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99' Rodeo has used 4 quarts of oil in 2200 miles! Help!

4K views 14 replies 6 participants last post by  JTK 
Tim- that's the highest consumption I've seen yet! Unfortunately high oil consumption is a common issue with mostly 1998-1999 isuzu 3.2 & 3.5L engines. You've probably seen this, but if you research other isuzu sites, you'll see the suspected cause is inadequate drain-back holes in the oil control rings. The consumption seems to be mostly an annoyance & doesnt effect performance or reliabilty. Old design has something like 4 holes, new design has 10+ holes. On the old design, oil gets trapped above the ring(s) and burns off in the cylinder. Gets worse as the vehicle ages & the rings get dirty with age. If you are still under warranty, Isuzu will replace the short block if they determine oil consumption is over 1qt/1000miles. Make sure your PCV system is clean to keep crank-case pressure down. I go back to where you got your truck first to see what they can do. If they cant do anything, before I tore into the engine, I'd pull the spark plugs & soak the cylinders w/ an upper cylinder cleaner like marvel mystery oil, seafoam, etc..etc. I'd run a product like auto-rx (auto-rx.com) and maybe run a HIGH detergency oil for cleaning purposes. Check a website: bobistheoilguy.com. If you can clean those rings out to get them to drain the oil again, your consumption should drop. G/luck
Joel
 
Yeah, the 'ol zuzu dipstick leaves a little to be desired. Don't know if there is an AM replacement 'cause they are kinda engine specific. You can order new ones thru St Charles. Hopefully the wynn's warranty will cover a short block for you. G/luck
Joel
 
Ryan hit on some good key points. Don't give the piston rings a chance to gunk up. Run a quality oil & never stretch an oil change interval right from day one. I often wonder if synthetic oil was used right from the start, if these engines would have such problems. Synthetic doesnt coke,varnish or gum, it just turns to ash if it gets hot enough to flash. I've used many types of synthetic oils over the years, but it's just not worth it unless you keep it in per the max your owner's manual specifies (7500mi for isuzu!!). I just cant get past the old 3-4000mi habit. I would pull all the spark plugs & do an overnight cylinder soak with marvels mystery oil, sea-foam, etc.. on such an oil burner to see if that helps clear out the oil rings before I would tear into the engine. These engines can handle some really thick oil- up to a 20w-50 :shock: (per the manual), which would definately slow oil consumption, but rob major power & kill MPG's. Just some thoughts! :wink:
G/luck
Joel
 
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