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Oil gremlins

2

2fargone

New member
Can anyone help with disappearing oil? I have an '06 GP base in the family with a non s/c 3.8 , 80,000 miles on the odometer. Driven like a baby carriage. It seems to use oil at a rate of 1 qt every 800-1000 miles.
I searched the threads and checked the normal things. No visible leaks on the driveway.I started the engine with the remote start and didn't get any blue puff of smoke from the exhaust. i checked the tailpipe, no soot or sludge. Can't seem to see anything leaking from the valve cover ( I can't see real good on the rear cover. I feel like Mr. Magoo in there.) I have no antifreeze loss. Replaced the PCV valve and checked the O ring(Just a slight bit of oil around it in the housing), and switched to High Mileage oil(5W30). I'm confused on the upper and lower intake manifold gaskets causing oil consumption. I've replaced the UIM on another GP , but that was due to coolant leaks. Local dealer is a tool, and I'd like to get some unbiased thoughts.
Could it be leaking from a valve cover and not hitting the ground? Change the LIM gaskets? I don't think it's mixing with the coolant. I dont see any sludge in there like suggested. Coolant was changed every 2 years and never gains or loses any between flushes. Yikes!!!!!
 


Rear valve cover is a common place to leak from without hitting the ground. Check it out with a mirror. Might have a leak at the oil pressure sensor in the pan.
 
Thanks, checked the sensor on the pan. Looks fine, no leaks. I'll try the mirror. Will I be looking for a subtle leak, or oil all over the rear of the engine? I hope you're right. Valve cover gaskets I can handle......major overhaul.....not so much. Maybe i'll. Just change the valve cover gaskets and see if it stops.....any special brand that's better than the rest?
 
2fargone said:
Thanks, checked the sensor on the pan. Looks fine, no leaks. I'll try the mirror. Will I be looking for a subtle leak, or oil all over the rear of the engine? I hope you're right. Valve cover gaskets I can handle......major overhaul.....not so much. Maybe i'll. Just change the valve cover gaskets and see if it stops.....any special brand that's better than the rest?
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I've seen it as a kind of.. general leak along the back seam. GM gaskets work and are cheap. Pretty sure there's grommets with it, too. GM manual says to use threadlocker on the bolts, tighten to 10 N·m (89 lb in).
 
any special brand that's better than the rest?
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felpro works best. rockauto.com will have them with shipping cheaper then u can get at ur local auto parts store. get the ones that come with the gromets. but yes this has been a famous GM thing since the dawn of time. usually if its real bad you would smell it because it would fall onto your exhaust manifold and when it burns it would stink. now i'm not too sure how the LIM's are with the Series III engine's but if its anything like the Series II then i'm sure at 80K miles you would need new LIM gasket's and then while doing this job the valve covers would be super easy to do.
 


You mean I got lucky on the LIM? Nothing ever goes right in this house. Im gonna play the lotto tonight.!
I'll try the felpro gaskets. Talked to the local dealer today, he said he can't tell anything till he does an oil consumption test. This entails him doing 2 Oil changes for me and measuring the oil consumption. I guess i'm not smart enough to figure out that it uses "X" ounces of oil every 1000 miles.
Ill start with the valve cover gaskets....cheap insurance.....
Just got done with corroded trans lines and ruptured power steering lines. Its been busy in my garage lately.
Thanks for all the help.........
 
when the car is cold, take a paper towel, fold it up and rub/slide it across the bottom of the rear valve cover, if it comes up damp with oil, you found your leak. work it up the sides a bit too, the corners seem to leak.

mine's leaking as we speak, every now and then if i park up hill, it will smoke from the leak, but for the most part i never smell it, it does hit the floor tho. but im not losing as much oil as you are, im at a 1/2 quart every month or so. if that much.
 
had a 94 dodge van with the problem..couldnt find those damn little basters anywhere but that was the least of that cars problems
 
Gonna definitely try the paper towel trick. I might just change the vc gaskets cause Ive never done it before. It makes for Real good stories when I explain to my friend the mechanic why it took me 2 days to do something he could do in his sleep in an hour.
I gotta learn somehow........
 
X2 on the 94 dodge.......had a 94 caravan that began to self destruct at at 36000 miles, first and last dodge I owned. Drove me nuts......well.......more nuts
 


VC gaskets are easy to check. Run your finger under the edge of it. If it comes back in any goopy wet conditions, you need a set.

Valve seals can also dry out and become hard. This leads to usage w/o showing as bad oil seals. Technically they still seal, not quite as well as we'd like though.
 
I think valve seals might be above my pay grade. Not too sure I could handle that. But id be seeing blue smoke at startup if it was seals, right?
 
What I'm saying is dried out..they seal enough to keep from filling the cylinder with oil at startup, yet can burn a little oil.

It's remove a spring, change seal, replace spring. Not horrible, but definately time consuming.
 
Maybe ill look into the valve seals when I do the vc gaskets.I have a friend who is a master mechanic who can tutor me on the removal replacement and adjustment. Only costs me a case of beer, but I hate to bother him with minor stuff. If I have everything torn down when he gets here it might not be so bad.
Already replaced the pcv valve, maybe that'll help a little.
thanks......
 


2fargone said:
X2 on the 94 dodge.......had a 94 caravan that began to self destruct at at 36000 miles, first and last dodge I owned. Drove me nuts......well.......more nuts
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ours lasted 400k but that was on 2 motors, 3 trans, and 100 extra parts and 100 other parts that i forgot about..but all in all we got 4k for it
 
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