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Tractor Pulling Discussion Forum

truck with 8.1 liter using oil?

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jdk1971

02-27-2006 20:00:36




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Just curious if anyone of you fellow pullers has had any experience with oil usage problems on the 8.1 liter big block. Own a 2002 GMC 2500 HD with the 8.1 liter motor. Over the past two oil changes, the truck has been using over 1 ½ quarts of oil every 2,800 to 3,000 miles. My father purchased the truck new in August of 2002 before passing away in February of 2003. At the time, the truck only had 7,000 miles and now has just over 20,000 miles. Initially, we were using the same oil that we were in our other farm equipment, Shell Rotella 15W x 40. Since my father’s death, I switched to the recommended 5W x 30. I talked with the owner at a local auto mechanics shop and he mention that this was an issue with the 8.1 liter. Oddly enough, a fellow employee at the service center also owned one and was having the same problem. Before long, I found two other fellow individuals in the small town of 900 people where I live that had the same problem. When I confronted the service manager at the local Chevrolet dealer about the problem, he explained that he hadn’t heard of any issues. After I mentioned the three other individuals, the story somewhat changed. According to GM, 1 quart of oil per 2,000 miles is considered acceptable usage according to there standards. That was after being reminded that the truck was out of warranty. Although the truck is six months past the warranty, I reminded him that the truck had only 20,000 miles, not 120,000. Needless to say, he recommended that I bring the truck back in later so they could complete an oil usage analysis on the engine to see if something could be done. I understand that the service manager was doing his job, but why not just say; we are having oil usage problems with this engine, but we don’t care and we will not be recalling trucks retrofitted with this motor to solve the problem. Although I feel the oil consumption issue is a big problem, the truck still runs good and has good power.

This is coming from a family that owned nothing but Ford trucks, and thought it was a sin to mention the word GM. Made the switch after a previous mistake of owning a Dodge with a Cummins and the lack of gas powered motor selections in Ford. I ran into this same problem using a Case International 2366 combine with 400 engine hours while our model was getting worked on. Combine used over 1 ½ gallons of oil in 120 acres, which according to Case is considered acceptable.

Any help with this matter would be appreciated. Thanks!

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Charles McNelly III

03-02-2006 17:37:24




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 Re: truck with 8.1 liter using oil? in reply to jdk1971, 02-27-2006 20:00:36  
My Dads truck does the same thing. He switched to 20w50 oil. Seems to be a little better. He doesn"t notice the breakdown in pressure anymore. Great motor though, the Allison helps too!



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jdjack

02-28-2006 16:01:07




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 Re: truck with 8.1 liter using oil? in reply to jdk1971, 02-27-2006 20:00:36  
I am a gm tech, if i remember correctly they was something about replacing upper intake bolt. I don't think that it help. If i remember i will try and look up anything new on this.



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JD hauler

02-28-2006 11:45:56




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 Re: truck with 8.1 liter using oil? in reply to jdk1971, 02-27-2006 20:00:36  
I have seen alot of talk of it on chevy trucks.com, it does sound like alot, but big blocks have always been oil guzzlers to me, a good friend and engine builder says its good for a work engine to use some oil, its better than being to tight, worth checking into if chevy can fix it, at their cost, but I would push for a 100,000 mile engine warranty incase they mess it up if it comes down to try to fix the oil usage.

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J2

02-28-2006 09:22:51




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 Re: truck 8.1 liter using oil? Service Bulletins in reply to jdk1971, 02-27-2006 20:00:36  
GM service bulletins..

1. #PI01586A 8.1L Changes in Heads , Bolts and Gasket for 2004 1/2 Engines - kw bolt consumption cylinder head intake oil - (Dec 29, 2003)

2. #03-06-01-023 Info - Higher Than Expected Oil Consumption (Greater Than 8500 GVW) - (Aug 19, 2003)

3. #01-06-01-011A Information on Engine Oil Consumption Guidelines - (Jul 22, 2003)

4. #02-06-01-035 High Oil Consumption (Replace Intake Manifold Bolts) - (Oct 17, 2002)

5. #01-06-01-029B Higher Than Expected Engine Oil Consumption (Replace PCV Valve) - (Jul 19, 2002)

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Lenny Kirby

02-28-2006 07:49:27




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 Re: truck with 8.1 liter using oil? in reply to jdk1971, 02-27-2006 20:00:36  
I have one.. It does the same thing.. there is no smoke.. and no leaks... What you have to realize is its not a 350/327... Its 496 cubic inches.. It's going to use some oil 1-2 quarts per change is no big deal.. Thats a big block you have there with power to spare..sure its kinda disappointed i'll have to agree with you there... I wouldn't worry about it though..



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colekicker

02-27-2006 20:22:04




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 Re: truck with 8.1 liter using oil? in reply to jdk1971, 02-27-2006 20:00:36  
I'm not sure you have much of an argument with GM if you weren't using the correct oil in the truck the entire time. I'd most definitely use the recomended oil. Did you switch to synthetic oil? Sometimes changing this can cause problems.

I have a Dodge, 2001 with 151,000 miles, just getting broken in. It doesn't use a drop of oil. Don't see how that truck could have been a mistake.

As for the comment on the 2366, I'd like to talk to the service manager that told you its ok for it to use that much oil. That just doesn't seem right.

Best of luck. I'm sure that GM will stand behind there vehicle better than Ford and their 4.2L V-6. Most everyone I know that has one has dumped a $1000 plus into it at less that 100,000 miles. Ford knows about the intake manifold gasket problem. It started in '97, and they won't do a dang thing.

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Bowtie

02-27-2006 20:21:04




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 Re: truck with 8.1 liter using oil? in reply to jdk1971, 02-27-2006 20:00:36  
I work at a GM dealership and have seen this on 1 other truck. There is a service bulletin #02-06-01-035 that is for oil use that has you replace the intake manifold bolts. There also is a service info. about a updated intake manifold gaskets to help with the oil use also. But both of these didn't help this truck and it still burns oil but runs good and doesn't smoke.
They consider 1 qrt. of oil for every 100 gallons of gas ok. Hope this might help a little.

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Davects

02-27-2006 20:15:24




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 Re: truck with 8.1 liter using oil? in reply to jdk1971, 02-27-2006 20:00:36  
GM knows about this problem. We had several factory updates done on ours. It still uses oil.



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Bob

02-27-2006 20:11:00




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 Re: truck with 8.1 liter using oil? in reply to jdk1971, 02-27-2006 20:00:36  
1.5 quarts of oil to go 3000 miles, @ $1.69 per quart = $0.000845 per mile for oil, while it burns $600.00 worth of gas, or $0.20 per mile... ????

The oil sounds like a pretty minor deal to me!!!



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jdk1971

02-28-2006 07:06:58




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 Re: truck with 8.1 liter using oil? in reply to Bob, 02-27-2006 20:11:00  
I can’t say that I disagree with you on the analogy of the cost of oil usage versus the cost of gas. The opposing analogy would be to compare a fifteen year old pickup you purchase for $5,000 with 120,000 miles versus purchasing a new $36,000 pickup with 20,000 miles that uses the same amount of oil and gas as the fifteen year old beater. I’m not trying to be a complainer, but I have never owned a vehicle that used that much oil with only 20,000 miles regardless how good it runs. I wondered if this was just a fluke or a trait of this particular engine.

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