Oil Problems --- Need opinions ---- Dealer comments also
07-02-2010, 10:21 AM
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Oil Problems --- Need opinions ---- Dealer comments also So, let me preface by saying I bought my car (Grand Prix GXP) in Feb and the dealer had just performed an oil change thus I didn't touch anything for awhile...
Fast forward 4,500 miles I decide to do an oil change, and go to my trusted Mobil-1 fully synthetic...Weird findings appear. Yesterday on my long drive from Ohio to Chicago, my car misfires some random times so I decide today to take it into the dealer since it's under warranty. As I'm pulling into the dealer lot my low oil light goes on... WTF!
They come back 30 mins later and tell me my car is TWO QUARTS LOW. Now...I've only put just about 1,500 miles on since my Mobil-1 Oil change (Which I used a full 6 quarts in)
I talk to the tech for like 15 mins (good guy, owns a Firehawk lol) and I tell him when I did the last oil change and what. He tells me that I SHOULDN'T be running full synthetic in this car at all. That's it's too thin, and actually my oil might be slipping past the seals and burning up which is why I've potentially lost so much. Dealer was really cool about the entire thing and gave me my two quarts back FOR FREE! YHATZEE! They didn't try to upsell me anything either, told me I should go to Autozone and run some injector cleaner for the misfires, recommended some lucas.
So my question to you guys....should I not be running synthetic in the GXP??? All my other cars I've used Mobil-1 without a problem, granted they were v6's and what not. It's just weird that I didn't suffer any oil loss after 4,500 miles with the first dealer oil change that came in the car (guessing it was dino oil) and now I put in Mobil-1 and I'm loosing 2 qts every 1,500 miles. They dealer also said there weren't any leaks either. Is this crap or should I just use mobil 5000 regular oil from now on or stick with Mobil-1 and fill it up constantly?
Thoughts?
Fast forward 4,500 miles I decide to do an oil change, and go to my trusted Mobil-1 fully synthetic...Weird findings appear. Yesterday on my long drive from Ohio to Chicago, my car misfires some random times so I decide today to take it into the dealer since it's under warranty. As I'm pulling into the dealer lot my low oil light goes on... WTF!
They come back 30 mins later and tell me my car is TWO QUARTS LOW. Now...I've only put just about 1,500 miles on since my Mobil-1 Oil change (Which I used a full 6 quarts in)
I talk to the tech for like 15 mins (good guy, owns a Firehawk lol) and I tell him when I did the last oil change and what. He tells me that I SHOULDN'T be running full synthetic in this car at all. That's it's too thin, and actually my oil might be slipping past the seals and burning up which is why I've potentially lost so much. Dealer was really cool about the entire thing and gave me my two quarts back FOR FREE! YHATZEE! They didn't try to upsell me anything either, told me I should go to Autozone and run some injector cleaner for the misfires, recommended some lucas.
So my question to you guys....should I not be running synthetic in the GXP??? All my other cars I've used Mobil-1 without a problem, granted they were v6's and what not. It's just weird that I didn't suffer any oil loss after 4,500 miles with the first dealer oil change that came in the car (guessing it was dino oil) and now I put in Mobil-1 and I'm loosing 2 qts every 1,500 miles. They dealer also said there weren't any leaks either. Is this crap or should I just use mobil 5000 regular oil from now on or stick with Mobil-1 and fill it up constantly?
Thoughts?
07-02-2010, 01:13 PM
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I'm running 5w30...
As far as I can tell, the car was running great before this, so I may just switch back to something like Mobil Clean 5000 and see if I'm still burning at the same rate. This is my DD car, and is still stock, so while synthetic I know protects better, it maybe overkill for my application.
As far as I can tell, the car was running great before this, so I may just switch back to something like Mobil Clean 5000 and see if I'm still burning at the same rate. This is my DD car, and is still stock, so while synthetic I know protects better, it maybe overkill for my application.
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07-02-2010, 01:34 PM
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I'm running 5w30...
As far as I can tell, the car was running great before this, so I may just switch back to something like Mobil Clean 5000 and see if I'm still burning at the same rate. This is my DD car, and is still stock, so while synthetic I know protects better, it maybe overkill for my application.
