Oil gone AWOL

[Jerryred94silvy]

This motor shouldn't be gummed up or wore out, it's basically brand new. Unless the guy before me cooked something on the inside and was unaware. It does leak out the valve covers despite my best efforts....but not enough for 1 quart in 300 miles. So I'll try and snoop around the back of the motor more to see if there is a hidden leak out the intake or oil pressure sending unit.

Mechanic in a can is rarely a good idea.
The stop leak softens seals which leads to blown out seals. The theory is that a pliable seal is a happy seal which is true. What happens with stop leak is that the seal hardens over time and when the start to soften up they get too soft and can't seal. Minor cracks in the seal that were filled in by minor bits of sludge and were on a hard seal weren't ideal but they were rarely catastrophic. The stop leak then makes those minor cracks pliable and they rupture.

Makes sense to me. Does this apply to the Lucas Oil sauce too? I have a buddy singing its praises to me but I'm hesitant to put that much goo into my engine. If I had 250k on the motor then I might consider it, but this motor is (reportedly) new.

 

[Nad_Yvalhosert]

Gummed up, nay. "Seal swell" additive, I'd imagine

 

[stutaeng]

What about the rest of the spark plugs? I'd check them also. Tailpipe is not sooty?

Unless you have less than 10 psi at idle, I don't see a need to run thicker weight oil...Was this a crate engine or rebuilt by someone? You said no oil spots on your driveway, but you also say you are sick of engine oil leaks? Can you clarify?

 

[Jerryred94silvy]

What about the rest of the spark plugs? I'd check them also. Tailpipe is not sooty?

Unless you have less than 10 psi at idle, I don't see a need to run thicker weight oil...Was this a crate engine or rebuilt by someone? You said no oil spots on your driveway, but you also say you are sick of engine oil leaks? Can you clarify?

Pictures to follow.

The tailpipe doesn’t seem overly sooty.

Pulled another plug and it looked the same as the first, I’ll check more when the sun is out.

Oil pressure when warm is about 20 or so psi.

The motor was rebuilt by somebody

So of course everything was nice and dry(ish) when I go to look at it and I may have been a little flustered in my original post lol. It’s more of a slow seep. We’ll call it rust prevention. But anyway. Even with this slow seep it’s not NEARLY enough to have drained a quart without me noticing it.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

Maybe it takes 7 quarts? The build sheet says it has a 6 quart oil pan so I went with that. Just thinking out loud at this point

 

[Jerryred94silvy]

Ok ladies and gentlemen....it could very likely be that I am 72% half dumb. Meaning that I may have not seated the dipstick in the tube properly (insert dirty joke here) giving the illusion of low oil. *sigh* I'll keep an eye on it still just in case it actually is losing oil. Until then, thank you all for your input and wisdom. Additionally: I'm a klutz lol

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

Hey don't feel bad. Everybody screws up from time to time. Adults can admit it and own it!

 

[Jerryred94silvy]

I made some interesting discoveries over the weekend. Mainly that there was a leak on the passenger side back corner of the intake and those two bolts on the intake around the water jacket were loose. Also, whoever assembled this motor used the rubber “seals” on the front and back of the intake. You know, the ones that are notorious for not sealing? Anyway. Pulled the intake off and I think I found out where the oil was going...

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

Pretty sure those are s’posed to be dry. New gaskets are on though and we shall see what happens next.

 

[1989GMCSIERRA]

I just did an oil change not even 300 miles ago and I’m already down a quart. No smoking from the tail pipe and the #1 spark plug looks normal, dry, like it’s running fine, no fouling. Additionally, I have not seen any new oil spots underneath the vehicle. So either it’s leaking somewhere and pooling up where I can’t see, or it’s being burned in the cylinders. Right?

I’m sick of this motor leaking all the time. It runs great and makes good power....but it won’t for very long if it keeps losing oil like this. What are y’all’s thoughts?

if it’s leaking there should be physical signs of the leak either on the ground, in the engine bay on the underhood or under the vehicle.

If nothin is coming out of the tailpipe you could ge burning it through the pcv system siphoning it a going in the air intake and sucked in the engine

 

[Jerryred94silvy]

I did see some drips when I moved the truck yesterday. They seemed to line up with where the leak was.

 

[kenh]

I'm wondering if the diesel oil had more detergent and possible cleaned gummed up oil control rings?

From a different lifetime selling Chevron products.

Diesel engine oil has a much different additive package than gasoline oil. NOT bad, just different. Diesel has higher detergents and an additive to help keep the soot from combustion in suspension not letting it clump together. It is good for a flat tappet cam situation as diesel oils tend to have a little more zinc in them.

FWIW... I run diesel oil in my 02 Kawasaki ZRX for the last 10 years, the Onan engine in my skid steer and all my four stroke lawn mower engines. NO issues to date. Would not hesitate to run it in my 5.7 in warm weather.

Ken