KillerBee's been runnin on 2.5.... wtf?

wstar

There have been reports here in the past of engines going dry before they shut down and failed (one belonged to a dealer IIRC). I don't think we have a low oil level sensor, just a low oil pressure sensor, and by the time that goes off from oil loss you've already been running *way* too low.

My 2009's at 21.5K miles now, and I've never had any significant oil consumption issues after the first oil change or two. The level on the dipstick sometimes goes down maybe 1/8 of an inch at most over the course of an oil change, but it's hard to tell.

I've often wondered what the real cause is for the oil consumption issue they had the TSB about. Cylinder wall issues where they don't break in and seat rings properly or something? In any case, if it was the TSB issue I would've thought you'd have seen it earlier than this.

Is it at all possible you just goofed on filling the crankcase last time you changed oil? That or maybe a bad seal on the oil drain plug would be the two best outcomes, since neither would need a real fix. No oil residue on the inside of the undertray?

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KillerBee370

Nothing to indicate any leaks whatsoever. Undertray clean. Oil plug dry. No leaks in the oil cooler connections.

11Thumper

It takes about 2 min to check oil level. Once I week I check the fluids and tire pressure unless I haven't been driving the car. 10 minutes of my time each week is well worth it.

Once the car has more miles (perhaps 10k miles) I'll check it less often. Need to establish a baseline first and I've always done this with new vehicles.

I do burn a little in the Z but nothing extreme yet. I have about 2,700 miles now.

KillerBee370

I used to check it religiously but thought I had established a pretty good base line after 10k. I guess I will go back to checking it once a week for now and maybe get the consumption test done.

Mt Tam I am

At 4500 miles on my replacement short block, I still use oil at the rate of approx 1 qt/1000 miles. Half the rate before replacement. I hope to get to your slower burn rate of 1qt/2000 miles soon.

Good luck and I hope The Bee is uninjured.

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wstar

Wow I had no idea so many of our engines had "normal" oil consumption in this sort of range (1qt per 1 - 1.5K it sounds like?). I change my oil pretty religiously at 3K miles or 3 months, and I'm still using 5W30 Motul 300V (which, while expensive and an excellent lubricator, as noted elsewhere isn't designed for long change intervals at all, and is low on detergents). Another reason I change more frequently is I have an oil cooler which I'm not draining on change, so every change leaves behind a considerable amount of used oil mixed in as well. I've never even seen a whole quart lost per 3K change, generally the loss is small enough that I hardly notice (under half a quart).

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mantella87

I'm going on 2500 miles and haven't burned a drop... That being said I broke the engine in per the owner's manual and typically drive like I'm retired. My first oil change I will be switching to Amsoil.

wstar

That's true, behavior can be a big factor. I broke mine in a little rougher than the owner's manual asked for (since I had read about the whole "seat the compression rings" thing). I run my engine pretty hard, although not as hard as someone who keeps a regular race schedule. But I'm also very adamant about letting my oil warm up before driving. I almost always let it idle up until the oil temp needle is at least moving (140+), and I usually won't go rough on the revs or rpms until 180. In the 2.5 years or so I've owned the car, maybe 5 times total I've been in enough of a rush to hurry that process in order to get somewhere I needed to be on time.

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