As far as I can tell, the car was running great before this, so I may just switch back to something like Mobil Clean 5000 and see if I'm still burning at the same rate. This is my DD car, and is still stock, so while synthetic I know protects better, it maybe overkill for my application.
07-02-2010, 02:06 PM
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I use Mobil 1 synthetic 5w30 and no problems, I just came back from a 4000km trip and the oil is still full.
What the hell is a catch can? I heard of it
What the hell is a catch can? I heard of it
07-02-2010, 03:16 PM
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There is a TSB out about over-aggressive lifters and PCV dirty side baffles, but I don't think that applies here. If you need a catch can, you will find a puddle of oil in your intake manifold. The most likely answer is that the oil is just getting by the factory low tension oil ring. It reduces friction and still scrapes the bore clean of conventional oil on the way down, but on some engines there is enough play that synthetic can sneak by.
Since I just buy whichever synthetic is on sale at Autozone, I've run several different syntetics in the car and Mobil-1 easily burns the fastest. That's actually why I've already checked into this. When I've used it, I would burn about 1.5 quarts every 3000 miles. Last time I was there Valvoline Racing Synthetic was on sale, so that's what I'm running at the moment... just went and checked, and after 1000 miles I'm still perfectly full.
07-02-2010, 05:11 PM
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A catch can is used inline with the PCV system to filter out the oil that gets past the baffle. It is basically a can with an inlet that is lower than the outlet and enough room at the bottom to fill up with oil. There is usually a filter and a drain involved too. PCV system oil blow-by isn't really a problem in LSx engines unless you are doing a lot of circle track racing (sustained high RPMs) or something like that. Under those conditions the stock high volume oil pump can fill up the top of the head with oil, and oil will get through the clean side of the PCV system as well as the dirty side. Catch cans are also typically used with turbo setups because oil can leak past the seals in the turbo and get into the intake. VW's TDI engines are particularly bad; I spent a lot of time working with a 1.8L TDI that would blow half a quart into the intake every 1000 miles. Long story short, you probably don't need a catch can.
There is a TSB out about over-aggressive lifters and PCV dirty side baffles, but I don't think that applies here. If you need a catch can, you will find a puddle of oil in your intake manifold. The most likely answer is that the oil is just getting by the factory low tension oil ring. It reduces friction and still scrapes the bore clean of conventional oil on the way down, but on some engines there is enough play that synthetic can sneak by.
Since I just buy whichever synthetic is on sale at Autozone, I've run several different syntetics in the car and Mobil-1 easily burns the fastest. That's actually why I've already checked into this. When I've used it, I would burn about 1.5 quarts every 3000 miles. Last time I was there Valvoline Racing Synthetic was on sale, so that's what I'm running at the moment... just went and checked, and after 1000 miles I'm still perfectly full.
There is a TSB out about over-aggressive lifters and PCV dirty side baffles, but I don't think that applies here. If you need a catch can, you will find a puddle of oil in your intake manifold. The most likely answer is that the oil is just getting by the factory low tension oil ring. It reduces friction and still scrapes the bore clean of conventional oil on the way down, but on some engines there is enough play that synthetic can sneak by.
Since I just buy whichever synthetic is on sale at Autozone, I've run several different syntetics in the car and Mobil-1 easily burns the fastest. That's actually why I've already checked into this. When I've used it, I would burn about 1.5 quarts every 3000 miles. Last time I was there Valvoline Racing Synthetic was on sale, so that's what I'm running at the moment... just went and checked, and after 1000 miles I'm still perfectly full.
hmmmm that's pretty interesting to know. I'll keep that all in mind. Thanks everyone for the replies. I think for now I'm going to switch back to dino oil and see how that goes and if I burn through any. At least today's regular oil's have come a long way from 20 years ago and are still decent.
07-02-2010, 07:55 PM
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Since i'm a newb, and this is my first post, I'm going to ask a stupid question:
How much oil does the 5.3 take? I'm coming up on my first oil change; just got my Impala 2 months ago, and the spec. in the owners manual are generally a little off.
I've spent 8 years as a mechanic... and i have to say, synthetic oil is a waste of money. Sure, it stays clean longer, and has more additives than traditional oil, but as long as you change it regularly, it makes no difference in the long run. Just my $0.02.
