Well, whatever it was, it was sudden and catastrophic. I don't think it was a situation like it made noise for miles and got worse or the oil light came on and he rode with it that way. I think it was just a simultaneous thing that he knew obviously wasn't good and he pulled over as soon as he could. I doubt he religiously checked the oil level but you also wouldn't expect all the oil to drain out in a month's time. Who knows, maybe the dad or son did screw up somehow and just couldn't bear to tell wifey/mommy.
Mystery engine death...
- Thread starter BrianWC
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At this point, it doesn't matter what happened to the engine. Find out where the oil went and that will solve the mystery.
Originally Posted By: rg200amp
My uncle loves the V-5 in his H3. I did not know they had those issues.
It's not a V5, it's an inline 5.
My uncle loves the V-5 in his H3. I did not know they had those issues.
It's not a V5, it's an inline 5.
Originally Posted By: GMFan
I would inspect that oil filter. You mentioned that there was no oil spread under the vehicle, but doesn't mean that it can be ruled out.
I forgot about this. There are also some TSBs out for GMs that mention a rapid loss of oil pressure if the oil filter is even dented. I'll throw my support behind this idea.
I would inspect that oil filter. You mentioned that there was no oil spread under the vehicle, but doesn't mean that it can be ruled out.
I forgot about this. There are also some TSBs out for GMs that mention a rapid loss of oil pressure if the oil filter is even dented. I'll throw my support behind this idea.
No oil on the dipstick??? Lets start the diagnosing as to the mystery engine death there.
engine has 75k miles (5 cyl)
-2006 model, IIRC
-always used M1 5W30 changed at 3-5k despite oil life monitor
-oil was changed 1 month before engine went
-kid's dad changed oil....................................
-dad is pretty mechanical and doubts he forgot to add oil..
-no visible leaks
-no smoke
-dipstick shows no oil it........................................
-engine began "making loud noise" and oil light came on
-dad says it's not making pressure now???????????????????????
Running M1 oil 3 to 5,000 miles shows beginning of fault right there. Misunderstanding starts then snowballs.
engine has 75k miles (5 cyl)
-2006 model, IIRC
-always used M1 5W30 changed at 3-5k despite oil life monitor
-oil was changed 1 month before engine went
-kid's dad changed oil....................................
-dad is pretty mechanical and doubts he forgot to add oil..
-no visible leaks
-no smoke
-dipstick shows no oil it........................................
-engine began "making loud noise" and oil light came on
-dad says it's not making pressure now???????????????????????
Running M1 oil 3 to 5,000 miles shows beginning of fault right there. Misunderstanding starts then snowballs.
Many years ago, I had an old Ford pick up with an inline 6. I was driving and realized that my heater was not blowing warm air. The engine was running fine and there were no odd noises. The temperature gauge read fine (actually read a little cool). I drove for about 3 miles and started hearing a very loud knock. The engine lost power and then died. My radiator had emptied and fried the engine. There was very little warning. Perhaps if I knew what I known now about the heater blowing cold air, I would still be driving that truck today.
I think something went wrong during the last oil change. Like mentioned, maybe they knew and didn't want to admit it?
JTK
$100 Site Donor 2025
The GM Atlas/Vortec series of engines are not typically known for issues, but I have heard of rear main seal leakage issues with the early I5s. Something to do with the engine harmonics or seal assy IIRC. Anyhoo, you'd notice a massive leak from there. The other cool thing about these engines is, because of the electronic throttle and software, it's difficult to 'redline' them. Impossible to neutral drop, rev in park, etc.. They are fairly kid proof in regards to that.
Joel
Joel
I've come to the conclusion the kid mistook removing 3 quarts vs. 3 ounces for a UOA?
Originally Posted By: drivewaytech
How unobservant can a driver be? If the truck was burning that much oil, it would have been emitting quite a smoke screen going down the road....
Not necessarily. Having driven plenty of old junkers in my misspent life it has been my observation that a car has to be burning a quart of oil in significantly less-than 100 miles before any smoke will be noticed going down the road fully warmed up. Usually less than 20-30 miles.
I'm not talking about the puff of smoke on cold startup; I'm referring to a fully warmed up vehicle at cruise. My old Ford pickup gives a nice little cloud of blue smoke every morning, yet it takes about 3000 (documented) miles to burn a quart.
Think about it: if your engine burned even one drop of oil on each combustion cycle you wouldn't make it one mile down the road before the crankcase emptied.
If the rear main seal were leaking or the oil filter, etc. then a visible oil film would be readily visible on the underside. Trust me, I have seen plenty on my own vehicles.
I dunno what happened to this particular vehicle, but it truly boggles my mind that folks can be so lazy as to not be able to pop the hood and pull the dipstick at least once a week.
Joe
How unobservant can a driver be? If the truck was burning that much oil, it would have been emitting quite a smoke screen going down the road....
Not necessarily. Having driven plenty of old junkers in my misspent life it has been my observation that a car has to be burning a quart of oil in significantly less-than 100 miles before any smoke will be noticed going down the road fully warmed up. Usually less than 20-30 miles.
