GM Duramax 3.0 oil consumption

AZjeff

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It's been going around the webs that people are seeing the baby Duramax using more oil than would be expected. Came across this guy with some actual documentation from GM confirming the use and calling it normal. See it @2:50. Also interesting is he got confirmation from someone at GM that these engines are shipped 1 quart over full on purpose. See @ 1:42. Don't know the guy at all but he has GM docs.

So 1 qt/2000 miles empty easy driving and 1 qt/1000 miles hauling,towing,high speed driving is normal oil consumption. What does BITOGworld think of this?
 
Not uncommon for a car manufacturer to call that normal consumption. I don't care for it personally.
GM used to say it was due to crosshatch of the cylinder walls, and that much consumption would ensure the rings stay well lubricated. Not too big a deal today with new oil formulations and VII's.

And no, I didn't watch the video.
 
GM bulletin #01-06-01-011

It applies to every single 2023 and prior GM vehicle under 8500 GVW.

If the oil consumption test shows that the engine uses less than 0.946 liter (1 qt) in 3200 km (2000 mi), explain to the customer that their engine meets the guidelines for oil consumption.

Guy in the video didn't uncover King Tut's tomb or figured out who shot Kennedy. 1 quart every 2000 miles is the GM standard for every vehicle from now until forever ago.

What about vehicles over 8500 lb GVW?
That's bulletin 03-06-01-023:

If the oil consumption test shows that the engine uses less than 0.946 liter (1 qt) in 379 liters (100 gallons) of fuel used, explain to the customer that their engine meets the guidelines for oil consumption.

1 quart for every 100 gallons of fuel. Unless you're getting 20+ MPG in your 2500HD pickup or 3500 Savana van (doubtful), even more oil consumption is considered normal.
 
I've always maintained the belief (note I didn't say fact) that all engines burn oil in small amounts for each cycle of the individual pistons. The oil that is not scraped off the cylinder walls is burnt in the combustion event. So this info is just confirms that this GM engine has low tension rings and possibly deeper than typical cross hatching? For others that don't see the oil level depleting, I feel (not know) the oil is gaining combustion blow by matter or fuel dilution at a rate that closely matches the oil depletion rate. Applies to diesel or gasoline engines IMHO.
 
I was just talking about my 1998 Eldorado I had before & it would burn 1qt/1000k & gm said it was normal. I also owned a Saturn with the 2.2L Ecotec & it burned every 1qt/3100 miles w/150K on the ticker. IMO it's expected to burn some oil but I would hope that engines these days would do better than 1qt/1000k.
 
Whether its normal or not, thats ridiculous. Sure they spec low SAPS oil but digesting enough oil over many thousand miles is not good for the DPF.

I suppose I have had it good where my Ram 3500 did not use any discernable oil in 24,000km which a decent mix of light driving and heavy towing. Now that was with inexpensive 10w30 oils. After a switch to 5w30 semi synthetic it used a litre in 20,000km. I will be switching back to verify. But if my trucked used a quart per 2000 miles, that would be about 7.5 quarts per full index. Not on sale, Mobil dexos D oil is 17$ a quart in my pinko run country. So say i was 2 quarts shy at oil change time, thats still an extra 85 bucks per oil change index. ***? How is that exceptable? That almost covers the oil in a full index on my Cummins.
 
Isn’t this the one that takes DexosD 0W-20 that’s hard to find? I had a guy so happy we had it in stock because we were the 3rd place he went and the other places had no idea what it was.

I suspect many people who own these have no idea about it either and will just put in some random 0w-20?
 
I would not be happy with a new vehicle using a quart of oil in 2000 miles.

Low tension rings have been around for some time and other manufacturers don’t have this kind of consumption.
 
Mercedes will tell customers that burning a qt every 800-1000 miles is normal but every MB (4) that I’ve had burns none in 5k miles. Even with over 100k on the clock.
 
I accrued 61k on my 3.0 Duramax and under "normal" conditions see about 1/2Q consumption at my 6k OCI. If I've hauled my truck camper that increases to about a quart low when I go to change it. Not a big deal in my book considering how well it does it's job! DEF usage also increases considerably with a load.
 
Here's the problem with the quart per 2000 miles spec: almost no engines do it. Ones that do are bad performers and they need to find them before they leave the factory.

The first engine in our Volvo XC60 was consuming oil (no leak) at 35k miles. They replaced the pains and rings with a new design. Didn't help. At 50k, they replaced the engine. 70k later and it still doesn't consume oil. There was something wrong with that engine.

At $10 a quart, I'm happy to have the dealer top me off on their dime each time I swing by for a car wash, but no, I'm not paying an extra $50 a year for oil. And they better extend the warranty on downstream emissions equipment, too.

It seems some have figured out to run a little higher rpm than the transmission wants and that helps EGT and perhaps combustion of oil on the cylinder walls.
 
Mercedes will tell customers that burning a qt every 800-1000 miles is normal but every MB (4) that I’ve had burns none in 5k miles. Even with over 100k on the clock.
I will admit we trade vehicles between 5 to 8 years now - but it was not always the case - and the majority of them GM - mostly gas - couple diesels.

Burned oil ? None - nada - tidak - nyet …

As for small diesels ? They will be pushed aside by turbo gassers anyway …

I also still believe in a proper break in period - and it’s not just about the motor …
 
After being around 3 different ecodiesels that were pretty good trucks until around 100,000 to 150,000 miles, after which emission problems ended up being a constant problem, I thougth the little Duramax , being an inline 6 with the DPF up next to the motor would be a 250,000 thousand problem free setup. (once they replace the oil pump belt with a chain). But with oil consumption. the DPF and the rest of the emission system will not live very long. Looks like the dependability of pre def/pre DPF days of the diesel engine are gone. Its too bad as I like the fuel mileage of a diesel, but too many emission issues are going to be the death of the small diesel engines.
 
Guys, manufacturers and engineers know best. If GM says it’s normal than I’m sure a hoard of engineers carefully reviews and studied the problem and deemed it OK. No manufacturer would make a statement that is not backed by cold, hard facts. Their reputation is at stake here.

Just keep giving them $70-$100k for these trucks and be glad they sold you one. 😉
 
Guys, manufacturers and engineers know best. If GM says it’s normal than I’m sure a hoard of engineers carefully reviews and studied the problem and deemed it OK. No manufacturer would make a statement that is not backed by cold, hard facts. Their reputation is at stake here.

Just keep giving them $70-$100k for these trucks and be glad they sold you one. 😉
I disagree 100 percent with that statement!
 
Automobile or engine design engineers are being given the task of doing anything they can to meet the CAFE targets as required. It's backwards to think that "it's best" or the resulting design (and oil recommendations) somehow represents the best for every aspect of operation or longevity.
 
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