[ZuzuSLX]

Thought I'd start a new thread since a lot of good discussion on this is taking place...

My 99 SLX (3.5) went in at the end of its Acura extended warranty (68K)and is now having a consumption test as well. Was kind of pi**ed that they didn't accept my records and did their own top-off, which included IMHO an extra quart.

Tonight it goes back in (also getting a new cat due to a buzz/rattle in the console, but I wonder if it's shot since its been consuming copious amounts of 10W-30...) and I'll keep everyone posted. My oil level was below the stick after 1700 miles. Since I needed to drive it extensively this past Thanksgiving weekend I called service and told them whether they liked it or not I'm putting an extra quart in. I didn't want to be in the middle of God knows where and have the oil light come on, especially since someone posted a four-quart drop!

So, to my mind I'm down at least two quarts after 1700 miles. I'm sure they'll say this is 'within acceptable limits'. Let the games begin!

P.S. One potential problem is that the vehicle runs absolutely sweet. I'm of a notion to not/not let them do a top end rebuild if that is offered just because the solution might end up being worse than the problem...

Thoughts on that?

SB in DC/MD area

 

[cruiserman]

If the solution is a new short block as others have found, then a top end rebuild won't do anything. I am taking my rig in every 500 miles, since the consumption is too high for every 1k miles. The dealer said no problem. I would not have added the quart. Just take it in earlier.

 

[Conman]

Unfortunately, it appears oil consumption has been none to way too much for the Isuzu Owners so there is no average I would say.

My 01 Trooper was not burning oil until 30k. As in I never needed to add oil between oil changes. I switched to 5w/30 Mobil1 at the first oil change(roughly 4k miles or so). At 30k, I was down 3/4 quart after 3,200 miles and now again after 3k miles, I was down 3/4 quart again. So my consumpsion went from none to now 3/4 quart every 3k miles. The Dealer has been doing my oil changes so I'm not exactly sure if they are putting in 4, 4.5, or 5 quarts(the bill charges me per quart for Mobil1 so that's the only record I have). I'll watch it more closely if it starts using more oil.

So for now, mine is still not losing much oil compared to you guys. let us know what you find out.

good luck,
Con

 

[Zaphod]

Well, I have no way of knowing how many quarts were in the engine when I bought the truck at 25.8K miles, but I had to pour in 4 quarts at about 31K miles. I just changed the oil on saturday, and I stressed that they add 5 quarts (in accordance with the owner's manual) of 10W-40.

Engine is running nice and quiet now, and the odometer trip has been set. I'll be checking every 500 just to see what happens, and will change again spot on 3K. Might even do it myself to be sure...

 

[ZuzuSLX]

... well, the worst case scenario is what I have. The Acura service folks admitted to the unnatural oil consumption and said that it needed a set of rings (which I find a curious fix since not one bit is blowing out the back), and that it wasn't covered under the Acura extended warranty - I'm the second owner of the vehicle coming off lease and I had a 12mo./12,000 mile warranty.

Maybe not the worst case since they agreed to replace the catalytic converter. So I'm sticking with my theory that the oil is being combusted and the cat is sucking it all up.

I'll make a big stink this morning (after owning German cars my whole life I'm pretty good at it...) but don't expect much satisfaction. Oh well, I guess I'll just cruise with a case of oil in the back.

Anyone know how Isuzu is handling these things? The few ring jobs and revbuilds I've heard about probably have all been under the original warranty.

As I said, I bummed, but the SLX runs great and winter IS right around the corner.

