Help! Engine blew at 45000 - Found other cases as well.

[yescats]

Originally Posted by Red2014SS

They quit putting dipsticks on automatic transmissions. I keep expecting them to stop putting them on engines too. It'll probably happen soon. Oil level checking will become a "dealer only" service, with 4 free oil checks if you are the original owner... with an attached electronic counter, so they know if you were sneaky and cheated. Then your warranty will get voided, cause they don't know what you put in there.



What?? You think I was kidding?? Read this..
http://jalopnik.com/5522543/why-the-dipstick-is-dying

It's coming..

The author is an idiot or too young to know the gas station attendant checked everyone's oil, often. Back then a sensor or tire pressure gauge wasn't needed. You can't leave that up to the average car owner. Especially if you're going to put out cars that burn oil. How many single women are going to check their own oil? My wife won't even carry a package that's over a pound for God's sake. Breaks her nail opening a box of cereal.

The problem is it takes Detroit decades to do the right thing. Look how long these dirtbags fought seat belts and air bags.

[Red2014SS]

Originally Posted by yescats

The author is an idiot or too young to know the gas station attendant checked everyone's oil, often.

I agree. Whole heartedly.. Back when I was about 16yrs old, I was a gas station attendant. If we didn't ask everyone about an oil check, we got fired. Even so, it's still going to happen... because more and more people are idiots - just like that author.

[Joe Roe]

I guess I'll be taking a video of every time I check the oil and do an inspection on my car.

[Rocky1974]

Originally Posted by Chevcruz

Did you check the oil dip stick regularly? Need to do more than just look at the gauges, if your really getting on it, it will use more oil at higher rpm's. Need to keep her full.

Originally Posted by Chevcruz

Did you check the oil dip stick regularly? Need to do more than just look at the gauges, if your really getting on it, it will use more oil at higher rpm's. Need to keep her full.

Originally Posted by nyrfan

There is no gauge in the car that show you oil level. The only way to check it is by the dip stick and that should be done regularly. I check mine at every fill-up.

Doesn't the V6 have an oil level sensor? The V8 does and my 99 Grand Am GT 3.4 V6 had one. I know this is a completely different engine, but I wouldn't think that GM would leave something that important off of it.

Originally Posted by ravensjeff

There are many threads associated with the oil pumps failing. Mine just did. GM put a PI (product information) out on it where the pressure relief valve sticks, not allowing any oil pressure. The stock oil pumps should be replaced; and many use the Melling oil pump. Covered under 5yr/100,000 mile warranty (but GM would use stock parts). Not sure if this applies to you.

No warranty for me. But I doubt I have the damage you do, I turned my engine off immediately and did not drive it.

That's a V8 problem. The OP has a V6.

Originally Posted by lawman007

My nephew has a Smart car, and he took it in to a Valvoline oil change store/place. They removed the plug, changed the oil cross thredded the plug when they put it back, changed the filter, then topped it off. It was leaking when he got home, so he went back. They learned that they cross threaded the plug and said that they wouldn't do anything about it. Sooo, my nephew had to take it to a garage and get a new pan with plug. Plus the labor it ran about $650.00.

Two things, I try to do my own oil changes because of that very situation which is not limited to third party retail outlets(dealers can do it too). This comes under the heading of people are human(falable).

The other thing, if you don't check the level periodically(say after an oil change) how would know it is at the proper level?

I also change mine when it is about 10-15% if I don't store it. I changed it before and after I store it.

Originally Posted by GEN-IV

Dealer crossthreaded my drain plug on a "free" oil change on a brand new truck, that was the last dealer oil change that I had. Plus I don't want them driving anything I own, too picky.

I've had these kind of experiences also. After I had to change the oil pan on a 4WD Chevy truck, at my own expense, after Jiffy Lube over tightened and stripped out the drain plug, I swore off letting any one else change my oil ever again. Now I know how much and exactly what oil I really got and that both my oil filter and drain plug are tight, but not over tightened. I still let Valvoline Instant Oil Change change the oil my company vehicle, but if they screw it up, I don't have to pay the bill.

Originally Posted by yescats

Doesn't the AFM on the V8 cause lots of oil to be used as well?

Absolutely! Just google AFM burning oil. You can read about it for days.

Originally Posted by nyrfan

The V8 does not burn oil like the V6. This is really a V6 issue and a known issue.

I change the oil in my SS every 4K miles and lose virtually no oil in that time.

