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2005 Burning Oil

8.7K views 26 replies 15 participants last post by  JMVorbeck  
#1 ·
I have about 400 miles on my 2005 GTO. It has used/burned 1-1/2 quarts of synthetic 10-40 oil. Is this normal? Any recommendations?
 
#2 ·
dorn22 said:
I have about 400 miles on my 2005 GTO. It has used/burned 1-1/2 quarts of synthetic 10-40 oil. Is this normal? Any recommendations?
Are you sure you actually used that much? Did you check the oil level when you left the dealer? It is highly likely that it was not full when you picked it up. I used 1 full qt during the first couple thousand miles but it seems to have gone away now that I have 7000. Some use in a brand new engine is normal, but not 1.5qts in 400 miles, thats like a qt per tank. I think you would see white smoke in the exhaust at that comsumption rate.
 
#3 ·
GM calls this usage, 1 - 1.5 qts between changes, in Gen III engines normal

Now in only a few hundred miles, I'd get to the dealer and let them fill & seal your filler cap, and watch closely.

Guess an oil ring may not have seated yet :confused Happened in a powerstroke diesel i rebuilt.

please post the results
 
#5 ·
GTO burning oil

My 2004 GTO has 6500 miles and so far has shown no signs of burning oil...thank goodness!

A car that burns oil will generally emit a bluish smoke out of the tailpipe during acceleration or deceleration or at start up after sitting from a hot soak.

It depends on where the oil is entering the combustion chamber from.

So far so good with my 04
 
#7 ·
dorn22 said:
I have about 400 miles on my 2005 GTO. It has used/burned 1-1/2 quarts of synthetic 10-40 oil. Is this normal? Any recommendations?
Don't get too excited. I'd buy into JMVorbeck's theory. I have an 05 and I experienced the same thing you did. At 5,000 miles the synthetic dinosaur juice was down about two quarts. At that point, I had an oil change and refill done at the dealer. In the last 4,000 miles the oil usage has been barely detectable on the dipstick, as it should be.

I'm with Mr. Vorbeck. I'll bet the factory fill was not done properly. Shame on me for not doing a thorough fluids check when I took delivery. And shame again for not checking fluids regularly over 5,000 miles.

The thing that kept me from panicking was the engine....
  • made no nasty noises
  • emitted no nasty odors
  • didn't soil the tailpipe with nasty stuff
  • Plus GM small blocks are generally very reliable

I just waited it out and all was fine. These GM small blocks have been around for a long while and are pretty damn good. An oil burner should be a rare ocurrence.

Good Luck!
 
#9 ·
westell said:
Gen III engines burn oil, period. Those not consuming oil are in the minority.

I buy 2 - 4qt Mobil 1 bottles. I put 7 in, and 1 in reserve for about 1500-2000 mile refill :seeya:
Westell, I have no idea about the Gen III but my Gen IV burned some and now it has stopped completely. I have 4000 miles on this oil change so far and the oil is exactly at the full mark where I filled it to 4000 miles ago. I drive the holy hell out of it too.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Oil Burning you say? My Goat drinks the stuff like I drink beer during a Nebraska Cornhusker game...

I've been having the GM "engine consumption test" done on my car for the past 2k miles. This weekend I got sick of waiting around after once again seeing that the oil is below the fill line on the dipstick.

I average about 2-3 quarts every 700 miles. IS THAT SICK OR WHAT?!?! Scheduled an appt to have them look at it. Amazing enough, if you use the words "state" and "lemon" they really do want you to get it in, and my dude actually told me what they'll be doing! :) (Checking to see if its either an intake valve or an ring that hasn't seated yet. Either way, they know its messed up, and they know I mean business.

:D

Could this be the reason I had crumby dyno results???? hmmmmmmmm
 
#11 ·
huskerGTO said:
Oil Burning you say? My Goat drinks the stuff like I drink beer during a Nebraska Cornhusker game...

I've been having the GM "engine consumption test" done on my car for the past 2k miles. This weekend I got sick of waiting around after once again seeing that the oil is below the fill line on the dipstick.

