Oil usage

[My01yuk]

Ok guys stupid question here. I have a 5.3L yukon, how many qts of oil should I use? I have been using 6, but the last two oil changes I got a "check engine oil level message" a month or so after the change....WTF. I will look at the manual when I get home, the wife has it today. There is no visible sign of leaks on the pavement. I will check the gaskets later for seepage.

 

[ChazMan]

Ok guys stupid question here. I have a 5.3L yukon, how many qts of oil should I use? I have been using 6, but the last two oil changes I got a "check engine oil level message" a month or so after the change....WTF. I will look at the manual when I get home, the wife has it today. There is no visible sign of leaks on the pavement. I will check the gaskets later for seepage.

My owner's manual says 6 qts. When the "check oil" msg came up, where was the oil level at on your engine oil dip stick?
If engine is really using oil and you don't a leak, then it must be buring oil.

 

[clean02tahoe916]

iput 6 in mine and i have 128k on it. i loose about a 1/4 of a quart between oil changes.

chevy tells you only 6qts and to use only 5/30 weight.

 

[ghost]

i have the same thing happening to mine. i lost about 4 qaurts in 2500 miles. not sure what the culprit is yet. i know its internal because theres no leaks. im hoping its just valve seals or somethin but seems like alot of oil for that. i just changed my oil and im keepin and eye on it to see how much im losing and how many miles.

oh and mine only has 85k miles too.. cant be good, might be time to trade her in

 

[thumper_ehhhhh]

You guys either have problems or you need to change type of oil. I use quaker state 5w30 and dont lose a drop inbetween oil changes. When you add 6 quarts do you check the level after running it for a second or just take it for granted it's full?

 

[My01yuk]

Ironically my last two oil changes i switched to castor oil high mileage per my mechanics choice. I think my next change i'm going with mobil1 synthetic. Before switching I never had this problem.

I'm not losing anywhere near 4 quarts. I checked it last night and it looks like maybe a 1/4-1/2 quart maybe. The light hasn't come on again.

 

[thumper_ehhhhh]

my oil change person talked me into castrol once. I had a startup knock everytime i started the truck. Never again.

 

[ChazMan]

Getting the same amount of volume (6 qt that you put in) when doing oil change does NOT always mean your engine is not losing oil or there is no problem. I do lab test on used engine oil for my customers and I see any where from 5% to 15% fuel contamination on used engines. Fleet truck operation companies do this all the time as well and that's how they determine when they need to do the oil change, not mileage alone. Even if you get 6 qts out, you may have two problems (at least):
1. Oil consumption
2. Fuel contamination

The oil analysis will also show you the % or ppm level of various kinds of metal particles which tells you which component of your egine is wearing out such as rod bearing, piston rings, cylinder liner, etc. and it also shows coolant contamination as well. My cost is about $10 per test.

For hihg mileage trucks, I highly recommend that you do this oil test and decide - keep, fix it or sell your truck.

 

[qukon 95]

my sister tahoe looses oil a qt low but no signs of leaks is there a pcv valve on it?
Has anybody found the reason of this? And her tahoe dog tails and the dealer
says it's no problem and the front tires wears on the inside .

 

[04SS99Denali]

your engine is burning some oil.. thats normal as an engine gets older i wouldnt worry about it. mine eats about 2-3 quarts every 5000. i just check it every month or so and add whats needed. now if your burning 4-5 quarts in 2 months thats a bit extreme. who does your oil changes? maybe there not doing them and just saying they are. do you see blue smoke on start up? WOT? a simple thing to try is changing your oil brand. ive noticed a difference depending on what brand your using/switching to. if you have some mileage maybe try switching to a 10-40? i ran 10-40 in my old denali but that was because the engine was pretty shot and it would only make 8 psi oil pressure with 5-30