The V8 doesn't burn oil like the V6 unless it has AFM. If you have a V8 with AFM and it doesn't burn oil, you must either have it disabled, haven't put enough miles on it the problem show up, or are very lucky.

Originally Posted by jcsuddre

How do you drive your ss lol ? All jokes aside I am planning on calling gm tomorrow due to this issue in my ss which has been occurring since last year when I bought he car new . I would always get the oil changed at the dealership at the recommended time. The issue I was having is one or two thousand miles before the regular oil change I would have no oil at all . I took it to the dealership and they said it was a leaking oil filter the first time and it did it again a few months later . I called them and they told me to bring it and they checked it in front of me it had no oil . After some investigation they said it was a bad gasket and they repaired it ( this was back in April/may) i went for my oil change this past week and there was oil at the very bottom of the dipstick nowhere near the hash marks . So I have decided gm will be getting a phone call in the am .

I have a 2014 ss l99 and around 30k miles .
I know people who track their zl1 on weekends and they don't burn near as much oil this is ridiculous .

Is your AFM still enabled? This a very common problem on engines with AFM. It's always possible that in your case, it's being caused by something else, but if it's the standard AFM oil consumption problem, you can probably solve it by turning the AFM off. But if you turn it off with anything other than a Range device, you'll void your warranty. Some engines that have been allowed to run in AFM mode too long will never recover from turning it off and will have to be rebuilt.

Originally Posted by WoodBoss

My SS doesn't burn any oil between changes. I drive easy but I have taken it to the 1/8 mile drag strip and made a few runs too. I have AFM on.

You'd better get that AFM turned off, if you expect your engine to continue it's non-oil burning ways long term.

Originally Posted by yescats

This thread got me paranoid. I checked this morning and sure enough it was a quart down since I last checked it 3000 miles ago. Looks like this SS is an oil burner too. Are there any additives that can safely help this?

Your best additive would be a Range device. When this problem first became widely known, 3-4 years ago, I thought that only a certain percentage of AFM engines had these oil consumption problems. But since then I've come to realize that the failure rate is near 100% by 100k miles. I know people who had to have their engines rebuilt at 20k miles, but I don't know anyone that has made it past 100k miles without major oil consumption problems. The sad thing is that a rebuild doesn't even solve the problem, if AFM remains enabled, it just delays it for a few thousand miles. GM's goal is to get u past that 100k mark, so it's not their problem anymore.

Originally Posted by yescats

They have idiot lights for engine temperature. Even tire pressure. Why not something as important oil level? Especially that they're putting out oil burners. Something's rotten in Detroit.

You have a V8. That's exactly what you have. You have an oil level sensor and you will get a message in your Driver Information Center, if your oil gets low. I'd assume that the V6s have the same setup, but I don't own one, so I can't say for sure.

[rimhof]

Originally Posted by NJBourne23

Now i'm worried. Knock on wood no issues or indications thus far but I bought 4-5 oil changes worth of oil and filters from autozone when they had a good sale on it months ago. I change the oil very 7500 or so miles or when the indicator reaches 20-25%. How can I keep an accurate record of oil changes to prove they were done properly if i bought all the stuff in one shot?

I personally keep a journal through a notebook. On each page I staple my receipts and notate the date, miles, and work being done. Also in the unlikely event that I ever decide to sell my car it documents all maintenance and work done for the new owner.

[Avenging Orange]

I love these kind of threads.....OP posts once, gets 3 pages of response, and never replies.

[Red2014SS]

Originally Posted by Avenging Orange

I love these kind of threads.....OP posts once, gets 3 pages of response, and never replies.

Lol... oh well, at least it gave everybody something to do. I think there are three, maybe even four, different conversations going on in here.

[wakespeak]

Originally Posted by MrChrisLS3

Some things I learned about VVT V6 engines from owning a 2006 Cadillac STS. I understand this is a different engine, but I think much still applies.

The VVT system has a tendency to use oil, especially during the later periods of the oil life cycle.

The oil life monitor should be completely ignored. It will allow for about 10K miles on a single oil fill. By that time the oil will be dangerously broken down or degraded if you will. Should change at 5000 miles or so.

The PVC system has a tendency to clog. This will increase pressure in the top end, heads. When this happens, oil will slip past the o rings in the valve covers where the coil pack and spark plug reside.

Of course the direct injection engines also add the inherent issue with carbon build up on the intake valves. This then leads to the intake valves not operating properly, premature wear on valve stems and seals, which will also increase oil consumption. After enough time, these deposits, now hard baked, can chip off, go into the cylinder and cut the walls and damage the piston rings, more oil consumption.

so, as you can see, with all of these things working against the oiling system in the engine, and considering the vital role oil plays, constant monitoring is an absolute must, not just a good idea.

