02maroZ28

I own a 2002 Camaro z28 with the ls1, and today I changed the oil in it. I know the car holds 5.5 quarts but when we drained it, we could only get 4 quarts out of it. The weird thing is I checked the oil maybe 500-1000 miles ago and it was within operating range.

I'm kinda freaking out right now, but maybe I'm just overreacting. Has anyone else had this happen to them? Could the engine have any damage to it if it really was low? The engine has 29,335 miles as of todays oil change. I do an oil change every 3000 miles as well if that matters.

A friend of mine told me that 1.5 quarts low won't really hurt anything, it will just cause the oil in it to go bad faster, but I'm not sure if I believe him or not.

Z28 6spd

iTrader: (3)

You'll never get the full 5.5 quarts to drain out. Some will still be in the heads and lifter valley, and the bottom of the pan below the drain plug. Not to worry.

02maroZ28

would there be a quart and a half in the heads and lifter valley, and in the pan? I see what your saying but 1.5 quarts seems like way too much oil to be left in the engine. And when we put 5.5 quarts of new oil in it, the dipstick said it was full.

dailydriver

You would have to let it drain for HOURS at a time, AND jack up opposite sides of the car in order to get even near the 5.5 qts. you put into it, and even then there would be a good amount left in the heads/lifter valley/etc.

You could be using a little oil (getting past the valve seals/ring pack), but I would not worry about it, just keep an eye on your levels during this OCI (oil change interval).

Depending on which oil you are using, they also actually get vaporized during the course of an OCI, depending on their NOACK volatility rate (measured as a %), so keep that in mind as well.

Z28 6spd

iTrader: (3)

[QUOTE=02maroZ28;17813957] The weird thing is I checked the oil maybe 500-1000 miles ago and it was within operating range.

Sounds like it wasn't at the "full" mark when you checked it. Plus, oil will stay in the oil galleys throughout the block and some in the old filter unless it was left to drain for a long period of time. I highly doubt you were dangerously low. You're changing it on time and checking it periodically.

02maroZ28

ok thanks for the help everyone.

I also forgot to mention that after we drained the oil first, we put the plug back in, removed the old oil filter and the oil inside of it, then removed the plug again and drained the rest of the oil that came out. I included that oil in my original statement of 4 quarts. That's another reason I was concerned because I did include the old oil in my old oil filter, and it was still 1.5 quarts low. I hope no damage was done if it was running low for that long. I am running mobile 1 10w 30 fully synthetic if that matters too.

RockinWs6

Not to start a argument over this but if you drain the oil hot and change the filter you will get 98-99% of the oil out. I've done quick flushes hot and measured the collected oil many times.

1.5 qt low could be critical if you were racing or driving on the edge on the street but normal driving I don't think you would do any damage until you get down into the 3 qt range. You were well above that.

Now I'm going to give you some advice that you can bank on. ALWAYS overfill a LS1 engine by at least 1/2 qt. I personally run 1 qt over so I never have to worry about forgetting to check the oil one week and ruining the engine. I've seen LS1 engines use a qt in 500 miles. Everyone I've owned uses 1 qt every 1-2k easily, sometimes more depending on the weather and how its driven. All mine use a lot more in the hot months.

02maroZ28

my dad was telling me the same thing; he said that all the oil would drain out (not trying to pick sides, me personally I have no CLUE about oil changes this one only being my second or third oil change I've ever done). I wasn't driving the thing like a race car the whole time but I did rev it up ever now and then.

Right now the engine is halfway into the crosshatches on the dipstick and my dad told me to leave it alone. Im guessing that's ok? Regardless im going to check it very often now to make sure it doesn't go low on me

Z28 6spd

iTrader: (3)

It's safe to run it there, as that is the "operating range". But keep in mind, if you lose a little oil through normal consumption, you will be at the "add" mark sooner than if you started on full. The next time you change the oil, check the level right before you drain it. That way regardless of how much comes out, you'll know you were safe.

RockinWs6

Run 6 qts or worry.

Burken01

iTrader: (88)

Hmmm interesting, I'm gonna start using 6 now..

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

This could be worse. You do not want to over fill the crank case as it could cause foaming, which would be a whole lot of badness. Having the oil a little low is no big deal.


These cars (from the factory) can burn about a quart ever 3000 miles. Your dipstick is calibrated for this, so you would not "see" any problems from this as you check between changes.

Some of the oil is left behind and if you are changing the oil without the car being perfectly level, some will remain in the oil pan. Some of the oil gunks up in or saturates the oil filter. (See how much heavier a used one is.)

I typically get 4.5 out of my stock car/engine and its been this way from the factory. It's nothing to worry about. Just watch it and see what happens next time.

Burken01

iTrader: (88)

True that..


Ill have to experiment with it

RockinWs6

You can easily run 7 qts if you want..........this isn't a old small block chevy engine. Trust me I know what I'm talking about.

RockinWs6

If you run 5.5 qts, next time you are on an on/off ramp, making a long sweeping left hand corner and the tires are close to the edge of traction and the engine is spinning at 5K or so for a few seconds, peak down at the oil pressure guage.

You'll start running 6.5 or 7 quarts. Replacing an oil starved crank and bearings is pricey.


Lots of posts like this all over LS1tech and other sites. Believe what you want.

You would have to put over 8 qts of oil in a lS1 to get near the crank and then the windage tray will stop the oil from hitting the crank.

watch how fast this post gets deleted ..............

02maroZ28

Im not taking anyones side here, like I said I personally dont know anything about how much oil the car takes other than whats in the manual. My dad is a car guy and know just about everything there is to know about cars, how to fix them, etc and he said to put 5.5 (since thats what the owners manual says) and leave it alone. He did also mention foaming if oil got in the crankshaft, but like i said i dont know anything about that. I was just concerned that my engine might of had damage done to it by running low oil. Does anyone know an easy way to check if the engine is fine or not?

Btw when we changed the oil the front of the car was jacked up on wheel ramps so that we could get under it, but the back was not jacked up. Is it possible that because of that the oil did not drain out all of the way?

Burken01

iTrader: (88)

If its not broke don't fix it, yet.

I think it's fine, unless you hear some weird noises. You can cut open your oil filter next oil change and see what's inside.

Take off your valve covers and look and make sure everything is kosher. Not a whole lot you can do to make sure the shortblock is in perfect running health without opening it up.

You'll know when something is up, you'll have low oil pressure and ticking/tapping noises, smoke, loss of power, fire explosion etc..

dailydriver

Yes, those few of us who actually use these cars to turn left and right, and brake (vs. ONLY worrying about launching/straight line performance) ALWAYS overfill by at least a quart in order to prevent oil pickup starvation in hard, high g turns/sweepers.

This EVEN IF they are using an Accusump type device which pressurizes, and adds in more oil during these conditions.

The only time a road racer would NOT add in over the suggested oil amount is if they are fortunate (AND WEALTHY) enough to have a good, racing dry sump system installed.

NC01TA

Same here. Only 36,000 miles on my T/A and on a recent 500 miles trip I burned 1/2 quart of oil. This has happened on longer highway trips before as well. I've found it helpful to change the PCV every year or two depending on miles driven. The oil consumption is much less after it is changed. Very inexpensive to purchase. I just found some Genuine GM for under $5 each, no tax, and shipped free. http://www.ebay.com/itm/300995934461...84.m1439.l2649

bene

iTrader: (16)

+1.