Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Loss of engine oil

[JimP]

I have a 2001. 5 Q/C 2500 with between 26 & 27K miles. This week I towed my 5th wheel on a short trip of little over 100 miles. I checked the oil & it was two quarts low. It has 2500 miles on the oil since last changed. It has never used any oil between changes since buying it new. I wonder if I may be getting a problem with the turbo. There are no viseable signs of oil any where. If anybody has experienced this problem I would to know the cause.



Sincerely:



Jimpl

 

[EMDDIESEL]

If its a turbo issue look for signs of oil in the exhaust, oily residue near the tailpipe, smell of burning oil, etc.

To lose 2 quarts in that short a time and have no trace of oil in the exhaust would rule that out. I have an 01' 2500 QC with 33,000 miles and i have never had to add oil yet. I dont tow though, so somebody who does could hopefully lead you in the right direction.

 

[Dave MacArthur]

Jimpl;



Have you done any kind of off road driving or had the front end pitched down at a steep angle? You can spit out a lot of oil in a very short period of time through the breather tube on the front of the engine. Who does your oil changes? Any chance that it didn't get filled up the last time?



Dave

 

[JimP]

Loss of oil

Dave:

I changed the oil myself & had 11 qts replaced. It has been full of oil every time I checked it,untill this last time. I have a 4X2 and don't drive it off road. I replaced the two quarts of oil & drove the thing about 100 miles empty with no loss. I towed home today, but have'nt checked it again. I guess I'll take it to the Dealer & see if they know of this problem.



Thanks for the reply:



Jimp

 

[Deezul1]

If you think its being consumed by the turbo carry a halogen type fire extingisher and be prepared to use it to air starve the engine for emergency shut down. A bad turbo seal will allow engine oil to be used for fuel and no way to shut it off until the engine runs out of oil or you shut off the air supply. It can also run on at higher and higher rpm as the governor is not part of this new fuel supply. A clipboard or something like it over the air intake will work if you have time to pull the intake hose off, otherwise the fire extingisher is best.

Good Luck and let us know what you find.

 

[John Berger]

Jimp, I experienced something similar to this after an extensive trip towing my TT (over 3000K miles). I had to add a quart of oil. No loss since. I can find no trace of oil anywhere except at the blowby tube, nor do I smell it burning. I just cleaned and re-oiled my air filter and had a chance to check the turbo. It was clean and dry on the compressor side. I would think if I were using it there, there would have been some kind of a mess. I did an oil analysis as well, and all wear metals are at or below universal averages, plus the comments to me said that oil and air filtration looked normal.

 

[lschultz]

Did you fill your oil filter up when you changed oil?You don't have many miles on it. Your engine could still be breaking in and towing that 5th wheel put a load on it and the rings were not seated yet. Just a thought.

 

[John Berger]

Originally posted by lschultz

Did you fill your oil filter up when you changed oil?You don't have many miles on it. Your engine could still be breaking in and towing that 5th wheel put a load on it and the rings were not seated yet. Just a thought.

Do you think it could take 76K miles to seat rings? I went to a synthetic at 49K and I had towed several long trips prior to changing to synthetic. That oil loss bugs me, especially since I can't find any signs and the oil analysis says everything in the motor is wearing well.

 

[Deezul1]

Mine also uses oil when towing but not any other time.

 

[GLASMITHS]

Well, I still have the same amount of oil after a hard run from LaKe Charles to WV and return, about 2. 5k GCW about 25k. Have about 83k on it, never have added any. Sometimes might be a 1/2 to 1 qt low after 5,000 miles. 2qts is a lot.

 

[georgej]

Jim



You might wait about 15 minutes after shutdown to check the oil level as I've heard it takes a while for it to drain back down to the crankcase.



George

 

[BV]

oil consumption

You could take off one of the air intake hoses before the intercooler and give it the white glove test for some wet oil. This would eliminate the turbo sucking it out of the engine. I would also peek at the under side of the truck and see if it is leaking (or heavy blow-by) and blowing back on the frame or sheet metal but not puddling up and dripping.



IMHO - A dealer will tell you it is normal but what do they know

 

[JimP]

Oil Loss

To all replies:



When changing the oil I allways fill the filter before installing. I have towed the same 5th wheel since the truck was new, and this is the first time I have needed to add oil between changes. I towed home the same road as I used going, and it didn't use any oil. I'm going to remove the intake hose and check for oil. There is no sign of oil leaking on the outside or underside of the engine. If I don't find some problem, I'll always worry when its going to happen again.



Thanks for all your input:



Jimp