Using Oil Already? Help!

Check the back of the valve cover it is usually the problem and 1/2 quart in

Coasty

Yeah, my Suburban was blowing a quart every three hundred miles. I put two aftermarket vent caps on each valve cover, connected to three quarter inch heater hose, just to keep the oil spray off my windshield. This is nothing.

Earle

See, only one or two oil changes ago it wasn't using ANY. I had the same amount in it the day I drained it as when I filled it. So to me, this indicates a problem or a change in the situation. If it isn't a problem to be worried about, ok, but I still think it's a problem... my concern was that my increase in highway driving is actually burning the oil vs. just dripping it. A seal leak I can deal with, but something internal...

I had a suggestion on another board to use heavier oil. I'm using 10W30 right now. Keep in mind, I'm in south Texas, so it does get quite hot. Should I use something thicker?

Thanks!

Eric

No, don't use heavier oil. The drip you see is probably part of the 1/2 quart lost. But 1/2 quart between oil changes is not bad at all. You say you have 66K, tuned at 45K. Your due for plugs again, right. That may cure your start-up noise. Your engine should last many more miles and I do not think you have any internal problems.

Andy

Definitely check along the back of your engine for oil. If you have any, it is very likely valve cover. As for the oil itself, you might want to move to a 20-40 or a synth blend of 10-50. Or drop half a can of STP in the thing.

Eric proclaimed:

Because the leak is also evident covering the t-case, I would suspect you have blown the valve cover seal. It only leaks when running, the faster , the more potential for leak. I would take a clean rag and run it across the rear of the engine head just below the valve cover to see if there is oil there.

Mike

Most of the automakers say that 1 quart per 1000 miles is 'acceptable'. I don't know if I would agree with that but that is another matter.

More telling is that the oil loss is a recent change. but it is still more likely that your engine is leaking/seeping oil than burning it.

Carefully check the back of the engine head to see if there is fresh oil that could be leaking from the valve cover. This is most often the source of Jeep oil leaks.

It wouldn't hurt my feelings any if you went to a 15w-40 or 20w-50 oil but I think it more likely you will find a leak

As for the rough running, etc, I see it has been 22K miles since your last tune-up. While this may be considered 'low mileage' it wouldn't hurt to throw in a can of a good quality fuel injector cleaner and consider new spark plugs.

I am not sure about the 'pop' you are hearing. It could be raw gas igniting in the catalyst or muffler or perhaps an exhaust leak. Have you changed where you buy your gasoline?

Bill,

Before I got the new crate engine, I was burning a quart every three hundred miles. The aftermarket breather caps diverted the blowby down towards the road and kept the oil fog off the windshield. The funny thing is, that when it had warmed up, it didn't smoke much out the exhaust pipe. I think that the Chevy was actually burning it, like a fuel additive. I cannot overstate, how tough those 350 (5.7 L) engines are.

Earle

I guess you might notice it on throttle on or off, but a quart every thousand miles is not a heck of a lot of oil. On some of the old '50s Jaguars, NOT burning a quart per thousand was never a good thing.

Earle Horton proclaimed:

Ok, discovered the startup noise: My muffler had... rotated... I don't know how those clamps loosened, but they weren't hard to take off (and they've been on about 20k miles...). I twisted it a bit, and voila, no more pop/thump when I start it. It was smacking the bottom of the tub when I started.

As for the oil drip, it looks like the oil pan gasket is just seeping all around. It is quite noticeable at the front. Nothing bad, but you can tell it will need changed soon enough. I also noticed... seepage?.. along the side of the block (passenger). Seems like it is too low to be coming from the valve cover gasket. Nothing serious, just can tell it isn't clean.

I pulled just one plug (one of mine is a PITA to remove -- have to unbolt and rotate the A/C compressor to get it out) and it was burning really clean. Almost too clean. Something weird -- the very tip of the metal arc, just the front skinny edge, was dark green. Almost as if it had been painted. Very strange. I don't remember it being that color when I bought them (Autolite plugs). Now that I think about it, I swear I put in Champion truck plugs.... I must be losing my mind! Could that color be a sign of anything? Since we're talking green, I had my radiator flushed/filled (they used compressed air and water to flush it... was pretty neat to see all the junk fly out of that thing) at about 50k miles or so. Now my overflow tank is empty, but the coolant is full in the radiator. Sign of anything? I plan on getting another flush/fill in the spring.

Thanks guys!

Is it really low on the block, down by the filter? That might be just from regular oil changes, when the filter is removed it gets oil everywhere on the pass side. Or the oil pressure sensor might be seeping, it's in that general area as well.

You might be able to just put a wrench on the oil pan bolts. They can back off easy and might just be finger loose in places.

You should top up the overflow and make sure the rad is topped up......

The super clean and green plug isn't a good thing usually..... How are the rest of the plugs? If they are dirty, well, keep a close eye on the coolant and oil levels...

That 'can' be a sign of head gasket issues, same as the seep along the middle of the engine which might mean all the oil isn't just leaking out...

Mike