I average about 2-3 quarts every 700 miles. IS THAT SICK OR WHAT?!?! Scheduled an appt to have them look at it. Amazing enough, if you use the words "state" and "lemon" they really do want you to get it in, and my dude actually told me what they'll be doing! :) (Checking to see if its either an intake valve or an ring that hasn't seated yet. Either way, they know its messed up, and they know I mean business.
Could this be the reason I had crumby dyno results???? hmmmmmmmm
:D
Isnt it smoking? I had an old honda that didnt use that much oil and it smoked enough to fumigate the neighborhood. You should be leaving a vapor trail behind you as you drive down the road at 2-3qts @ 700 miles. No leaks?
 
#13 ·
huskerGTO said:
No Blue vapor trail reported from my moms and pops who had the courtesy to let me leave them in the dust. They said they saw a big brown streak of smoke. Funny it wasn't blue, but still the same, its my only guess because there are no leaks. At home or in my parking spot at work.

Dave :confused
Man, I just dont see how you can move that much oil through the cumbustion chamber without the tell tale blue smoke. You have any dirty neighbors who may be siphoning your Mobil 1? :D
 
#14 ·
Hehehe I was starting to think something was up...but no. I can't believe it either. I can't stand the trail of blue smoke, so I KNOW that I would have noticed it, but what's even worse is the oil that dissappears so gawdamd fast. I quit paying for oil changes and am constantly having them top it off..no charge to me. (I'm sure if it doesn't drive me insane first, it will get to them eventually). Either that or someone's a$$ will be chewed at the dealership by a regional VP.
:party:
 
#16 ·
In the Vette, the oil usage has a lot to do with driving style. Those who tend to drive at high rpm, low load conditions, tend to burn more oil than others, particularly in the 2001 Z06. The rings Chevy put in the 02 LS6 supposedly corrected this, but a lot of Z06 owners with 02 and later motors still report higher oil usage than they expect. Personally, I don't think this is indicative of a "problem". The oil tends to sneak by the rings, and get sucked via the PCV system into the intake, neither of which is a fatal flaw. Needless to say, I check my oil regularly. :cheers
 
#18 · (Edited)
huskerGTO said:
But still....burning up 2-3 quarts every 700 miles?? That's a bit excessive, and I don't know what else to do besides take it in to the shop.
:willy:

Yeah I would say you have some kind of ring or valve issue. I have 2400 miles on my 05 GTO and have not noticed any oil consumption. You said you have crappy dyno numbers, what did you dyno? You can see what I did in my sig with just LPE CAI @ 760 miles.

Well since my sig isn't showing I made 349.7 rwhp. Strange preview changes shows the sig but when I save it is gone.
 
#19 ·
Took Blu Goat in to the shop today. They lifted the engine and are looking for things wrong with it. I can almost guarantee its a ring. I guess GM finally gave them the authorization to do something about it! So that's good news at least....

Hope to get it back soon. It hasn't been 24 hours and its driving me nuts.
:willy:

Dave
 
#21 ·
dorn22 said:
I have about 400 miles on my 2005 GTO. It has used/burned 1-1/2 quarts of synthetic 10-40 oil. Is this normal? Any recommendations?
I have 9,500 miles on my 2004 GTO without any oil loss. However, when the dealer did change the oil for the first time at 4,500 miles he shorted me 1-quart of Mobil One. The oil change was a short fill because the guy who serviced the car relied on the dip-stick to determine the proper amount of oil. I couldn't reference the 6-quarts in the manual at the time, so I lost out on the quart. After I got home, I added the extra quart.
 
#22 ·
huskerGTO said:
Took Blu Goat in to the shop today. They lifted the engine and are looking for things wrong with it. I can almost guarantee its a ring. I guess GM finally gave them the authorization to do something about it! So that's good news at least....

Hope to get it back soon. It hasn't been 24 hours and its driving me nuts.
:willy:

Dave
Just tell 'em you want a new engine. You'll get one. And they come complete. Ain't no short block / long block. It comes with water pump, p/s pump. Got new LS1 under warranty in my '02 SS at 35,805 miles due to piston slap thing. :D
 
#26 ·
This thread got me to start checking mine real close. I have 4300 miles on mine and it is just off the full line. I have heard that these LS engines are real sensitive to how you break then in, and if you are hard on it in the first 1000 miles they tend to use more oil and make less power. I'm not sure if this is correct or not. It would be interesting to see how many people that were harder on their cars to start with are having oil consumption issues. I read post where guys were planting the right foot leaving the dealership and were at the strip with 700 miles on the car.