No oil on dipstick

[Dustin Jackson]

A little disappointed in myself. Went on vacation this weekend 1.5 hours through the mountains to the Humboldt beaches. Tahoe performed amazingly throughout the journey, was on 3rd gear most of the time climbing or descending steep incline hill action at 60mph. Confident in saying I was working it pretty hard. Oil pressure gauge didn't show any indicator that the motor was losing oil pressure. At the end of the trip we arrived at home and the motor was purring like a kitten but was 2 quarts low on oil apparently.

I didn't check the oil before leaving for the weekend and when I got home I pulled the dipstick and wiped it off and went for another reading and there was no oil on the dip stick. I did this about 10 times because I couldn't believe that there was not enough oil to reach the dipstick. I added 2-2.5 quarts of oil and its showing near the top of the hash lines now.

I'm not sure where the oil went, I usually only use about 1 quart over 5k miles. I'm confused why this happened and surprised at the durability of the 5.3.

Just wanted to share with you all to see what your thoughts are. So far the motor seems fine, I plan on changing the oil soon and seeing what comes out of it.

Pic from the trip:

 

[Marky Dissod]

I'm not sure where the oil went, I usually only use about 1 quart over 5k miles. I'm confused why this happened ...

Compared to what normal people consider normal operations, how much of this drive did your truck spend NOT level?
That's my 1st guess.
Here's my 2nd guess:
How much engine braking did your engine do on the way down?
Engine braking tends to consume oil.

 

[Doubeleive]

you were most likley on the very edge of a low oil warning, typically that is 2qt's low
I would say you are fine. If it is of grave cocern take a sample when you change it and send it to blackstone labs.

 

[donjetman]

@Dustin Jackson
Install a catch can and see if it being sucked out of the engine and burned.
Other places to burn oil are rings and valve guides.
Or its leaking out from seals and gaskets.

 

[89Suburban]

you were most likley on the very edge of a low oil warning, typically that is 2qt's low
I would say you are fine.

 

[B-train]

A little disappointed in myself. Went on vacation this weekend 1.5 hours through the mountains to the Humboldt beaches. Tahoe performed amazingly throughout the journey, was on 3rd gear most of the time climbing or descending steep incline hill action at 60mph. Confident in saying I was working it pretty hard. Oil pressure gauge didn't show any indicator that the motor was losing oil pressure. At the end of the trip we arrived at home and the motor was purring like a kitten but was 2 quarts low on oil apparently.

I didn't check the oil before leaving for the weekend and when I got home I pulled the dipstick and wiped it off and went for another reading and there was no oil on the dip stick. I did this about 10 times because I couldn't believe that there was not enough oil to reach the dipstick. I added 2-2.5 quarts of oil and its showing near the top of the hash lines now.

I'm not sure where the oil went, I usually only use about 1 quart over 5k miles. I'm confused why this happened and surprised at the durability of the 5.3.

Just wanted to share with you all to see what your thoughts are. So far the motor seems fine, I plan on changing the oil soon and seeing what comes out of it.

Pic from the trip:
View attachment 423959

I agree with all that was stated thus far. My guess is that you have some cylinders that are a little glazed if you still run with AFM active. Now that you are aware, just keep a Murphy repellent kit in your truck with extra fluids and basic tools

Also, I like the roof rack. Is that off a previous gen z-71? I put a 2005 one on my 2008, way better than the basic Denali rack.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

Compared to what normal people consider normal operations, how much of this drive did your truck spend NOT level?
That's my 1st guess.
Here's my 2nd guess:
How much engine braking did your engine do on the way down?
Engine braking tends to consume oil.

@Marky Dissod i would say that 1/3 of the trip was going uphill, 1/3 was going downhill, and 1/3 was flat ground.

On the way back I just left it in 3rd because I would climb a hill and wanted the acceleration or descend a hill and wanted to engine brake. I did a lot of engine braking on the way back.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

you were most likley on the very edge of a low oil warning, typically that is 2qt's low
I would say you are fine. If it is of grave cocern take a sample when you change it and send it to blackstone labs.

@Doubeleive Damn that’s not good. I am going to check my oil more often. Engine runs great I have no concerns really and any damage that was done isn’t worth opening the motor for yet. I’ll drive it till it breaks and then fix it and repeat.

 

[Doubeleive]

@Doubeleive Damn that’s not good. I am going to check my oil more often. Engine runs great I have no concerns really and any damage that was done isn’t worth opening the motor for yet. I’ll drive it till it breaks and then fix it and repeat.

i'm pretty sure a little low on oil is not going to affect anything otherwise the low oil level tolerance would be much less
and the warning comes up so it's not trying to suck in air instead of oil based on a minimum established during engine development.
I wouldn't say this makes it "ok" to drive around with low oil all the time.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

@Doubeleive Thanks for the reassurance.

I agree with all that was stated thus far. My guess is that you have some cylinders that are a little glazed if you still run with AFM active. Now that you are aware, just keep a Murphy repellent kit in your truck with extra fluids and basic tools

Also, I like the roof rack. Is that off a previous gen z-71? I put a 2005 one on my 2008, way better than the basic Denali rack.

@B-train Yes this is from a gmt800 z71 Tahoe. Pulled from a junk yard, scrubbed down with a green scratchy and then used satin rustolium. The satin doesn’t collect dirt like flat paint. I did it about 3 years ago and is holding up perfectly. Much stronger rack than the gmt900