SB in DC/MD

 

[JTK]

From what I understand it's actually the oil drain-back holes in the piston ring grooves that are the cause. In reality, you'd have to replace all the pistons. I guess it's easier for isuzu to just replace the whole short block assemby. If It were my truck, I'd do some experimenting before I tore the engine out. If you can clean out your exsisting (inadequate) oil drain back holes in the pistons, oil will once again drain properly from the ring pack, not be combusted in the cylinder & not disappear from your sump. I would pull each spark plug & soak each cylinder with a solvent type cleaning product (sea-foam, marvels, kero. etc..). Try a few overnight soaks like this, with oil changes in between & see if this works. It is also very inportant that you keep your positive crankcase ventillation (PCV) system COMPLETELY clean. This will keep crankcase pressure low, which keeps oil from being blown up past the ring packs & into the combustion chamber. Lastly, you have to keep the EGR systems clean as well. This keeps your cylinder temperatures lower, which will in turn, prevent oil from being "cooked" in the ring packs & further plugging the drain back holes. There's lots of posts here & on the 4x4wire isuzu site in regards to EGR & PCV cleaning. Try the soak. See if it works!!
G/luck
Joel

 

[Sh_YVR]

I've got a 2000 Rodeo LS....

I've noticed that the grade of oil does make a difference with consumption in my vehicle .

Like a lot of people I was switched to 5w, but 10w and more so with 15w, seem to reduce the amount of oil that gets burned.

unless you are one of the unlucky ones that lives in the Arctic or MIdwest, 5w would make sense if it''s winter. 0w for extream winter !!

If you don't get the sub freezing, then 15w would make sense, esp. if it stays in the engine !!

 

[Trooperz2.6]

Strange isn't it. My 88 Troop has an oil leak but still doesn't lose nearly as much as you guys. I only ever add new oil when I change it. approx every 3,000.

Cris

 

[maineamigo]

I took my Amigo to get an oil change today and noticed that it wasnt reading on the dipstick. I am mildly worried since 1000 miles ago it was full and had never burned oil before. A little more annoying is the lack of a check oil light coming on at any point during this prodess. You would think that a 3-4 quart drop over that period might have tripped the switch but hey what do i know.
I have a feeling that the Amigo might be a little dirty on the inside and could use some TLC from my friendly mechanic. I am sure now though that i will be checking my oil once a week.

 

[LTC Don]

I've posted this in at least one other thread - but don't know if it's actually correct or not on the newer vehicles.

The oil light is necessarily triggered by a low amount. It's triggered by a loss of oil pressure. As long as the pump is functioning and making pressure, the system is content. This is why most people say that if the light does come on - it is not bad, but real bad :roll:

So, many people have a false sense of security that as long as the light doesn't come on, everything is dandy.

Can someone else confirm or debunk the trigger of the oil warninglight?

I believe the key fix is to either replace the rings or figure a way to periodically clean the existing rings - and the PCV and EGR systems are apparently more vital to engine health than just emisssions control.

SeaFoam treatment every other change perhaps.

Changing oil weights is not necessarily a good choice as the oil passages and the engine as a whole is designed for a specific weight - depending on environment - temperature. The thicker the oil, the harder it is to get through all the nooks and crannies - so to fix one thing might be causing problems in others. Catch-22 I think is the term.

Cheers,

 

[huffy76]

My Rodeo leaks about a 1/2 quart per 4k and I put 10w oil in. Not so bad for a 94...now if i could only figure out why H2O comes in under my glove department. :evil:

 

[Amigo-2k]

See my FAQ's on how to, to keep the oil useage down.

 

[93RS]

I asked this before on another forum and got several different answers, so I will try here. When gauging oil consumption by checking the dipstick, how many quarts are represented between the FULL and ADD holes on the dipstick? I have been told only 1 and as many as 4. Anyone know for sure? This will really help me gauge how much oil my 98 Trooper is going through.... TIA!!!

 

[¡Oracle!]

On every car I've owned it's always been 1 quart on the dipstick or really close to it.

 

[RL]

The oil light is necessarily triggered by a low amount. It's triggered by a loss of oil pressure. As long as the pump is functioning and making pressure, the system is content. This is why most people say that if the light does come on - it is not bad, but real bad :roll:

So, many people have a false sense of security that as long as the light doesn't come on, everything is dandy.

Can someone else confirm or debunk the trigger of the oil warninglight?

