When I went in for yesterday's oil change, I finally got their attention by telling them the "low engine oil" warning message was displayed. [I checked it immediately after it popped up, & found there was still oil on the stick, but it was below the last marker. Since it was only 2 days 'til the scheduled oil change, I let it ride.] They said that since it had used 1 qt. in the last 1,660 miles, they were finally going to do something about it. [sarcasm]Mighty big of them, I thought. [/sarcasm]

Anyway, they're going to take it for a week, & give me a loaner. They said it will get pistons & rings, & possibly even heads and/or valves. Methinks 'twould be cheaper for them to just replace the engine.

No, I'm not at all happy that a truck with < 72K miles needs this kind of work, nor am I happy that they dragged their feet this long to agree to do it. But I do take some small measure of comfort that they're going to rebuild an engine 5 years after the in-service date, especially given that I bought the thing used.

Since it looks like I'll be spending my would-be truck money on lawyers this year, I'm hoping their latest "fix" actually is one, and gets me through for a few years.

I'll post an update after they're done adulterating my power plant.

FC

I've had 2, both 2005 vintage. One I got rid of at around 50K and it didn't use any oil (good truck). The other has around 75k and uses more than I would like.

FC, what year model truck?

2007 1/2 ton Yukon XL.

I think you did good, considering it has that number of miles and you bought it used for them to take care of all of that. They could have easily said "it is a used truck". Good job.

is it the 4/6/8 motor. Of course there are internet rumors to he effect that the cylinders not powered are causing a higher then normal oil consumption rate. You can Google it and one of the fixes was some sort of baffle that would keep oil from splashing on the non powered cylinders. On my 2004 it averages 1/2 quart every 4K if that . Good to see that they are at least attempting to fix it but they do have a 100k powertrain on those anyway if I am not mistaken.

Probably better to just install a fitted block.

A used truck, you have no idea how it was treated those first 72K miles. They're gonna fix it.....you've no gripes coming.

Sorry, I am a little late to this party. Hate to hear your oil troubles, but has anyone mentioned that the PCV valve may be drawing oil into the combustion chambers and burning it that way?

GM came out with a fixed orifice PCV valve to solve this problem. It is a simple, quick, and cheap fix. If that is the problem.

Does this engine have GM's "Active Fuel Management"? If so, many people claim it plays a very vital role in this problem.

I bought it at 40K miles as a GM Certified used model, and I had my own mechanic check it out first.



They did the first part of the TSB a few months back: soaking the carbon off the pistons & installing a deflector in the oil pan. They might have done something with the PCV at that time.



Yup, that's what it's got. They've been going through the TSB one agonizingly slow step at a time.

FC

You can tell real easily by pulling the PCV out and see if it rattles when you shake it. If it does, then they skipped that TSB.

You can pay a tuner/programmer to turn the AFM off on your vehicle. My understanding is once this is done, there are not any more oil consumption issues. I'm told it will void a new vehicle warranty though.

They just called to tell me they found oil sitting on top of the valves, so they're going to put on 2 new heads, complete with valves. They claim the pistons & rings are fine.

I'm crossing my fingers that this gets the problem taken care of. I pick it up Friday am.

FC

That can't be cheap, is it still under warranty?

It is covered, barely: I'm within a couple months of its 5 year in-service date.

I asked the guy what the warranty will be on this work, & he said it will be covered under the original powertrain warranty. When I reminded him that said warranty is nearly expired, he said they'd still take care of me for a while, given that I had documented the problem starting many months ago. I suppose I'll find out what his word is worth.

FC

Good deal, gotta love those warranties! Make sure you get the guys name just in case.

I am pretty sure all service work with parts has a warranty of a year for chevy... Should have nothing to do with your original warranty.. Ever notice how they will change everything you can unbolt without taking the motor out?

Mine has 180k on it and I put about a quart in once a month. Like clockwork. No more or less. Have been for 2 years. If it was in warranty I would be there every day...

Guessing valve seals are a problem for these because mine still has all kinds of nut. If it were losing compression I think the power drop would be noticeable.. If it sits for a day or so I get a nice blue poof at start up so I am guessing seals...

Have no intention of touching it till parts fall out the side. I have noticed the low mileage 5.3 engines in yards are climbing in price pretty quick as the last year I think for my model was 06'. There was an enormous glut 2 years ago... Get em' while they are hot...

