Burning oil, Noise at startup, MPG and Paint

[someday139]

Looking for some suggestions on a few problems. I'm a single mom and trying to save money for now, so taking it to the dealer and waiting with a 4 year old for hours isn't high on my "fun to do list".

I have a 2003 Tahoe Z71 with the 5.3 that I bought almost two years ago when I moved to Ohio. As SUV's go it has always been my favorite and I have loved my sisters since she bought it brand new in 03 (I was with her and even picked it out). Found one at a dealer in Akron with just over 100,000 miles on it. Has ran great for almost two years without any real problems. However about 5 months ago I'd say, I had an issue come up with it burning more oil than normal according to the tech at Valvoline. It had about 146,000 on it then. I always ran Synthetic in my F-150 and I decided at that time to switch to Synthetic in the Tahoe too. Being aware there may be a problem I have kept an eye on it and did find that I had to add oil in between changes that time. I had the oil changed again at about 4,000 miles. That was my last oil change. I was about 100 miles shy of the 3,000 mile mark last week so I checked the oil again. There was barley any on the dip stick.. Now, seeing I don't have vast mechanical knowledge, I don't know how much oil would actually be in the motor at that point if it is just barely over the tip of the dipstick.. But I ran out and got another quart of the same oil Valvoline puts in it to try and get me by for the week while I investigate this problem. I'm am preparing to move back to SC the end of March (which is home) where I will have my mechanics that I trust to help me and look at it, but seeing how I know none here I am looking for suggestions on what the cause may be and if there is anything concrete I can find out about this problem and IF I should indeed get it to the dealer before the move.. Def. don't want to mess the engine up. I do not have any oil marks on the garage floor to indicate a "leak" and I have not myself noticed any signs of smoking out tail pipe but after reading some on here I will try and have my 9 year old start it for me so I can watch tail pipe at start up.. (Hey a womans gotta do what a womans gotta do right?)

Another concern I have is while starting it every morning it makes this scratching/grinding noise while turning the key and few seconds after releasing the key. I start it up every morning at 8:30 and let it sit in the garage and run for about 5-8 mins before we leave for school. Over time it seems to have gotten just a lil worse. At times even hesitates for just a second. Is this an indication of the starter going bad or something else? It really is a more high pitched scratchy/grinding noise. Just don't wanna come out one morning and it not start at all. I use to be a hard core believer in taking it to the dealer for everything, but times are tough and money is tight so I am wanting to have SOME idea what may be going on first so I know if they are being upfront in their diagnoisis.

I have also noticed on several sites that some owners are getting A LOT more MPG than I am. I'd say mine is around 13 in the city.. Are there things I can have done to the truck to improve gas mileage???

Finally, seeing how this vehicle has always been in OH from what I can tell through records, it has been subject to the salt and snow issues that cause RUST!!! Did I mention I am OCD????? I can't stand it.. I started seeing just a few flakes the end of last winter.. At this moment, it has several small spots of rust on the front bumper and the rim of the wheel wells are showing quite a bit of the ugly stuff too. Basically any lower part where the stuff off the road reaches has started to rust.. My question is, is there ANYTHING I myself can do to repair this or at least minimize it for now?? How does one go about getting rid of all the rust once and for all? Does it require a complete paint job by a professional and has anyone had theirs painted to have just an IDEA what in the world that cost? Just to paint it back the same shade of white!

I'm trying to figure out if I should fix these problems and keep it as I do love the thing, but am concerned about the engine and how long it will last. I don't know anything about replacing motors and how much it cost. Is the overall dependability of this year of Tahoe very good and worth just replacing the motor? The transmition has also not shifted into Reverse or Drive from a parked position a couple of times now (took a few seconds for it to shift). I know it's my car and my decision!!! But what would you GUYS reccomend to YOUR sister or mother if this was their situation?
Thanks for reading and thanks for any help or insight you can give!!

 

[M3PO]

Sorry, I am little confused, did the engine take the whole quart of oil to get it topped off? A quart every 3k miles is not terrible for that mileage.

I would say 13 mpg around town is decent-good mileage if you are leaving your truck run 5-8 minutes every day. Cut down on your warm up times, and you should see your mpg's increase. When you say "hesitation" do you mean when cranking the motor during start up or hesitation when driving/accelerating? If it is making a strange noise then get it checked out. If the engine is hesitating then it is not running right, getting it fixed could save you money in fuel, and tow charges.

Rust is a pain in the arse, I was never an auto body guy, and just stayed away from cars with bad paint. Rust will continue to grow, and it can be pricey to fix if it is all over and you want it fixed to show room new. Now there are cheaper body shops that will slap some bondo on it and get it by a couple more years.
If you have bad paint, oil consumption, and what might be a failing transmission, you might consider just trading the ol bird in. I know others will say these are easy tasks, and they are for some, but not all of us. I know you said money is tight, so it might not be as easy as trading it in, if not try to find someone you can trust to address the issues that are going to leave you stranded. Being tight on money, I would hate to hear that you threw your last dollar at getting the motor issues resolved, only to have the transmission poop the bed.

Good luck on your journey, I hope you are able to get it fixed up or get something newer.

 

[DeepSeaFish]

If I'm reading that right, it sounds like you were a hundred miles shy of your oil change mileage ( 3k or 5k ) and there wasn't hardly any oil on the dipstick?? If there are no signs or visible leaks coming from the engine and the bottom of the engine is not coated in oil, then you could possibly be burning oil internally. This usually occurs when oil slips by the piston rings and slowly burns off the top of the cylinder when air and fuel combust inside the chamber. If this is what's happening, ( and I'm not saying that it is ) then an engine rebuild or engine replacement is in your future. Otherwise, I'd get out of the truck soon before disaster happens. Whoever had the truck before you may not have changed the oil often enough or maybe ran it hard. It's difficult to say, but if you do find out that your engine is burning oil internally, then I'd get out of it asap sorry to say. Good luck.. Let us know what happens.

