3.8 still burning oil after Auto-RX, use Restore?

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Brianv6

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A while back I started a thread that I was burning a quart of oil every 1,500 miles in my 2001 Camaro 3800.(currently has 98,000 miles on it.)

For the past 14,000 miles I have been using havoline 5w30 with a wix filter. I performed 2 Auto-RX cycles in hopes to reduce my oil consumption.

I did notice the Auto-RX removed the sludge in the engine that I would noticed on the drain plug when I would drain the oil. However I am still burning quart of oil every 1200- 1500 miles. A guy I work with suggested I try and used a product called restore which might help reduce my oil consumpertion. The oil is not black, I am guessing it is getting in to the exhaust as my 2nd converter just died however i do not see any smoke. Any suggestions reviews?? Should I get my oil tested? and how?

I know most dealerships will tell you a quart every 1500 miles is normal but I would like to reduce this number to 2000 or better.

Some brief history/maintanice
-New air filter
-New GM PCV
-No leaks
-No oil in coolant
 
Stay away from Restore unless you are just trying to limp it to a car lot to get rid of it. I would also stop using the 5W30 and start running a 15/40 HDEO(Rotella's new CJ-4 is cheap and readily avalible. I'd also run some Neutra 131 in the oil on a regular basis and I bet over time,using the 15/40 and a good de-carbonizer like 131 you will see a marked improvement in oil consumption. You have to use something to get in the ring pack and hopefully dissolve enough carbon to free the rings up. 131 works good;and there are other products that will clean as well.
The restore is just a dope to get it to slow the smoking so you can trade it. A used car dealer next to our shop keeps the stuff by the case for his"select" pre-owned autos.
 
Quote:

Stay away from Restore unless you are just trying to limp it to a car lot to get rid of it. I would also stop using the 5W30 and start running a 15/40 HDEO(Rotella's new CJ-4 is cheap and readily avalible. I'd also run some Neutra 131 in the oil on a regular basis and I bet over time,using the 15/40 and a good de-carbonizer like 131 you will see a marked improvement in oil consumption. You have to use something to get in the ring pack and hopefully dissolve enough carbon to free the rings up. 131 works good;and there are other products that will clean as well.
The restore is just a dope to get it to slow the smoking so you can trade it. A used car dealer next to our shop keeps the stuff by the case for his"select" pre-owned autos.

Click to expand...


IS the "Rotella's CJ-4" similar to Shells Rotella T oil?(WhereI work we use rotella T in solid lifter motors because it contains more zinc(so I am told))

According to Schaeffers website it says Neutra 131 is a feul additive and the closest place that carries the stuff is 40 miles away. Is there another product I could use? and how much of it should be poured in the oil?

I am fine with using a 15w40 oil in the summer but should I switch back to a 5/30 10/30 in the winter?
 
In regard to what oil to use, in Michigan you should switch to at least a 10/40 oil in the winter. I have tested Restore before, and it can be worth a try(because it is cheap). I don't think anyone have the nerve to sell a product in the US, that can damage your engine(because of the risk of being sued). The one thing that I am quite sure will solve your problem, is a new product, called Cermax.
 
Its possible the engine is just plain wearing out and it never will stop using oil.

Try changing brands of oil, not just viscosity. Some oils have high volatility and naturally burn off about 8- 10% (typical of mineral oils) of volume rapidly.

I had seen that do the trick in the past.
 
Orignal Post By IVAR 77--Frank, thanks for your reply, I also put your product in my dads riding mower that is 13 years old, it was using oil, i had to add some each time, i put in 2 ounces and it stopped leaking oil, i also put some in our push mower and it virtually stopped smoking, i added a maintenance dose to my 04 marauder and saw a little better gas mileage as well as some more power, in my 83 chevy my mileage went up by 2 miles when i changed the oil at 1500 miles it was a little dirty, the car definetly has some more power, your product does prove that even if you use synthetic oil there will still be some deposits, thanks for making such a great product, i will be ordering 6 more bottles and using it as a maintenance dose in all of are engines, i dont listen to the naysayers at bitog because your product works, when i changed the oil filter at 1500 miles it felt heavy even though i drained the oil out of it, i guess all the junk is in the filter, i am saving the filter to weigh it and eventualy cut it open.
 
Frank, the purpose of this thread was not to bash your product, but to suggest other alternatives to help fix my problem. Your product did remove the sluge from my engine and my valve train appears to be cleaner through the oil fill opening.

My 3.8 motor recommends 10/30(5/30 bulliten update) Wouldn't running 15/40 make my oil pump work harder?

What I am trying to ask is would to be better to burn oil that is the recommended oil weight vs burn less oil of a thicker viscosity? Would the thicker viscosity perform as well of a job lubicrating compared to a thiner viscosity?

Who makes 5w40 oil? I have only seen 10-40
Will a oil analysis tell me how I am consuming oil?

Thanks
 
I wouldn't use the Restore personally. I think I would run the recommended for your 6 cylinder, I'd just use a high quality one, Mobil 1 at a minimum. If you had an 8 cylinder, I think going a little heavier would be alright, but the 6 needs the flow IMO. I had an 8 cylinder a long time ago that used oil, I went up in weight and it cured it or slowed it to hardly noticable. And for the record Ford said it was totally normal to use a quart every 1500. I personally don't think it would be normal for a 6 though. One thing I would try is just over filling your crank 1/2 quart. You'll be fine 1/2 quart is going to hurt anything. I found out that tended to help too. for some reason having more oil in there made it harder for the engine to use it up at the same rate if I just filled it to the line. Try a oil change where your using Synthetic and over fill 1/2 qt, and let us know if it's still using and pay attention at how long the oil stays amber looking.
 