W

With all the 5.3L engines with Active Fuel Mgmt running the roads in Chevys and GMC's, I wonder what % of them experience this problem?

Buddy is getting his tore down as we speak. Went through all the TSBs, and no go. 66K miles on his rig...

Picked it up, & they claim "excessive valve guide wear" allowed oil to leak down & burn off in the cylinders. New heads, valves, etc.

Of course, the oil was overfilled when I went to pick it up, so they had to remedy that. Then, as they were pulling it out of the shop, one of the service guys runs into the office to say, "that Yukon's got an exhaust leak on the left side...".

This is not giving me a whole lot of confidence.

FC

Did the dealership do a compression test before and/or after replacing the heads?

That would be the one question I would want answered to rule out any problems with the pistons/rings.




The true test will be if it uses any oil after the repairs. It shouldn't since the rings are already broke in.

Dunno if they did the compression test. I drove it about 20 miles, & it sounds like it did before I gave it to them.

I just get pissed about them overfilling the oil: they're a friggin' GMC dealership - they should know damned well how much oil goes in one of those engines! It makes no sense to try to sandbag the oil consumption test, if they're going to get reimbursed for the repairs by GM, anyway.

All I want, is to never have to see them again. Is that too much to ask?

FC

My brohter has a 07 GMC Yukon XL that was doing just what yours is doing. They put heads on it, no fix, they finally tore it down and put rings and pistons in it. That has fixed it for now and it had around 65 k on it when it started. Also bought used as a GMC Certified Pre-owned. I think it took 4 or 5 trips to the dealer before they tore it down. I know of one other but it was in a Chevy Silverado z71 and it was a 07 NBS also, both trucks have the 5.3 with the fuel management systems. They should fix it because they know that year model had that probelm. I might would try another dealer if one is close by.

I had a 07 Z71 I bought used Certified at 65K miles. I drove it less than 300 miles before the oil pump went out and fried two lifters before I could get it stopped. They replaced all the lifters and the cam, oil pump and some other small stuff. I traded it in on my wife's 2010 Suburban with the same motor and it runs like a champ.

My brother has 65k on a newer Suburban that burns 2 quarts of oil to a 3000 mile oil change. He has no idea what to do next the dealership said it is part of the shut off cylinder approach.
He told me to hang on to my 350, more towing torque and no oil burning. Kind of scary for a Chevy Suburban fan. Buckfever1

Find another dealer, & have them start working through the TSB's: 07-06-01-007 = valve stems / cylinder heads, 05-06-01-019F = leaking rear main seal, and there are others relating to "excessive oil consumption". Mine is a 2007, and had a 5 year, 100K powertrain warranty. If your brother's is newer than mine, he should be good to go for getting it repaired.



FC

I believe this problem is mostly with the 07 models NBS. My wife had a 08 Tahoe with the 5.3 that had the fuel managemnet system and we never experienced any issues with it. Only put about 55k miles on it though. I have a 2011 Silerado so I hope they fixed the problem by now.

Update:

I took it in this am, 1130 miles after the head replacements. The Service Manager documented that it used another � quart.

He shook his head and told me to come back in another 1,000 miles. I pointed-out that my 5 year In-Service date was coming up, but said they'd be sure to "take care of me."

They're fast running out of things to replace.

FWIW, the 1,130 miles weren't highway miles - not a whole lot of AFM kicking in.

FC

FC - I'd get that in writing! I don't trust service managers!

X2!!!!

Ask the service manager if he thinks that your truck is going to magically fix itself in the next 1000 miles! Tell him you want it fixed NOW! I would settle for nothing less than a new engine and an extended warranty

I have an '03 Suburban 5.3 with almost 270,000 miles on it. I have the oil changed every 5,000 miles. It has just now started using a quart between changes. I also have an '01 Silverado with the 4.8 and about 150,000miles. It hasn't used any that I can tell. I'm learning from this thread that apparently there were some changes after my two were produced. My Suburban has been the best vehicle I've ever owned, and the only one I've ever driven this many miles. I hope they get yours straightened out. Sounds to me that a complete engine replacement is in order.
Good Luck to you,
Rick

The AFM gizmo came into being for the 2007 model year, because my '06 Sierra Z71 5.3L didn't have it.

