red hot ride

whats up guys, i just got my car at the end of january so i have not had it for that long. i have changed the oil twice and so far i have noticed that my car burns quite a bit of oil, about a quart and a half (maybe a little less) roughly every 3k miles. does anyone else have this problem? i have owned 4 GM vehicles prior to my trans am and none of my other GM vehicles burned hardly any oil, ever! is this common among ls1's or something i might wanna have looked into? i am still under warranty for another 13k miles. another question not really related to this one, but engine related none the less. on start up and until it gets up to operating temperature i have a tapping that i would guess is either coming from a pushrod or a lifter, it does it on both cold and warm days. again, is this common among ls1's or should i have this looked into as well? any advice, words of ls1 wisdom, or any constructive comment would be greatly appreciated. thanks guys

MattIROC

iTrader: (19)

its a common problem I wouldnt sweat it. How many miles on the motor?

98LS-WON

How often do you get into high RPM's? Driving style has a lot to do with oil consumption in these cars. If you drive it conservatively, your oil consumption will go down.

SeVeReDiStOrTiOn

LS1's are known for sucking oil through the pcv and back into the intake....with enough oil getting into the cylinders you can get some knocking along with a dirty motor. Do the catch can mod...you can buy the stuff at Lowes or you can order it online for like $160 from http://www.accmachtech.com/pcvcatchcans.htm
Since I put in my catch can...every 1000 miles I dump about 1/4 of a can out.

Does the tapping speed up with the engine rpm's? Tapping can be a lot of things...from normal injector clicking to lifters, valves....try to isolate where it's coming from.

red hot ride

the engine has 55k on it. i drive fairly conservative mostly staying under or around 2k through each gear. i do get on it occasionaly running it up to 5.5k through the gears. i also cruise around 85-90 mph in 6th sometimes. as for the tapping i can only hear it at idle and it goes away as soon as the car is warmed up. thanks for the replies guys its much appreciated.

jlashley2001ss

iTrader: (5)

the tapping noise sounds like the common piston slap that the LS1's are known for. Dont sweat it.

urbanhunter44

iTrader: (1)

Yep LS1s piston slap and they burn oil like crazy. It's normal!

YoMommasTA

iTrader: (1)

if you are using 5-30 weight oil its going to use 1-2 qts between changes.try a heavier oil like 0-40 or 10-40 something like that will help.

Carter Hays

First it is not normal. It may be a "normal" thing for some lsx series engines, but it is not normal for a cast piston street motor to use this much oil. Mine slaps and burns oil, has done it since I bought it new.
General Motor has such **** poor quality control that one car will not burn a drop while the next will it like a drunken *****. General motors changed their policy when these engines started showing their defects, they now say something like 600-800 miles a quart is normal GOOD GOD. No excuses, I have heard every bullshit lie from GM and people who own these motors who just can't grasp that their beloved Ls1 wasn't build right.

Just drive it and add oil or hone the cylinders and fit new pistons. $$$

red hot ride

hey guys! sorry for the long lay off...... after a few more miles on the motor, im up to 58k now, i've (well, my brother who is ASE master mech. has) have come to the conclusion that it is a lifter bleading down. now the motor makes the tapping sound even after being warmed up and continues to do so while the engine is running. it is fairly loud on start up and quiets down considerably after warming up but the sound still remains. ive taken the car to carmax, where i got it, and had them look and listen to it thinking it would be fixed under warranty. well they sent me out the door with a $91 bill for spending 5 minutes listening to it and then told me the tapping noise is normal. so i take it to a pontiac dealership once again thinking it was going to be fixed under warranty, they told me the same thing saying that "all gm v-8 motors make some sort of tapping sound and that it is perfectly normal and there is no harm being done to the engine". my brother who is VERY good at what he does, is convinced it is a lifter bleading down. now tell me whos the idiot here? my brother? or the 2 dumbass techs at carmax and pontiac?

WsSickLs6

pushrod engines make noise...Deal with it

98camaroLS1M6

iTrader: (35)

1.5 quarts 3000mi, that's normal. I know a buddy who puts 1.5qt every 1000mi. Your car is perfectly fine.

Marc 85Z28

iTrader: (8)

Hahaha! You callin me a dumbass!? I was the one who checked out your car at CarMax Laurel, and yes, you have normal piston slap. The noise DOES go away once warmed - I don't know what else your hearing. The oil consumption on your car is PCV related, as you had the trail in the throttle body.

Regardless, the warranty you bought (AON) is quite familiar with this noise and like GM, will not cover it. That's why I sent it out.

If you're really concerned about it, over-rev the **** out of it, or downshift into 1st at 90mph. AON WILL cover no compression or connecting rod problems. And we don't rebuild engines, we just replace them.

Wyckedcamaro

iTrader: (2)

DAMN, OWNED.

rgaynor85

hahaha

Mike2kZ

iTrader: (3)

I hear switching to royal purple r41 will reduce oil consumption significantly. I'm going to try it in a few weeks.

Joey7489

iTrader: (21)

my car burns oil like a fatman sucks down a tub of chocolate