Oil Consumption

JB08

JB08

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Since doing the 800Km oil change, I've added about 2L (around 2qts) of oil to the engine. Just today I returned from a 1,000Km trip to northern Ontario and noticed that the oil level was below the lower point of the hash marks. I know that new cars sometimes had issues with oil consumption, but I thought newer engines had done away with this. It's not a big deal for me to add oil once in a while (well within my mechanical abilities), but I'm wondering if I have a more serious issue that could show itself later? My C7 is a Z51 with the dry-sump oil... is this related to dry-sump?
 
Well, dry sumps do have a different procedure for checking the oil level from a "normal" engine, assuming that your C7 engine is the same as the LS7 in theC6 Z07.

Namely that you have to warm the engine up to at least 175 degrees F, then wait for 5 minutes and no longer than 20 minutes before you check it on the dipstick. Doing it with a cold engine or right away after shutting it off or waiting too long can result in inaccurate oil levels.

I find it takes a lot of getting used to to the procedure of all other engines!

Check the manual to be sure!

Cheers,

Garry
 
Thanks. I did take the time to follow the manual recommendations. Oil temp was about 85C (185F) and I waited about 5 min. Oil was below the lower hash mark... but yes, dry-sump can vary based on when you take the reading... a bit of a pain.
 
I guess the other question I would have is that you verified that it was full to start with? It is a new car after all and who knows what the PDI was like!

The only think I have around the farm that uses oil at that rate is an almost toasted Detroil Diesel that used about 2 liters every 80 km...........

I do agree with the others in that I would verify that use rate and get the dealer involved so at least there is the start of a paper trail in case you need to pursue something with GM down the road................

No drips on the driveway or anything either?????? Goop on the exhaust tips? I mean 2 liters just doesn't disappear...................

Cheers,

Garry
 
I have put 6K Km on the car. No oil drip on the garage floor. Nothing in the exhaust out of the ordinary. The first time added oil it was at the low point on the hash mark and I added about ¾ of a L. That was at around 3,500km. Yesterday, after my long trip I decided to check again and level was below the hash mark, so I added another litre. After driving later in the evening, checked again and the level is right in the middle where it should be. I will be paying closer attention to the intervals and amounts and will notify the dealer. Hopefully things will settle after a while as the car has been fantastic otherwise.
 
2 liters in 6k contrary to what I and many others worry about is actually within GM specs based on my recollection. They used to go by 1 qt per 2k as the magic number before they recognize it as an issue. I'd heed advice and start a paper trail on this. Contrary to GM specs common sense indicates this is a little on the high side.
 
I put the oil temp and pressure as my pocket gauges on the DIC just to make sure there wasn't anything else going on. Keep a constant eye on them... All within normal range. Honestly, if hadn't taken the time to read the owner's manual and see the recommendation to check the oil at fill-up, I'd be oblivious to the issue.
 
A little off topic story about oil levels. In my old truck, it never used oil. Never worried about it but after 250,000 km and noticing bubbles coming from between the head and block, I figured it was time to change the head gasket. While the head was off I had the head rebuilt at a local shop as the engine has over heated a few times over the course of it's life.
I reinstalled everything, the truck worked great. A little time later on my first trip out to the rigs in Alberta, I was on the highway and I noticed I could hear the lifters when going uphill, and then they would get quiet going down hill. Quite weird I thought but my truck's never used oil, the head is new, the oil pressure gauge shows good pressure but I figured I would pull over anyway.
I pulled the dipstick and cleaned it off, put it in again and pulled it out to find nothing on the dip stick! Luckily I kept a liter in the back, put that liter in and it came up just a quarter inch on the stick and WELL below the add line! We'll, since I was near Red Deer, the oil pressure still said it was good and I had an extra liter now in the motor, I drove in, bought 3 more liters, added two of them and finally hit the full mark. The funny thing is, my truck only takes about 4 liters of oil!
So, lesson learned, any changes to an engine, I check the level often despite what the pressure gauge says and always carry extra fluids.
Oh, and I had another truck that didn't use much oil in the city but on the highway, it would chew through about a liter every 150 km. That truck cost more in oil than gas. :Wideyed:
With your story JB, should I ever get a new car, I'll definitely keep my eye on the oil level.
 
After some time researching the issue I'm beginning to suspect that this may be related to AFM. I had just done about 1000 KM using Eco mode on and off prior to checking my oil yesterday. I had also used the mode in shorter hwy trips that could account for the first loss. Could be a coincidence, but I'll be taking another long trip shortly and will monitor for correlation. Anyone else use Eco mode over long distance? Any issues?
 
Having raced dry sump power plants for years, I feel that a dry sump tank has no need to be full to capacity- interesting things happen with a full tank just as they do with a low tank..that is just anecdotal evidence, but I keep my Z51 at the half mark (9 litres at oil change-instead of 9.3) and I never use a drop so to speak. I tried eco mode for the first time on a Vancouver to Calgary trip and was pleasantly surprised at the nice drive as I always drive in sport mode.
 
Had to add about 2 qts in the 3.5K Kms we added in our trip to Quebec. I spoke to the service manager at Gateway and he confirmed that this is within GM specs, but added that it is something they will look at the next time I'm in for service by doing a consumption test.
 
I'm not buying that this is "normal". This seems like a very high oil consumption. This is supposed to be a state of the art motor. I checked my oil today. Oil change at 1750 km and the car has 4800 km. Checked it cold and the level was below the hatch mark. I will check it tonight again properly.
 
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