The GMC also got about two miles per gallon better (20 MPG) highway fuel mileage, than my current '10 Silverado Z71 gets. So as far as I am concerned, it is essentially worthless as a fuel management tool.

The window sticker on my '10, listed highway mileage at 21. It actually averages around 18 MPG, which I notice is what most all 2012 1500 Z71 ext. cabs (5.3L) are listed at now.

No oil use issues with my truck, at almost 22,000 miles. I generally change oil/filter at around 5000 miles, same as I always have with the past three GM pickups.

So... with the new heads/valves/valvetrain, etc., it drank 1� qts. in 1,900 miles. I dropped it off again this am, & it's getting pistons & rings: they claim they'll have it ready tomorrow. I don't think even NASCAR engines get torn down & rebuilt this often.

I reminded them that the 5 year in-service period ends 7/30, so they're going to give me a 12 month, 12,000 mile warranty on the work.


FC

Way to go!

If it continues to burn oil I would think the next step would be a new engine

A fitted block is typical.

Man they go to extreme lengths to waste time and money.... New crate motor and about 6-8 hours labor. Done..... geezz


W

Sounds like trade in time after they fix it.

Sounds like they're finally going to fix what was causing the problem. Good deal.

You probably know this but ...

One thing worth mentioning is since they're putting new pistons and rings don't panic if it uses a little oil during the break-in period. A quart or so in the first 1500 to 3000 miles wouldn't be unusual. After 3000 or 4000 miles it should stop using any oil and be fully "broke in".

Good luck.

My "hope" is that the deflector-less oil pan caused the rings to gum up. While adding the deflector did nothing to de-gum the rings, theoretically it will prevent the new ones from gumming-up. Thus, I'll have no further problems, right???

I really don't want to have to trade it. I own the thing outright, and I'm sure the resale value is plummeting even faster than gas prices are rising. Plus, I don't know what I'd replace it with: I'll never own another GM, but I've heard more than a few stories to make me wary of Expeditions and Sequoias. I'm trying to walk the fine line between taking it in the shorts on a trade, versus taking it in the shorts with repairs.

FC

Picked it up this pm. I'm surprised at how quickly they turned it around.

They claim that the rings were gummed/seized on 2 pistons, & oil had burning from those 2 cylinders. They told me, though, there was no scoring on the cylinder walls. For the first 11 miles, it seems to run about like it ever did.

Now they want to check it in 1,000 miles. Crossing my fingers here.

FC

1,650 miles in, & no oil missing thus far.

They confirmed this am they're going to honor the original 100K warranty, regardless of date: it was due to expire 7/30/12. That gives me another 23K from now to see how well this "fix" is going to hold.

I've got my doubts about how many times they can tear out & tear open this engine & get it all back together perfectly. At least I've got another year and a half or so (at my rate of accumulating miles) to see. Though everything else has been solid, I'm thinking I may trade it off.

FC

Trading it would be the wise thing..

After seeing the new thread in the campfire forum, I went back to see what I'd written on this one.

I'm now at 23,000 miles since the new pistons/rings, so I guess I drive a lot more than I was thinking. Anyway, there's been little, if any, oil consumption since the last repair. Maybe a 1/10th of a quart, or maybe it wasn't parked level when I checked. Seems to run as well as it ever did.

In the end, they gave me a 30K powertrain warranty from the mileage of the repair, which will take it past the 100K limit of the factory powertrain warranty. I've got about 10K left, & my inclination is to see how it does during that time. If it holds up well, I'll probably just keep it.

I've been putting-off some of the larger maintenance items (new plugs, trans fluid replacement, coolant flush, etc.) 'til I decide if I'm going to keep it. I hate trading vehicles, almost as much as I hate having vehicles that don't work.

FC

If its runing good I would trade it and move on to a new rig. Sounds like the dealer went above and beyond, give em a shot on a new wip.

I would, but they only sell GM!

If I were to really search my soul, I'd be way better off to replace it with a minivan. And that's why I try not to do much soul-searching.

FC

My buddy refers to his wife's mini-van as the 'neuter" van. Says that's how he feels when he drives it. Can't argue with the practicality I guess. Even so, I like our Yukon. mtmuley