*All of the above information was garnered from my brother who works on these things for a living.

Right looking at the mileage (45K) this makes sense. The symptoms start around that time. Great candidate for a catch can or trade and get the newer V-6 in the Gen6.

[yescats]

Originally Posted by wakespeak

Right looking at the mileage (45K) this makes sense. The symptoms start around that time. Great candidate for a catch can or trade and get the newer V-6 in the Gen6.

A catch can solve the oil use problem? Does it do that on an SS too?

[wakespeak]

Originally Posted by yescats

A catch can solve the oil use problem? Does it do that on an SS too?

We're speculating as to the cause but I would say:

The oil coming from the PCV system into the combustion chamber is hard to burn, so you get carbon. The carbon can collect around the piston rings, which lowers their ability to control oil getting into the combustion chamber, which creates more carbon, which (etc etc).....allows oil use via piston rings. Some gets burned, some partially burned making carbon, some blown out.

A catch can distills the oil mist out of the PCV system, so the oil mist load is much less, slowing down the whole cycle.

Direct injected engines seem more susceptible (just Google Audi or VW, and see above post). Sure the SS can have the same problem, but its not direct injected. The LS3 also has an oil distiller built into the valley cover just before the gases are sucked into the intake. GM also includes a clean side catch can for high rpm use in the 1LE model. The 3.6 is otherwise a great engine, used in Cadillacs.

My advice would be to use synthetic oil and don't overfill the crankcase. Synthetic oil doesn't vaporize (turn to gas) until higher temps. If you overfill the crankcase, the oil can get foamed up by hitting the spinning crank. This causes oil mist.

The new LT1 is direct injected and has a very elaborate catch can -ish system that is built into the valve covers. I am sure GM applied lessons learned for the next V-6 as well.

[yescats]

Originally Posted by wakespeak

We're speculating as to the cause but I would say:

The oil coming from the PCV system into the combustion chamber is hard to burn, so you get carbon. The carbon can collect around the piston rings, which lowers their ability to control oil getting into the combustion chamber, which creates more carbon, which (etc etc).....allows oil use via piston rings. Some gets burned, some partially burned making carbon, some blown out.

A catch can distills the oil mist out of the PCV system, so the oil mist load is much less, slowing down the whole cycle.

Direct injected engines seem more susceptible (just Google Audi or VW, and see above post). Sure the SS can have the same problem, but its not direct injected. The LS3 also has an oil distiller built into the valley cover just before the gases are sucked into the intake. GM also includes a clean side catch can for high rpm use in the 1LE model. The 3.6 is otherwise a great engine, used in Cadillacs.

My advice would be to use synthetic oil and don't overfill the crankcase. Synthetic oil doesn't vaporize (turn to gas) until higher temps. If you overfill the crankcase, the oil can get foamed up by hitting the spinning crank. This causes oil mist.

The new LT1 is direct injected and has a very elaborate catch can -ish system that is built into the valve covers. I am sure GM applied lessons learned for the next V-6 as well.

Why didn't they do anything for the L99?

[MrChrisLS3]

Originally Posted by Avenging Orange

I love these kind of threads.....OP posts once, gets 3 pages of response, and never replies.

Well, it's one of two things. Either they learned in this thread that you are actually supposed to check and change oil. Thus embarrassed to say anything further, which I doubt. Or they have escalated the warranty case with GM, and do not wish to make any further comment on a public forum. More likely.

[christianchevell]

Maybe their computer blew also.........

[wakespeak]

Originally Posted by yescats

Why didn't they do anything for the L99?

The L99 has a different PCV system than the LS3 and has Active Fuel Management, so there are more things going on. How many miles on your engine?

We have a Suburban with an LC9 5.3 that starting using oil around 65K, around a qt per 1000 miles. We would see the most oil use on the highway. My conclusion after Googling the problem was the Active Fuel Management was the main culprit, with the PCV system a distant second. I bought the Range device. Using the Range device seems to be the answer: lock out 4-cyl mode. Oil use is about 1/3 qt per 1000 miles now (97K on the motor at this point). If I take the Range device out and run on the highway, oil consumption goes up. If you have the same pattern try it.

I wouldn't beat up on GM. Other cars, including expensive German cars, Toyotas, etc have had oil consumption issues with their motors. You'll get 250K out of that L99 if you want to, but it may take a little understanding.