Silverardo oil consuption problems

mgdvhman

This is an interesting Conversation.....

- Tim

mteubner1

For years, I have relied on Consumer reports for their recommendations. They recently did an article on full size pickups. The Tundra was rated first and the Silverado second. They had a lot of good things to say about the Silverado, but predicted it's repair history to be much worse that average. I normally keep my vehicles 12-15 years and the last thing I need is a vehicle that gives me a lot of problems. Any thoughts from the Silverado owners out there?

bob259

I don't think it will be any worse then any of the new ones. Everyone has good and bad ideas/feelings. I'd bet the GM and Fords will be running a lot longer than the Dodges though.

jaijay

How can they say what the predicted reliablility be when this is a NEW vehicle. When the new F150 came out, the predicted reliablilty was dubbed as NEW, no information available. However this truck is not considered new by Consumer Reports. So how did they come up with a prediction so quick? Perhaps rolled in the past history of the old C/K trucks?

jkania

I have a 1985 1500 Silverado w/150,000 mi on it. I live near Chicago. It runs like new. Doesn't burn oil. Just a puff of smoke when I start it up.(worn valve guides) Other than little stuff like fuel pump, water pump, alt. I've had no troubles. There is some rust on the panels under the door, but not bad. Consumers Reports also said this truck had a poor reliability test. I think the're full of BS.
BTW I ordered a new 2000 LT 2WD SB. The only reliability problem GM has is delivering new trucks. Hope I get mine before Spring.

quadrunner500

I bet you don't even have bad valve guides, just the seals.

cdean

you are correct, Quad.

actually, if i were a new silverado owner with oil consumption problem, i would recommend demanding your service department replace all the valve guide seals. the reason:

I just recently took my '94 chev with 350 in for its 50K mile tuneup. starting around 60K, i started getting a littel oil consumption. all of a sudden, over the last 2 oil changes, i was losing a quart every 3000 miles. while i had it in for the tuneup, i told the guys to check the valve seals. super easy to do on my engine. anyway, he said they were shot, and would be replaced. the thing that stunned me is THEY WERE PLASTIC!! well, no wonder they didn't last. don't like that trend, but if my '94 had plastic, i'd bet the new ones have it too. maybe manufacturing problem lets some bad ones slip thru...

bigsnag

I think they are teflon, not just plastic. As for losing a quart every 3000 miles, it is pretty hard to suck a quart of oil through the valve guides. I'm not saying it can't happen. I had an '88 350 that had the valve guide seals replaced twice, with no improvement. It turned out that the problem was the rings were shot. It had around 80,000 miles on it. It kinda did the same thing, went along using a little with a little puff of smoke on start up, then before I knew it, the thing was using a quart every 1000 miles or so. Anyway, that's what happened to me.

rrichf

bigsnag,

What did you do to wear the rings out at 80K?

In this day and age of chrome rings and treated blocks, rings shjould be lasting well past the century mark!

Rich

bigsnag

I guess I bought a bad one. My buddy has an '88 half ton extended cab, with 250,000 miles and no major work done to it, so I know those 350's can go a while. That's the part I didn't understand. I am religious about oil changes and such.

klonowski

I have 96 K1500 with the 5.7L and at about 35000 miles I was consuming around 1qt of oil per 1000miles. I was originally told by my local service manager that GM considered a consumption rate of 1 qt. per 1200 miles within their allowable tolerance. After about 5 months of filling out an oil consumption log they decided that 1 qt per 1000 miles did not warrant any action. Of course there was no way that I would accept this and they finally agreed to replace the valve guide seals. Problem solved.

roger350

My wife's new Grand Prix GTP is burning 3/4 of a quart to 1 quart every 3000 miles. We just have 7300 miles on it, and my mechanic said he would take it back to GM and demand a fix. It sounds like you had to do a bunch of work just to verify the problem existed, and then they still decided they weren't going to do anything. Can the lemon law be used on this situation? I am not very happy with the situation, but haven't gone to the dealer yet because I figured they would tell me that was acceptable oil consumption, and sweep me under the rug. Sorry this wasn't truck related, but I am shopping for a new Silverado, and that is how I stumbled across your posts. Thanks for your help.

ckitchens

My husband drove a 1986 GMC 3/4 ton with the 350 -proper oil changes and usage. The engine had to be replaced at about 70,000 miles due to bad valve guides/seals. This was a company truck and his company had the same experience with all of them. Since the last 8 years or so, they have tried very hard to stay away from GM trucks. Not only do the engines have to be replaced - the front-end also have to rebuilt early. They have learned to prefer the Fords with auto transmissions.

quadrunner500

Chevy small blocks routinely turn 250,000 miles without rebuilds.

chevyck1

I have a 99 C/K 1500 Z-71 Ext cab with a 350 Vortec, It has 12,000 miles and I've noticed since it was new that it has been using about a quart every 3,000 miles. I called and talked to the Service manger at the dealer, and he told me that it was allowable under GM tolerancing, I am totally discouraged with GM, I am planning on trading it on a new Accord, and just buying an old
pickup, anyways if it leaks or consumes oil, I can just blow the engine, and do what I love best, Build a screamer, with more horses than a 2000 big block, anyhow, it will be paid for! The bottom line is, Americans don't know how to build vehicles period. I never should've bought a new truck. Oh well, you live and you learn. I have a 98 Mitsubishi car, and I'll be damned, the thing is the same at 3,000 miles as it was when I changed the oil last! Sorry, but if anyone is thinking of buying a new american vehicle, think about what those hard-earned $30,000 are gonna get you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Also don't forget how well they back up their product!!!! They just try and get away from fixing it.

cdean

Cheryl
Your husbands company is not very smart. Thats normal for valve guide stems to start leaking.

