when my 99 6.0L uses enough oil for the light to come on. I may get another 500-1000 miles over that, but not much more. I never see any smoking even on startup. 3700 miles for a quart or so isn't great, but it isn't much either. Check your plugs for oil fouling. I doubt you'll see any sign of fouling. I know it's not perfect, but it also isn't all that bad.

GM doesn't consider oil consumption "excessive" until it uses 1+ qts/1000 miles.

Nice, I love GM. Doesnt matter Im way out of warranty. LOL!! I will try and pull a plug and see what I get. Im not sure if the plugs were changed at 100,000 or not either. I bought it with 103,000 and dont really have any of the maintenance history.

redvett · February 24, 2009

When you had last oil change did you check it afterwards incase it wasnt filled up? Always let engine sit at least 1/2 hour before checking it.

Today I had the idiot light come on that said to check the oil level. I did and saw that I had about an eighth of an inch of oil on the dipstick. I only had about 3700 miles on this oil change. There is no oil on the ground anywhere that I can find. I dont have any smoke coming from the exhaust other than at cold start. Its been below 30 degrees. It has the factory 5w-30. The last oil change I went from dino oil to a valvoline synthetic blend. The truck has 111,800 miles. Any ideas?

slayer305 · February 25, 2009

When you had last oil change did you check it afterwards incase it wasnt filled up? Always let engine sit at least 1/2 hour before checking it.

Today I had the idiot light come on that said to check the oil level. I did and saw that I had about an eighth of an inch of oil on the dipstick. I only had about 3700 miles on this oil change. There is no oil on the ground anywhere that I can find. I dont have any smoke coming from the exhaust other than at cold start. Its been below 30 degrees. It has the factory 5w-30. The last oil change I went from dino oil to a valvoline synthetic blend. The truck has 111,800 miles. Any ideas?

I always fill to 1 quart less than required, start let run for about 5 min and add the last quart. The truck got the 6 required quarts. I never have nor ever known a mechanic to let a vehicle run for 30 min before checking the oil. Pennzoil 10 minute oil change. LOL!

C & A s Dad · February 25, 2009

I think Redvett meant to let it sit for 1/2 hour before you check it. Not to let it run 30 mins.

If you want to see if your are burning it, fill with dino oil next time and you will likely see some smoke. Syn oil will pass by the rings, burn and hardly smoke at all, if any.