itsnickyo

Hey guys I did an oil change with 5W-30 mobil 1 about 4 months ago, its about time to do another one (im at 3500 miles i usually do it every 4000 with synth) but the other day while driving down the highway my low oil light came on, i pulled over and checked the level on the dip stick and it was below the safe zone. i added two quarts witch brought it back up to the fill line almost exactly and kept driving, now a few days later i checked the stick again after drving home and its down maybe an 1/8 of an inch from the fill line, my question is, is where is it all going and is this a major problem?

EDIT: also i am not seeing any oil pooling under the car at all and it doesnt seem like im burning it cause im not getting any smoke from the pipes.

fleetmgr

Did you have a second set of eyes look for smoke, or did you do it from inside the car? If you did it, get the second opinion. Smoke can be hard to see in the mirror. Also, check your radiator for oil. Did you see any milky looking stuff on the dipstick? Get under the car and see if it's oily underneath.

joshp14

iTrader: (5)

If you have no external leaks then its burning it by getting thru your PCV system, valve guides, valve seals, or piston rings. I highly doubt engine oil is getting into his cooling system unless the block is cracked internally. If there is oil in your cooling system is probably a leaking power steering cooler or a leaking radiator (auto trans cars only).

fleetmgr

Unless he blew a head gasket.

itsnickyo

ok so this morning i went out and checked out everything in the engine, the dipstick isnt milky but the level did stay consistant from the other day, and i couldnt find any leaks on the block or anywhere else, but when i did pull the dipstick out for the coolant the level is very low and there is sediment built up all over the stick. maybe a bad head gasket? idkk

fleetmgr

Naw, what you saw on the coolant dipstick is normal, but that's not where you should be looking. Look inside the radiator.

Deviant LS1

iTrader: (4)

Mostly likely it's your PCV system sucking up oil into the intake. I've switched brands of oil and it seemed to cut down on the oil vapor consumption. I'm currently running Castrol Edge Syntec and I've cut down a lot of the oil consumption. I was adding about half a quart of oil every two to three weeks when I ran Penzoil Platinum. I switched to Castrol Syntec and I cut it down to about half a quart in a month. Now I've ran Castrol Syntec Edge and I'm still at the full line after two months.

sjsingle1

iTrader: (1)

the new style PCV valve has a smaller orifice to cut down on oil consumption

itsnickyo

i really think its the head gasket, there is oil in the radiator and i had someone give it a couple free revs in the drive way and lots of smoke is coming out now, also when the car is at idle the oil presure guage is fluttering. if it is the head gasket what kinda cost am i looking at?

joshp14

iTrader: (5)

Typically oil wont enter the coolant system from a blown head gasket unless its a OHC engine. Think about it, there is no oil pressure running thru the cylinder head on the LS1. All oil that touches the head gasket is draining back. Now if it were a OHC engine that would be a different story.

You have a pressurized cooling system....the higher pressure liquid will always win. If he has oil in the cooling system I doubt its engine oil unless the cooling system has no capability of building pressure AND the gasket is blown beyond belief allowing oil to just enter into the cylinder.

itsnickyo

i think im probably just going to take it into the shop and have them take a look at it, let them figure out whats wrong and fix it i dont have the time to rip apart the engine and fix this =/