How much oil does the 5.3 take? I'm coming up on my first oil change; just got my Impala 2 months ago, and the spec. in the owners manual are generally a little off.
I've spent 8 years as a mechanic... and i have to say, synthetic oil is a waste of money. Sure, it stays clean longer, and has more additives than traditional oil, but as long as you change it regularly, it makes no difference in the long run. Just my $0.02.
07-02-2010, 08:18 PM
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So, let me preface by saying I bought my car (Grand Prix GXP) in Feb and the dealer had just performed an oil change thus I didn't touch anything for awhile...
Fast forward 4,500 miles I decide to do an oil change, and go to my trusted Mobil-1 fully synthetic...Weird findings appear. Yesterday on my long drive from Ohio to Chicago, my car misfires some random times so I decide today to take it into the dealer since it's under warranty. As I'm pulling into the dealer lot my low oil light goes on... WTF!
They come back 30 mins later and tell me my car is TWO QUARTS LOW. Now...I've only put just about 1,500 miles on since my Mobil-1 Oil change (Which I used a full 6 quarts in)
I talk to the tech for like 15 mins (good guy, owns a Firehawk lol) and I tell him when I did the last oil change and what. He tells me that I SHOULDN'T be running full synthetic in this car at all. That's it's too thin, and actually my oil might be slipping past the seals and burning up which is why I've potentially lost so much. Dealer was really cool about the entire thing and gave me my two quarts back FOR FREE! YHATZEE! They didn't try to upsell me anything either, told me I should go to Autozone and run some injector cleaner for the misfires, recommended some lucas.
So my question to you guys....should I not be running synthetic in the GXP??? All my other cars I've used Mobil-1 without a problem, granted they were v6's and what not. It's just weird that I didn't suffer any oil loss after 4,500 miles with the first dealer oil change that came in the car (guessing it was dino oil) and now I put in Mobil-1 and I'm loosing 2 qts every 1,500 miles. They dealer also said there weren't any leaks either. Is this crap or should I just use mobil 5000 regular oil from now on or stick with Mobil-1 and fill it up constantly?
Thoughts?
Fast forward 4,500 miles I decide to do an oil change, and go to my trusted Mobil-1 fully synthetic...Weird findings appear. Yesterday on my long drive from Ohio to Chicago, my car misfires some random times so I decide today to take it into the dealer since it's under warranty. As I'm pulling into the dealer lot my low oil light goes on... WTF!
They come back 30 mins later and tell me my car is TWO QUARTS LOW. Now...I've only put just about 1,500 miles on since my Mobil-1 Oil change (Which I used a full 6 quarts in)
I talk to the tech for like 15 mins (good guy, owns a Firehawk lol) and I tell him when I did the last oil change and what. He tells me that I SHOULDN'T be running full synthetic in this car at all. That's it's too thin, and actually my oil might be slipping past the seals and burning up which is why I've potentially lost so much. Dealer was really cool about the entire thing and gave me my two quarts back FOR FREE! YHATZEE! They didn't try to upsell me anything either, told me I should go to Autozone and run some injector cleaner for the misfires, recommended some lucas.
So my question to you guys....should I not be running synthetic in the GXP??? All my other cars I've used Mobil-1 without a problem, granted they were v6's and what not. It's just weird that I didn't suffer any oil loss after 4,500 miles with the first dealer oil change that came in the car (guessing it was dino oil) and now I put in Mobil-1 and I'm loosing 2 qts every 1,500 miles. They dealer also said there weren't any leaks either. Is this crap or should I just use mobil 5000 regular oil from now on or stick with Mobil-1 and fill it up constantly?
Thoughts?
I recently completed this and they have come to the conclusion that I am losing oil (duh). Like you, I was losing 1-2 quarts.
I had an appointment to leave my car in the dealership, but I am waiting for something in the mail for my car (unrelated). Once I get what I'm waiting for, it'll go to the dealership and they'll put me in a rental. I have no idea what they'll be doing but I'll be sure to ask.
A possible reason: http://www.aera.org/ep/techbulletins/Q1-2009/TB2505.pdf