But it is very easy and cheap to replace them on the engine. YOu don't even have to pull the head.

But i guess if they WANTED to replace the whole engine, more power to them. Waste of about $1500.

Many ranchers in S. TExas do nothing but haul 5-10K lbs of hay, feed, farm equipment, etc, with their GM 350s, and usually get 200-250K miles out of them.

You do have to rebuild GM frontends---when you don't grease them. Thats what those little grease zerks are for. Never seen a GM front end rebuilt, never had too.

I did do a Ford, though. the rubber bushings they use only last about 25K. then you either rebuild, or have loose steering. most owners just have loose steering.

bud_light_dude

The Fords don't even have zerk fittings on the front end parts. Tons of people at my work have VERY SQUEAKY Ford steering. Pitman Arms are a wide spread replacement at very early miles as well as power steering pumps. I have driven Fords, early and late models, the late models are worse, but they all had very spongy steering and swayed terribly, especially on windy days.

I don't say Fords are bad, but to say that Ford front ends are better than GM.....that is a new one for me. I have owned many a GM truck and never had to replace or rebuild a front end and have never had to do a rebuild or replace and engine at that early stage of a trucks life.

Saying this will most likely open the door to bashing, but it is all true. I have never been stranded by a GM truck or car, but have with the others. Guess that is why I am partial to GM.

gwyatt1

I have had a 1994 and a 1996 Silverado, and both
of them have had front end problems. Both had to
have a representative from chevy manufacturing
plant come and figure out the problem. Both of
them needed shims put in. Don't know if was bad
luck getting two that had the same problem or if
it is common among all Chevy trucks. Starting
to think the latter. I hope not. At least on the
2000 models. I want one so bad I can taste it. I
hope to be ordering mine in about two weeks from
Salida Colorado. Fantastic deal!

Has anyone with a 2000 model had problems with the
front end? And if so, have the fixed the problem
rather than gaff you off. Would like to know
before I order if they are having alot of problems. It doesn't appear to be too bad from
reading all the topics.

Gary

bud_light_dude

Again, I am not saying that GM doesn't have a problem with their front end parts, but I have owned many GM trucks and have put over 150k miles on most of them. Never had front end parts go bad on me. My great luck or your bad luck, I guess nobody can clearly say.

I don't think the new model trucks have any better or worse front ends. I don't think much has changed.

rrichf

bud_light_dude,
If Fords dont have zerk fittings, I wonder what I'm conencting my grease gun to. Actually, the squeak would be OK if I never had to lube it!
Rich

bud_light_dude

None of the late model Fords I have been under had any zerks. Ford dealerships laugh at you if you ask them to lube a late model Ford. That is why so many people complained of squeaky steering. The Pitman arms went out just after the warranty was up because Ford didn't use Pitman arms that could be greased.

I guess you have the only one that has a grease fitting.

rrichf

bud_light_dude,
It may be that because mine is a Super Duty that it has zerk fittings.
Rich

bud_light_dude

That is something I hadn't thought about. That may be true. I only referred to the 1/2 tons.

vince4

I have a 2000 6.0 and it needed almost a quart after 3000 miles. I think that is fine and normal. It only has 4700 total on the truck but so far so good.

rrichf

vince4,
For a new truck, that is fairly normal. The rings haven't seated in yet. With today's chrome rings it may take 20,000 miles before they're fully seated. The big advantage is that when you have 204,000 miles you still won't be burning much oil.
Rich

wants4doors

Can anyone tell me why I cannot find a 2000 Ranger (or Mazda B series) with the 2.5 engine and four doors? This model was available in both nameplates last year!

bud_light_dude

Sorry, not a slam, but the demand for the 4 bangers in a truck is deminishing. The 6 cylinders are almost identicle in fuel economy and offer way more performance. Too few buyers for the 4 bangers makes your choices slim.

Pay a little extra for the 3.0l or 4.0l. It is a lot of engine for a compact truck and you still will get about the same gas mileage.

meredith

The PICKUPS Conference has gotten WAY too big....

it is unwieldy to manage, and difficult to use for "newbies". There is entirely TOO much topic duplication, so I will be doing some SERIOUS topic consolidation in the next few weeks, getting us down to not more than 2-3 topics per vehicle type, and ultimately down to 200 topics or less.

THIS weeks consolidation candidates are: F-150's, Silverado's, Dakota's, and Dakota Crew/Quad cabs.

In that vein, please consolidate this Silverado topic to Chevy Silverado - Continued IX and continue these discussions there.

Thanks!

Front Porch Philosopher
SUV, Pickups, & Aftermarket and Accessories Host