Unless it has a low oil light which neither my 96 or 01 Troopers had/has you are absolutely correct. If you get an oil light you have just run your engine with dry bearings and begun a Three Mile Island in there. Where people got the idea that they shouldn't have to check their oil between changes boggles my mind. I check my oil faithfully and have never let anything get even 1 qt down without catching it. My 96 Trooper used a qt per 1000 like clock work. It never bothered me as that's just one qt every 2 days of cross country driving. I suppose much more than 1000 would bother me but I've never had anything that wasn't worn out use more than a qt in 1000.

My 01 uses about 1/4th qt or less every 3000 and is actually getting better with age. It now has 87,000 miles on the clock which includes two round trips coast to coast and one round trip of 12,000 miles to Alaska.

I ran 5W 30 dino oil in my 96 and I have always run 10W 30 Mobil 1 in my 2001. I shoot for 3000 but NEVER let the oil go longer than 3500 miles. Even on road trips.

 

[maineamigo]

The Amigo has never burned oil before, even after a 2200 mile 3-day cross country journey. So to be honest i am little concerned about the spike in oil consumption. Previous 55,000 it burned no oil.....none. Last 1000 miles it chewed through 3 1/2 quarts. Call me paranoid, or maybe it needs a tune up and spring cleaning.

 

[lowzone]

the low oil pressure warning light, or DUMMY light, is caused by oil cavitating (airation) the oil. If any one here has a fish tank, its like the filter sucking in air, you flow less water out of it. The oil pump pickup in the sump grabs some oil and some air making a nice foam out of your oil and lowering the pressure in the gallies (galleys sp?). You're right, once the oil light comes on, its usually caused more damage then driving on a full system for 10k miles.
I use about 1 qt every 2500 miles, when i drop my oil. I do mostly short highway (5 miles) or city driving. I always let the motor warm up before driving. I occasionally get a puff of blue on cold mornings or when the truck has sat for the weekend. Valve seals would be the culprit on that one. The oil seeps down thru the seals when the truck sits at night, but its minimal and doesnt always do it. i was running 10w30 in the winter but switched to 5w30 Castrol GTX (i swear by it and Fram filters). Now its warmer here in NJ, im going to stick wth the 5w30 and might substitute 2 qts of 5w for 10 w ,making a 7w30 (3x5w30 and 2x10w30). it does work out that way, seen it proven on one of those Car and driver type shows on TV and read it in several car mags. I also dont drive my Rodeo too much in the summer, i switch to my 92 Longbed pup with 195k on it .
that motor has been rebuilt (short block) and uses about the same as my Rodeo, but im much harder on the gas on the pup, cant compair the v6 to a 4. Anywho, thats my story.......isuzu= oil consumption ,just how much is excessive?????
ron

oh yeah, my Rodeo- 111k 5 speed

 

[cruiserman]

I asked this before on another forum and got several different answers, so I will try here. When gauging oil consumption by checking the dipstick, how many quarts are represented between the FULL and ADD holes on the dipstick? I have been told only 1 and as many as 4. Anyone know for sure? This will really help me gauge how much oil my 98 Trooper is going through.... TIA!!!

Even the dealer was not able to answer that question. In my experience it's close to or equal to a quart.

FYI I'm getting a new engine from Isuzu for my 2000 Trooper due to high oil consumption.

 

[htchkss]

My rodeo recently (as in over the last year) started consuming oil more. It also has developed a nice ticking noise in the engine (worries me). I just check the oil every two or three weeks and add when necessary. Which happens to be every time I check the oil. I find I add a quart a month roughly. More than this I will begin to worry.

 

[woffles]

I'm not familiar with the Rodeo "yet". Getting one any day. My sister had a problem with her, "blazer", If I remember correctly, with a v-6 in it. It was using oil. The problem was that the oil return holes in the back of the motor on top of the heads were plugged and the oil pooled up and was going down the shafts of the lifters. Simply cleaning these out allowed the oil to drain properly and stopped using oil. I'll find out soon enough if this is similar in the Rodeo. Hopefully the one I'm getting won't be too bad on oil. It's a 96 LS.

Jeff