L77 Oil Consumption Issues

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keherrington
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Joined: Sun Mar 30, 2014 2:35 pm

L77 Oil Consumption Issues

Post by keherrington »

My recently purchased 2012 Caprice PPV with an L77 V8 has used 2 quarts of Mobil 1 in 1300 miles.

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I bought it at the beginning of April 2014 with 4282 miles. Took it to the dealer on 16 April to have it addressed under warranty. They told me they were not familiar with oil consumption issues with this engine. Called me back with what Chevy told them: I'm to drive it for 2000 miles without adding any oil. Considering it has used 1/2 quart in the last 250 miles I'm not convinced it will go 2000 without additional oil. What I told them is I'd bring it in when it has reached 1 quart low and see what we should do next. They agreed. But when I arrived to pick up the car the Service Manager said that upon further discussion with the factory on my behalf another approach would be taken. Apparently, this is not an isolated incident with Gen IV motors. There is an issue with the PVC valve. Also, due to the low mileage of the car, the factory assumes that the vehicle has sat unused for extended periods of time. As a result of these two factors (they believe) the piston rings may be seized in the pistons and not in proper contact with the cylinder wall. The diagnosis is straight forward. They'll remove the valve covers, remove the plugs and use an bore scope to examine the tops of each piston. If the piston is clean around its rim, adjacent to the cylinder wall, that means that part of the piston is being washed with oil. The factory will then authorize that the pistons and rings be replaced, assuming no damage has occurred to the cylinder walls. If more extensive damage is found, then they will replace the entire engine (short block). Another assumption is that with this much oil loss the cat will have to be replaced as well.

Just picked up my car from the dealership. They ended up replacing all 8 pistons, all the rings, the rod bearings, a variety of gaskets and bolts and the valve cover which holds the PVC. See the invoice below:

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I'm now going to just drive the car for about 1000 miles and check on how oil consumption has improved. I'll keep you informed.
leadfart
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Re: L77 Oil Consumption Issues

Post by leadfart »

First I've heard of this. Bad luck, hope it's fixed now!
Bob Dannelley
2011 Alto Gray 9C3 Caprice PPV-Maggie-11.64@119.68-Sold!
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The Tech
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Re: L77 Oil Consumption Issues

Post by The Tech »

Wow, sorry to hear that and hope the repairs make it good. I have 18,500 on mine and it has used no oil at all.
2011 Alto Gray Caprice PPV 9C3, Kooks Long Tube Headers, Kooks Drag Cats and Crossover, Solo Axle Back System.
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elc32955
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Re: L77 Oil Consumption Issues

Post by elc32955 »

Thanks for sharing this with us. You know, there are still both 2011 and 2012 model year cars still sitting around on dealer lots with low miles waiting to be sold, you still see one pop up every once in a while on Auto Trader. I don't know of another recent carline that has had as many unsold cars as the PPV line, normally dealers try like crazy to get cars sold off as soon as possible. For dealers to hold vehicles for three model years as new inventory is really unheard of.

Who knows, might see more weird things as these cars age. Wonder how many batteries they are going through due to parasitic drain? Hopefully someone's detailed at these dealers to move the cars around every few weeks or at least start them...

And..... welcome to the system!

Thanks
Eric
System Manager and your tour guide for the day. 2015 Caprice w/LFX, former NC DPS staff car. Partial hybrid G8/SS/Camaro SS interior mods, SS MyLink radio upgrade, 2016 Camaro V6 rims, GMPP Malibu chrome exhaust tips, otherwise bone stock for now.
keherrington
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Joined: Sun Mar 30, 2014 2:35 pm

Re: L77 Oil Consumption Issues

Post by keherrington »

Well, I've put about 200 miles on the car since its repair. So far, so good.

By the way, the valve cover is a 2014 part, obviously improved over the ones made prior. If not, the number would not have changed. The same goes for the 30 cylinder head bolts, all 2013 part numbers.

Also, a great website for parts for the car can be found at http://www.gmpartsnow.com/auto-parts/20 ... 0l-v8-flex" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Keith
keherrington
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Re: L77 Oil Consumption Issues

Post by keherrington »

FINAL REPORT!!! Well, it's been 2100 miles since Jim Price Chevy rebuilt my engine, and I've used less than 1/2 quart of Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5W30. The majority of the oil used to date happened in the first 500 miles after the repair so I believe the consumption rate is now much lower. Jim Price said that Chevy's standard for oil consumption was 1 quart in 2000 miles, so I'm well under that now. I suspect that from no on my consumption rate will be much less than 1 quart every 5000 miles which I'm very comfortable with. I hope you all enjoyed my updates.
Keith
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Re: L77 Oil Consumption Issues

Post by Pursuit »

Keith,
Yes we appreciate any updates, from anyone! Hate to be left hanging!

Maurice
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smwalker
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Re: L77 Oil Consumption Issues

Post by smwalker »

Seems some departments might have had the same issues.

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Steve Walker
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'11 PPV 9C3 Huron White
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Re: L77 Oil Consumption Issues

Post by ImpalaPPV »

FINAL REPORT!!! Well, it's been 2100 miles since Jim Price Chevy rebuilt my engine, and I've used less than 1/2 quart of Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5W30. The majority of the oil used to date happened in the first 500 miles after the repair so I believe the consumption rate is now much lower. Jim Price said that Chevy's standard for oil consumption was 1 quart in 2000 miles, so I'm well under that now. I suspect that from no on my consumption rate will be much less than 1 quart every 5000 miles which I'm very comfortable with. I hope you all enjoyed my updates.
Keith

Is GM saying 1 Quart every 2000 miles is normal or is that when they admit there is an issue and fix it? None of my cars or trucks come close to that and they are all newer GM products. If My Impala ate 1 quart every 2k miles it would run out of oil before oil changes. Same thing with my dad's truck which has an LS series engine. The car shouldn't use any oil in 2000 miles (excluding any break-in). 1 quart in 2000 miles is pretty bad. Hopefully the problem with your car is finally solved.
keherrington
Posts: 20
Joined: Sun Mar 30, 2014 2:35 pm

Re: L77 Oil Consumption Issues

Post by keherrington »

ImpalaPPV wrote:FINAL REPORT!!! Well, it's been 2100 miles since Jim Price Chevy rebuilt my engine, and I've used less than 1/2 quart of Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5W30. The majority of the oil used to date happened in the first 500 miles after the repair so I believe the consumption rate is now much lower. Jim Price said that Chevy's standard for oil consumption was 1 quart in 2000 miles, so I'm well under that now. I suspect that from no on my consumption rate will be much less than 1 quart every 5000 miles which I'm very comfortable with. I hope you all enjoyed my updates.
Keith

Is GM saying 1 Quart every 2000 miles is normal or is that when they admit there is an issue and fix it? None of my cars or trucks come close to that and they are all newer GM products. If My Impala ate 1 quart every 2k miles it would run out of oil before oil changes. Same thing with my dad's truck which has an LS series engine. The car shouldn't use any oil in 2000 miles (excluding any break-in). 1 quart in 2000 miles is pretty bad. Hopefully the problem with your car is finally solved.

GM told me that the 1qt in 2000 miles was the point at which a problem existed that needed to be addressed. The service manager stated that 1/2qt between oil changes (usually 3000 miles with regular oil and 5000 with synthetic) was normal for a GenIV motor. As it stands now I've driven 5000 miles since my last oil change and have used a bit less than 1/2qt. I use Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5W-30.
Keith
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