oil consumption

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taylor414ce2003

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just wondering how much oil is a normal amount of usage ? I used 3qts in between oil changes (4k miles) car has 84k on it is this normal? probaly not this used caddy is turning out to be a fn piece of crap---it is making me remember y I have been driving less xpensive more dependable JAP cars:mad:
 
I read somewhere that the early N* had a problem using oil if it has too much oil in it. Something about the marks on the stick doesn't match the level when the oil is changed.

3 quarts does sound like a lot!

What year is the car? Does it have a blue smoke in the exhaust? Have you checked for leaks and found none? Does it produce a puff of blue smoke when you accellerate from a stop?
 
My Eldorado has almost 200K miles and it needs about 3-3.5 quarts between oil changes (about 4.5-5.5K miles). In fact, oil consumption can be beneficial to the upper cylinder area, which is right before and at top stroke. Engines that are too tight can starve the upper cylinder area of lubrication which can lead to premature wear. Therefore, it isn’t a problem to have some oil consumption, especially in high compression engines. I would say 3 quarts every 4K miles is still within the acceptable range. Maybe a PITA, but acceptable. From what I understand, the latest Northstar has much less oil consumption. Is your engine leaking oil (e.g., oil pan, oil pressure sensor)?
 
I rember reading somewhere for this is to use top engine cleaner on the rings and allow to sit for 2-3 hours..let me see if I can find it. I think it was a TSB...
 
1999 ,84k-no leaks !!!!! no blue smoke that I can see in the mirror-exhaust tips are fairly clean minor black carbon build up but not major. A leak was fixed in nov-they had to pull the motor and split it and replaced the oil manifold? only had the car a month prior to the repair so I dont know if it was eating this much oil before the repair or if the mech could have done something.also both pwer seats have broken(just the switch) and pas window stopped and the alternator is not charging properly and the power sterring pump is "groaning" yes its full-this is all stuff that I would xpect to break on a car built in the 1970s not a $38k 1999 model my girlfriends 1993 toyota has 225k with power everthing and everything still works we have done nothing to it but regular maint!!!
 
Redwingvksm is right about the ring cleaning idea. If the northstar is used mostly on short trips with low rpm runs then the rings can tend to stick. This engine is meant to be driven hard and revved up sometimes. There is a procedure that many caddy owners use to keep the rings limber - WOT (wide open throttle) you put the car in second gear and rug the gas pedal and let it wind up but don't redline it then let it coast back down and do it again. I use a different method with my 93 eldorado. I just leave it in drive and floor it until I get to 110 MPH then let it coast down. Of course in the backwoods of Wisconsin you can get away with that but your location may be different. You could try a quart of transmission fluid in the oil 500 miles before an oil change, trans fluid is highly detergent and will clean the engine. I'm sure you can get your consumption down but some usage is common with these engines.
(BS to follow)
Don't give up on the caddy yet! Sure its not as roomy as the toyota and it doesn't have as nice a ride or as powerful an engine but it has a cadillac crest on it and thats something!

:bsflag:
 
NOT GIVING UP!! the Caddy Eldo is my dream car but I dont know if I can afford to keep her in mint cond!!! like the WOT:) does you and your motor some good!!!
 
PS just talked to a GM rep and he said a 1qt every 1kto 1500 miles is normal so thats a load off my mind-not that I didnt believe youz guyz thanks
 
On a slightly different but somewhat relavent note does anyone know about how much it would cost to have the oil pan resealed? I gave up on the 81 and found a very nice 90 I'm looking at and the guy said it leaks about a quart every 3,000 miles. He said to have the oil pan resealed but didn't know how much it would be. Can anyone give me a figure?
 
On the 90 eldo it looks like the gasket is approx. $30 and the book says 2 hours labor to change it out. $120 if I did the job.
 
On the 4.9 or the 4.6

If it's NOT a northstar - that sounds about right

If it IS a northstar - say your praires and take it to a local mechanic. Usually is the piece between the block and the oil pan that leaks - and that's around 15-20 hour job...
 
maybe

ok u might try haveing like he said ur rings cleaned form what i know of this its a very strong decomp chemical it is sprayed / poured trough the sparkplug hole u let it sit a few hours and IT MUST be sucked back out somehow not sure how u need some kinda machine but its also unbelivebly good for ur car next to new rings which also equals rebuild. From what i read once was this : as i know and most know when u have a car with 0 miles on it there is a brake in period. 500-3000 miles when u should stay as close to 2000 rpm and not rev the car hard/race /"force it" but a guy from a motor website begs to differ i read. in a study of 20 motors buning the engine hard is better just not a lot. his study showed not reving the car every now and then and puting a high compresion load made the rings not rub the walls. no high compresion made mostly the cilinder head only to mold the walls causing uneven wear which a engine pushed every now and then would be better off. so if this is true we have all been dead wrong for a long time now. however while this study was done right and the results were definetly twords highcompresion good it was done on motorcicle engines sooo...... u decide
PS
BMW discontinued their production of the 2.8 engine due to the fact that the 2.5 engine they themselves made recived higher compresion and was makeing nearly identical hp#s as the 2.8 food for tought. that and also audi and benz went to 3.0 so they just dumped the legendary 2.8
 
Redwingvksm said:
On the 4.9 or the 4.6

If it's NOT a northstar - that sounds about right
Click to expand...
Yeah, it was the 4.9 I was quoting, not the N*. Of course if he has a 1990 eldo with a N* it's not a factory job anyway so it would be a time and materials job! (gotta cover my butt):D
 
another q along this line. I'm buying a 97 N* rado. The guy said it leaks bout 1 qt oil between changes, but it only leaks when your driving, and not when your parked. I dont know how you would tell if it was leaking while your driving, but could it just be burning it?
 
northstar11 said:
another q along this line. I'm buying a 97 N* rado. The guy said it leaks bout 1 qt oil between changes, but it only leaks when your driving, and not when your parked. I dont know how you would tell if it was leaking while your driving, but could it just be burning it?
Click to expand...


Its not leaking it, it's only burning it.

Rough estimate is a N* Burns 1qt every 1500 miles or so.

I do 3000 miles a month and I burn 1 qt every 1200 or so.

IF the N* has a leak, don't even buy it.
 
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