Are you sure it's not leaking out the plug? I have never seen a 3800 use that much oil, or one that is sludged up.

-T
 
Quote:

Frank, the purpose of this thread was not to bash your product, but to suggest other alternatives to help fix my problem. Your product did remove the sluge from my engine and my valve train appears to be cleaner through the oil fill opening.

My 3.8 motor recommends 10/30(5/30 bulliten update) Wouldn't running 15/40 make my oil pump work harder?

What I am trying to ask is would to be better to burn oil that is the recommended oil weight vs burn less oil of a thicker viscosity? Would the thicker viscosity perform as well of a job lubicrating compared to a thiner viscosity?

Who makes 5w40 oil? I have only seen 10-40
Will a oil analysis tell me how I am consuming oil?

Thanks

Click to expand...


Rotella makes a 5W40 synthetic as well as Schaeffer. The Neutra 131 can be used in the feul or oil as a cleaner. The bottle says about 1 ounce per qt of oil but the founder of this site used a full qt in his car with no problems ever. Amsoil also makes a safe ring pack cleaner. I reccommended the 131 becouse from my own experience I know it works. It is a slow decarbonizer(don't expect instant results)but it is safe and cost effective plus you can use it in the gas for attacking the carbon from the gas side as well.
Have no fear using a 15/40 oil in your car. My Schaeffer rep has a Sentra that calls for 5W30 and for 275K it has seen nothing but 15/40 Schaeffer oil and it gets down in the teens here in N.C. regularly in the winter. I use 5W40 simply becouse I run synthetic in everything I have that has an engine on it.
Oh, I think Seafoam offers a cleaner for the crankcase that is avalible at most retail parts stores. I have no experience with their products so maybe someone else can comment on it's effectiveness.
 
After a double ARX run, your ringpacks and stem seals are probably already as clean as they're going to get.

Continued consumption will likely not be cured by additional oil treatments (other than from their thickening effects).

Move up to a higher viscosity oil.

But if you must, you can try an overnight LC20 soak if you are careful about it.

A quart every 1500 isn't all that bad.
 
Go to or stay with non synthetic oil and drive up to 3000 miles .Top off oil when needed. Don't add any chemistry except that's contained in oil.Please post again
 
"Go to or stay with non synthetic oil and drive up to 3000 miles .Top off oil when needed. Don't add any chemistry except that's contained in oil."

Except a maintenance dose of ARX, right, Frank? Sorry I just could not resist... Seriously, I would try one of the HDEO's, whether 10W-30, 15W-40, or 5W40. Schaeffers oils are definitely worth the effort to get some, and are very good in my experience at reducing oil consumption issues. Find an oil that works well in your engine. Some oils just disappear quicker than others. I suspect that type of driving has some to do with it.

BTW, I use ARX in some vehicles as a maintenance dose myself, so in no way trying to discredit Frank or ARX, just having a little fun...
 
Forget the "GM calls for 5-30" ____. My friends brand new `05 GM Blazer burned oil until he put in 5-40, so this is what he uses now. OTC available 5-40 or 5-50 with or without some LC will help reduce the oil burning.
 
Quote:

A while back I started a thread that I was burning a quart of oil every 1,500 miles in my 2001 Camaro 3800.(currently has 98,000 miles on it.)

For the past 14,000 miles I have been using havoline 5w30 with a wix filter. I performed 2 Auto-RX cycles in hopes to reduce my oil consumption.

I did notice the Auto-RX removed the sludge in the engine that I would noticed on the drain plug when I would drain the oil. However I am still burning quart of oil every 1200- 1500 miles. A guy I work with suggested I try and used a product called restore which might help reduce my oil consumpertion. The oil is not black, I am guessing it is getting in to the exhaust as my 2nd converter just died however i do not see any smoke. Any suggestions reviews?? Should I get my oil tested? and how?

I know most dealerships will tell you a quart every 1500 miles is normal but I would like to reduce this number to 2000 or better.

Some brief history/maintanice
-New air filter
-New GM PCV
-No leaks
-No oil in coolant

Click to expand...


Try some Redline 5W-30 and let me know if that doesn't make a difference.

Redline will behave like a thicker oil, and has a very low rate of evaporation. I thnk that Redline is worth a try.

If not try a 10W-40 synthetic like Mobil 1 HM or Castrol Syntec 10W-40.
 
Quote:

A while back I started a thread that I was burning a quart of oil every 1,500 miles in my 2001 Camaro 3800.(currently has 98,000 miles on it.)

For the past 14,000 miles I have been using havoline 5w30 with a wix filter. I performed 2 Auto-RX cycles in hopes to reduce my oil consumption.

I did notice the Auto-RX removed the sludge in the engine that I would noticed on the drain plug when I would drain the oil. However I am still burning quart of oil every 1200- 1500 miles. A guy I work with suggested I try and used a product called restore which might help reduce my oil consumpertion. The oil is not black, I am guessing it is getting in to the exhaust as my 2nd converter just died however i do not see any smoke. Any suggestions reviews?? Should I get my oil tested? and how?

I know most dealerships will tell you a quart every 1500 miles is normal but I would like to reduce this number to 2000 or better.

Some brief history/maintanice
-New air filter
-New GM PCV
-No leaks
-No oil in coolant

Click to expand...

is the 1996 buick V-6 similar to your engine?
 
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