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I have a 2001 Chevy Tahoe with (officially) 150000 miles on it. I checked the oil yesterday 4/26/2014. The last oil change was at 147882. after wipe and check of dip stick, the very tip of the stick had oil on it just below the word ADD. The oil cap was checked…it was dry. no foam or oil on it. Under the truck, oil all over the transmission housing.there is no smoke on start up or during hard acceleration.is it normal for this engine to consume this much oil(6 qts) between oil changes?
I’m at at a loss…..
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You oil pan gasket need to be replace if you have oil under the engine. You need to put a specific torch force on each fastener in a x method (cross x )
What is the size of the engine? I have a GMC 6.0L that drinks oil, but never shows it…. 240k miles and running strong…
You may have a rear main seal leak… This gets oil all over the trans…
-Karl
Years ago I was doing an Oldsmobile 403. That engine required a pan gasket about every two years. When it started leaving a puddle on the floor again I didn’t hesitate. I put my special lifting tool on the front cover, pulled the motor mount bolts, lifted the engine and pulled the pan. I was so used to pulling the pan on this engine I knew what a failed pan gasket looked like and this one looked fine.
Looking up the back of the engine I saw the trail of oil coming down from above. The moral of the story is always find the source of the leak first.
It may be a rear main seal… these are in the same family…
I replaced mine and did a write up…. takes a bit of time…
Here is a little more..
http://www.justanswer.com/chevy/3hv11-best-change-rear-main-seal-2000.html
-Karl
The right way to do this is to degrease the oil pan and transmission bell housing area. Dry it off Then add ultra violet die to the oil, run the engine and look for the leak with a uv light. On the 5.3 there are a couple of common places for leaks. The oil pan towards the middle of the engine. The rear main also is a common leak. There is also a small cover plate on the back of the engine. On the drivers side in the back the is a small two bolt cover that can Leak. The rear main can be tricky, the oil can appear to be dripping off the oil filter and or the starter. It is really leaking out of the main seal and being slung by the flywheel. The oil pan gasket can be changed without removing the engine. The rear main and cover plate requires the transmission be moved way back or removed. The flywheel needs to be removed. Changing the actual seal is not too hard. I would buy a aftermarket service manual if you have never done it.
Unless the leak is obvious, The right way to do this is to degrease the oil pan and transmission bell housing area. Dry it off Then add ultra violet die to the oil, run the engine and look for the leak with a uv light. On the 5.3 there are a couple of common places for leaks. The oil pan towards the middle of the engine. The rear main also is a common leak. There is also a cover plate on the back of the engine. On the drivers side in the back the is a small two bolt cover that can Leak. The rear main can be tricky, the oil can appear to be dripping off the oil filter and or the starter. It is really leaking out of the main seal and being slung by the flex plate. The oil pan gasket can be changed without removing the engine. The rear main and cover plate requires the transmission be moved way back or removed. The flywheel flex plate needs removed. I would buy a aftermarket service manual if you have never done it. ToyotaKarls breakdown Is excellent. You probably have a 4l60e transmission so it will look different.
No biggie but oil just at the bottom of the dipstick would indicate more like 1 quart or 1.5 low. And this is very normal for older Chevys. I get a rear main leak on a chevy come in to work at least once a week. What the others stated is absolutely right. If you are doing it yourself, clean the oil mess the best you can, so everything is dry. Start it up and let it run until you see fresh oil coming out. Dye isnt usually necessary but can help with more tricky leaks. On those trucks you can bet the rear main is leaking, and usually the oil pan too. Unless the oil pan stays bone dry after the mess has been cleaned, its usually a good idea to replace it if you are doing the rear main. Pop off the inspection plate and shine a light up onto the flex plate/flywheel. You can usually see a nice shiny coat of oil or even drips of oil, depending on how severe the leak. Removing the transmission on the ground is no fun and not easy for the first timer. If it is the rear main, paying some one to do it might be a good idea, if you are uncomfortable with it.
Also another common leak right there is the oil cooler block off plate. A super easy cheap gasket to replace which takes about 5 minutes, but obviously the whole oil mess needs to be clean first before you can verify the source of the leak.
All that being said, if you are only losing a quart in between oil changes, it may not even be worth the money if it is anything more than the block off plate.
Part of it depends on how you drive. Part of it depends on the condition of the engine. Part of it depends on the oil you use. More detailed information can be found here as well as how to figure out where it’s going.
http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/finding-and-fixing-leaks
Good luck and keep us posted.
Followup to post(possible oil leak): In addition to all this issues noted in my last post about this issue, the oil pressure gauge dropped below 40 at idle and pinned to 80 during acceleration. After doing some research, I thought my problem might be the oil pressure sending unit located at the back of the engine, practically up against the fire wall. So…I didn’t drive it. I went and got the part and the 1/2 inch deep walled socket to remove/install the part. Turns out, the case of the part was split at the threaded fitting. So far so good. No leaking oil, gauge is operating normally. YEs I got dirty! Thanks for everyone input!
Oh yeah I forgot to mention, I drive 3 short trips taking my kids back to school. I do 3 round trips per day,approx 8 miles each way, 5 days a week. I keep it under 50 since the kids are in it most of the time.Since the truck hit 150000 miles, I switched to synthetic oil. Coincidentally, the oil leak started soon after. (2000 miles in) Even though I found the oil sending unit broken into almost 2 pieces, Im still not convinced of the synthetic oil’s affects …So I’m switching back to regular oil.
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