 

[someday139]

It was 100 miles shy of 3,000 miles when I checked it and the dipstick barely had anything on it.. I know they burn oil. I have seen that in about every Chevy forum I found today, but I have never owned a vehicle that had hardly ANY oil left on dipstick when changed at 3,000 miles regularly.. So it concerned me, especially since the tech at Valvoline said it was burning more oil than it should. Wish I had thought to ask how much!!! But when I mentioned it at the tire store today the guy said that def. was NOT a normal amount of burning!!! So it made me start to investigate further. I was starting to think of going down the path you mentioned!! I just hate to dump thousands into it and it just keep having other issues arise that keep costing me money. I always was a pickup girl!!! Guess it's time to get back to my roots in more ways than one!! Thanks!!

 

[Kman]

It was 100 miles shy of 3,000 miles when I checked it and the dipstick barely had anything on it.. I know they burn oil. I have seen that in about every Chevy forum I found today, but I have never owned a vehicle that had hardly ANY oil left on dipstick when changed at 3,000 miles regularly.. So it concerned me, especially since the tech at Valvoline said it was burning more oil than it should. Wish I had thought to ask how much!!! But when I mentioned it at the tire store today the guy said that def. was NOT a normal amount of burning!!! So it made me start to investigate further. I was starting to think of going down the path you mentioned!! I just hate to dump thousands into it and it just keep having other issues arise that keep costing me money. I always was a pickup girl!!! Guess it's time to get back to my roots in more ways than one!! Thanks!!

Keep in mind if the oil is at the bottom of the dipstick that represents ONE quart of oil. The bottom of the dipstick to the full mark on the dipstick shows 1 quart. There is still 5 more quarts in the system because our 5.3's hold 6 quarts total.

My 2001 Tahoe has 147k miles and burns a little more than 1 quart every 3k miles. VERY common for Chevrolet motors.

---------- Post added at 08:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:53 PM ----------

Replacing the PCV valve can help cut down on oil consumption. Very easy to replace, takes 5 minutes. The PCV valve is under $8.

Here is how to replace it:
http://www.justanswer.com/chevy/2pic0-pcv-valve-located-2003-chevy-tahoe-5-3-litre.html

Regarding your starting problem, sounds like the starter is sticking. Again common on all cars with higher mileage and probably needs to be replaced. There is a small gear that pops out, makes connection with the flywheel, spins the flywheel when you turn the key to turn the engine over to fire up the engine. Sometimes that small gear stays popped out causing the noise you hear.

Regarding rust, I have no idea. I live in Southern California so I have ZERO experience with snow.

 

[Vinniety]

Kman stated great info and i would recommend reading what he wrote carefully. Just to put my comments on the matter just because the dipstick doesn't have oil doesn't mean there is no oil. Once again as KMan stated if its low a quart it will show no oil. Put in a quart and then see how much you have. Keep in mind its better to have a half quart low then having to much oil. Of course when you are checking oil the truck will need to be on level ground. Also at your mileage if you have good history of maintenance then keep the truck for a few more years, if not then you might want to think about it. When was the last time it was tuned up, do you ever put in some gas treatments in the tank when you get gas, what about the tires is the air pressure where it needs to be, if not that will give you bad MPG.

I also noticed you stated you switched to synthetic at 146k miles maybe that wasn't a wise choice. Synthetic oils are thinner and that might be causing the issue on why the mechanic said its burning more oil then normal. Go back to the normal grade you were using even though it calls for synthetic i recommend going back to the oil grade you were using. As for the rust no other choice but to find a body shop and let then tell you what they can do. Rust sucks but if you get it early your good. Its bad when it eats away the metal on the panel.

On my final note i saw you stated your tranny took some time to switch from park to reverse and drive. The question comes up and it is " when was the tranny service done"? Maybe you need some tranny fluid and that's it. If it drove fine after it got in gear check the fluid NOW. You might get lucky!!

Well i hope my comments help in some way. Of course if i was closer i would check it out for you and help out. Maybe there is someone near you that is on this forum that can help out in person more then through forum posts.

Good luck!!!

 

[DeepSeaFish]

It was 100 miles shy of 3,000 miles when I checked it and the dipstick barely had anything on it.. I know they burn oil. I have seen that in about every Chevy forum I found today, but I have never owned a vehicle that had hardly ANY oil left on dipstick when changed at 3,000 miles regularly.. So it concerned me, especially since the tech at Valvoline said it was burning more oil than it should. Wish I had thought to ask how much!!! But when I mentioned it at the tire store today the guy said that def. was NOT a normal amount of burning!!! So it made me start to investigate further. I was starting to think of going down the path you mentioned!! I just hate to dump thousands into it and it just keep having other issues arise that keep costing me money. I always was a pickup girl!!! Guess it's time to get back to my roots in more ways than one!! Thanks!!

Give the oil at least 5-10 min. to settle back into the pan before you check the level or just check it when it's been sitting awhile. Level ground obviously makes for a much more accurate reading. I can see a higher milage vehicle using a half qt. or so it's got 120k + miles on it, but how the vehicle has been maintained for the duration of it's life can play a role in that to. I've got just over 91k on my 06 and it doesn't burn a drop. Former neighbor of mine had an 04 Tahoe 5.3L with 134K and it didn't burn anything either. I know what you mean by being a former 'pick-up' person. Had for 8 yrs, put 114k miles on it and never had a problem. I still miss it. But having a g/f with two little ones + my pooch make the yukon a better traveler. Let us know what you decide to do. Best of luck.