I got a 2001 Z24 with just over 100k miles on it, I went for a road trip this weekend and I found that around 0.5 qt of oil disappeared. I drove for about 5 hours and sat idling for maybe 2 hours as well because I was stuck in traffic. I didn't see any leaks/puddles underneath the car. Where did my oil go? Could there be a leak somewhere I cannot see and it's being burnt off?
^ i think so too, ill have to monitor it. Isn't 1/2 qt for ~600km alot of oil to be burning?
Caviefreak is right. According to GM, buring a qt of oil every 1000 miles is actually normal. No matter what the age and mileage of the car/engine. So as long as there is no puddle and such, dont worry about it, as long as your doing normal 3000 miles oil changes, you should be fine.
my gfs Malibu used about a 1/2 quart of oil every couple hundred miles or so. Its a 2.4tc w over 140,000 miles on it. I think most of hers is minor leaks. The entire engine is covered with them. If it sits in the driveway for several hours or more there will be a 1/2 dozen dime size wet marks. I know its not burning much because Ive driven behind her and theres no visible smoke from the exhaust.
It gets the oil and filter changed every 3000 miles and I check the level and top it off every 10-14 days, more if we do any long driving.
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Just because it's burning oil doesn't necessarily mean there will be any noticeable smoke. from what I've heard, the 2.4L DOHC is a motor known for high oil consumption once they have some miels on them. Kinda like the Saturn SOHC/DOHC engines that burn a ton of oil. You are fine. Since you are adding quite a bit of oil, don't do a full "change" every 3,000, you will just be wasting oil. Run it for at least 6000, since most of the oil will be replaced over that period anyway.
Nick wrote:Just because it's burning oil doesn't necessarily mean there will be any noticeable smoke. from what I've heard, the 2.4L DOHC is a motor known for high oil consumption once they have some miels on them. Kinda like the Saturn SOHC/DOHC engines that burn a ton of oil. You are fine. Since you are adding quite a bit of oil, don't do a full "change" every 3,000, you will just be wasting oil. Run it for at least 6000, since most of the oil will be replaced over that period anyway.
I agree with most of your post. Since he is loosing about a half a quart of oil, after a ton of driving, he isnt really replacing alot of oil. Keep it on the 3000 mark. Even then he will be only loosing a quart every 1000 miles, and when he needs to change the oil, he will need to add the oil. But even so, even now, it looks to be only half a quart, which isnt really much of anything. Plus on a 2.4 pushing to the 6000 mile range for oil changes is kinda asking for trouble, I know, I have two right now. but thats my opionion. If he was loosing 2 to 3 quarts every 1000 miles, then he has a problem, but the 2.4's are known to burn oil over 100,000 miles, no matter what.
thank you guys, I may try a high mileage oil to see if that helps. Also could it be a problem with the oil/air seperator?
Jacob B wrote:I got a 2001 Z24 with just over 100k miles on it, I went for a road trip this weekend and I found that around 0.5 qt of oil disappeared. I drove for about 5 hours and sat idling for maybe 2 hours as well because I was stuck in traffic. I didn't see any leaks/puddles underneath the car. Where did my oil go? Could there be a leak somewhere I cannot see and it's being burnt off?
How many qrts did you put in?
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I put in 0.5qts into it, I just checked it yesterday and it's lower now. Keep in mind this was checked on a cold engine sitting on a level surface.
I meant, when you did the oil change?
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My 2.4 burns about a qt every 600 miles beating on it. If I drive it normal it goes about a 1000 miles. I do have a little oil leak at the cam tower but not enough to loose that much. Then the rear main leaks a hair every now and then. Most of it is burned though. Mainly threw the pvc tube to the intake.
Has about 150k on it also. So that doesn't help either. I change mine every 6k since it burns oil so much. Though I change the filter every 3k.
@Goodwrench
I changed the oil in May/June
lol... I meant, when you did the oil change, how many qrts did you put in?
GM says to use 4qrts, but when you do a filter/oil change, in reality, it really requires 4.5qrts. It might be a factor of lower oil level.
If you're burning to rapidly you may want to try a high mileage oil with 10w40 oil weight. Lucas oil additives would compliment it well, it works good maintaining the level you initially put in:
http://www.lucasoil.com/products/display_products_overviews.sd?iid=4&catid=6
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I threw in exactly 4 quarts into it. It was my first time doing the oil change so i followed the manual. I'll keep on my eye on it, it's due for an oil change soon.
I bought my 99 Z24 brand new and sold it with almost 200k on it. From day 1, I had an oil consumption problem. I worked in a Chevrolet dealership as a tech at the time so I did some research when we were slow. What I found was pretty well in line with all of these that are talking about the normalcy of oil consumption. In fact, for a 2.4L "T" motor, 2 quarts lost between normal oil change intervals is normal and acceptable from day one. So to have 100k+ and to still be falling under GM's guidlines is remarkable in my opinion and I wouldn't worry to much about it. Just stick the oil every time you put gas in the car and top off as necessary. I personally put an extra 1/2 quart in at every oil change, but I was extremely hard on my Z24 from day 1.
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