Oil leaks

[clemsonfor]

WOW thats a lot of oil, so much i would kind of be worried about a fire maybe. I have had plenty of oil leakers and burners. Nothing that leaves a blue cloud or a puddle but a few drips in a few hours is normal!! I have not had anything that i would assume to leak more than a quart in 3000 miles. Most seem to leak when running. meaning once parked you see a few drops but that does not get worse if the vehicle sat there for 4 days. So mostlikely was gaskets.

Usually the oil would sit below the pan gasket when sitting right? so that means its something while driving, valve covers? Is your oil plug gasket leaking to allow it to leak all the time?

like i said thats a lot of oil, and all my vehicles that leak probably burn more than they leak and nothing leaves a blue cloud. I have 2 vehicles that i add about a quart to every 1000 miles maybe a bit more oil than that esp if driving fast. But i dont see a cloud and have 5-6 drips when i park in a spot.

 

[clemsonfor]

One of my two Saturn's I owned used or lost a qt every 600 miles. It did this from 30,000 miles on. I complained to GM numerous times and they actually showed me in writing in a manual where it stated that was acceptable.

I am now on my 27th vehicle and it's been the only one I have had to add oil to between changes.

Chris

I know diamond pilot knows this as we have discussed this before but i will just mention it as its relevant to topics discussed. I own a 97 saturn. i still drive it daily when the wife got a newer car 4-5 years ago. it gets better fuel economy and i just use trucks when i need them now. It has 240,000 miles or so on it and since well before 100,000 miles it has used a quart per 1000 miles. now a days its more like a quart the 600 miles or so that DP referenced. Maybe a bit more? I usually forget and when i look its close to 2 quarts low. I am busier than i was at one point. those who own the older saturns say what kills them is lack of oil cause they burn it and leak it. It has the usual sensor issues due to the tiny wires and connectivity issues as they come and go. It will leave a blue cloud at start up and a minor trail for the first half mile or so but no blue cloud as you drive. If you stomp it it will dump black exhaust but thats unburned fuel inthe exhaust. it is a good car and owes me nothing, and still returns 30+mpg.

As for your AC issue, many times there is enough slack in the lines to just unbolt the compressor and lay it to the side, if need be use a wire tie (zip tie) and hang it to the side.

I had to pull the AC compressor off the saturn when i had to pull the exhaust manifold to replace the gasket that went bad a year or so ago. Just pulled it to the side and zip tied it out of my way. Its not a huge deal for me if i had to open the system as i have a recovery machine anyway.

 

[paulharvey]

Yeah, I had to take loose the AC compressor when I did water pump on my Dakota.

Guess I need to start tearing into it this weekend maybe and narrow down the source; I'm not worried about the cost of the lost oil ($3/quart/1000 miles) as much as I'm worried about it either getting worse or forgetting to check and running it with no oil....

 

[DrBill]

I believe the words the members say here on this post, but I can't believe that gm would try to justify such an oil consumption rate.. What I mean is,, what a lame excuse they would pass off to the public...

I've never heard of anything that bad. It's embarrassing just to read about it..

 

[Soundguy]

I believe the words the members say here on this post, but I can't believe that gm would try to justify such an oil consumption rate.. What I mean is,, what a lame excuse they would pass off to the public...

I've never heard of anything that bad. It's embarrassing just to read about it..

imagine owning one, a new one.. under warranty, and going in concerned your new vehicle was using oil like that. the service manager said no problem. you have 2 years free oil changes. just drive in any time and we will top off for free

 

[paulharvey]

Ok, a bit of an update; it appears to have been the "oil filter adapter gasket". Price, $12.99, major pain to get at. Came in from passenger side wheel well. Had to take the coolant overflow tank off to take serpentine belt loose, and unbolt AC compressor to get at the oil filter adapter. Total time; about 6 hours of my time; hope it holds...

 

[HHR]

Ok, a bit of an update; it appears to have been the "oil filter adapter gasket". Price, $12.99, major pain to get at. Came in from passenger side wheel well. Had to take the coolant overflow tank off to take serpentine belt loose, and unbolt AC compressor to get at the oil filter adapter. Total time; about 6 hours of my time; hope it holds...

I had the same problem with my 08 Impala 3.9L.

 

[dodge man]

My 17 year old daughters car is an 08 Impala. Its the smaller engine, 3.5l V6. Its pretty tight under the hood and it uses some oil, maybe a quart every 1500 miles. Have you had any problems with the blend doors in your Impala yet. I've replaced one of the little motors once, it has plastic gears. I've also replaced the front speakers and one of the rear power door locks. To be honest the car is a pain in the ***** to work on but I've been able to fix every thing so far. In my opinion the car has a lot of cheap parts on it but overall not a bad car, gets great gas mileage and drives pretty good.

 

[paulharvey]

My 17 year old daughters car is an 08 Impala. Its the smaller engine, 3.5l V6. Its pretty tight under the hood and it uses some oil, maybe a quart every 1500 miles. Have you had any problems with the blend doors in your Impala yet. I've replaced one of the little motors once, it has plastic gears. I've also replaced the front speakers and one of the rear power door locks. To be honest the car is a pain in the ***** to work on but I've been able to fix every thing so far. In my opinion the car has a lot of cheap parts on it but overall not a bad car, gets great gas mileage and drives pretty good.

I actually replaced it at the same time. $35.99 for the blend door actuator, but a really weird tight squeeze to get a hand and socket in there. Luckily the bolts/screws where loose enough I could turn the 5.5mm socket with my fingers.

I had not been I car in probably 10 years before we bought this Impala (with ~130,000 miles) and I was surprised how much room it had. Before that our family vehicle was a 2500hd extended cab.

As for working on it; if it wasn't for Internet and YouTube I would have been at a complete loss of what was even wrong. Anyone with an Internet connection and willing to get dirty and skinned up can do most oof there own mechanicing now.

 

[dodge man]

You right, when I replaced the actuator on my daughters car and the rear door lock I watched a you-tube video both times, it really helps. The actuator was really tight to get at. Once I took everything out of the way to get at it took me about 45 minutes to get the old one out and the new one in, and as I recall that's was only 2 or 3 bolts that held it in.

And yes, I agree, for a car that isn't that large on the outside it has a lot of interior room and a large trunk.