I'm not talking about the puff of smoke on cold startup; I'm referring to a fully warmed up vehicle at cruise. My old Ford pickup gives a nice little cloud of blue smoke every morning, yet it takes about 3000 (documented) miles to burn a quart.
Think about it: if your engine burned even one drop of oil on each combustion cycle you wouldn't make it one mile down the road before the crankcase emptied.
If the rear main seal were leaking or the oil filter, etc. then a visible oil film would be readily visible on the underside. Trust me, I have seen plenty on my own vehicles.
I dunno what happened to this particular vehicle, but it truly boggles my mind that folks can be so lazy as to not be able to pop the hood and pull the dipstick at least once a week.
Joe
Originally Posted By: BrianWC
Okay, got a puzzler for y'all. I have a wonderful co-worker who's 18-19ish son just had his engine go on his Colorado Z71. I haven't had the pleasure of examining it myself but here are the particulars:
-engine has 75k miles (5 cyl)
-2006 model, IIRC
-always used M1 5W30 changed at 3-5k despite oil life monitor
-oil was changed 1 month before engine went
-kid's dad changed oil
-dad is pretty mechanical and doubts he forgot to add oil
-no visible leaks
-no smoke
-dipstick shows no oil on it
-engine began "making loud noise" and oil light came on
-dad says it's not making any pressure now
This is a suprising turn of events for me b/c I have this same engine in my Colorado work truck. It's ben great and the oil looks brand new any time I've looked at the dipstick. All I could think of was perhaps maybe the old oil filter gasket got stuck on and caused a leak under pressure or maybe the PCV? But I would think if the oil was burning that much oil that quick that someone would have noticed....
Now, I don't have some special charge to help out but I am just curious as to what in the world could have happened here.
Re-reading the OP's first post. I find it pretty hard to believe that all of a sudden the Colorado became an oil burner. Seems like it was maintained, and has low mileage. Usually vehicles that burn oil have a history of using oil, it didn't happen overnight unless something went all of a sudden inside the engine, showing no traces of a leak. Possibly a broken ring or something.
With that in mind. 1. A seal, gasket, or other part failed causing a dynamic leak which would show traces somewhere.
2. The car was not filled with the proper amount of oil, and driven low on oil until it finally died. 3. Perhaps a light came on as a warning and the kid ignored it. Kids are pretty smart, maybe when asked about the oil light the kid said it just came on, meanwhile it was on for a while. I told some award winning lies as a kid to save my A*.*ss!
JMO,
Frank D
Okay, got a puzzler for y'all. I have a wonderful co-worker who's 18-19ish son just had his engine go on his Colorado Z71. I haven't had the pleasure of examining it myself but here are the particulars:
-engine has 75k miles (5 cyl)
-2006 model, IIRC
-always used M1 5W30 changed at 3-5k despite oil life monitor
-oil was changed 1 month before engine went
-kid's dad changed oil
-dad is pretty mechanical and doubts he forgot to add oil
-no visible leaks
-no smoke
-dipstick shows no oil on it
-engine began "making loud noise" and oil light came on
-dad says it's not making any pressure now
This is a suprising turn of events for me b/c I have this same engine in my Colorado work truck. It's ben great and the oil looks brand new any time I've looked at the dipstick. All I could think of was perhaps maybe the old oil filter gasket got stuck on and caused a leak under pressure or maybe the PCV? But I would think if the oil was burning that much oil that quick that someone would have noticed....
Now, I don't have some special charge to help out but I am just curious as to what in the world could have happened here.
Re-reading the OP's first post. I find it pretty hard to believe that all of a sudden the Colorado became an oil burner. Seems like it was maintained, and has low mileage. Usually vehicles that burn oil have a history of using oil, it didn't happen overnight unless something went all of a sudden inside the engine, showing no traces of a leak. Possibly a broken ring or something.
With that in mind. 1. A seal, gasket, or other part failed causing a dynamic leak which would show traces somewhere.
2. The car was not filled with the proper amount of oil, and driven low on oil until it finally died. 3. Perhaps a light came on as a warning and the kid ignored it. Kids are pretty smart, maybe when asked about the oil light the kid said it just came on, meanwhile it was on for a while. I told some award winning lies as a kid to save my A*.*ss!
JMO,
Frank D
Kestas
Staff member
Originally Posted By: BrianWC
-dad is pretty mechanical and doubts he forgot to add oil
-no visible leaks
-no smoke
-dipstick shows no oil on it
-engine began "making loud noise" and oil light came on
It doesn't add up. One of those statements is wrong.
-dad is pretty mechanical and doubts he forgot to add oil
-no visible leaks
-no smoke
-dipstick shows no oil on it
-engine began "making loud noise" and oil light came on
It doesn't add up. One of those statements is wrong.
Originally Posted By: Kestas
Originally Posted By: BrianWC
-dad is pretty mechanical and doubts he forgot to add oil
-no visible leaks
-no smoke
-dipstick shows no oil on it
-engine began "making loud noise" and oil light came on
It doesn't add up. One of those statements is wrong.
and you forgot one, no oil on undercarriage.
I dunno. No one have a thromo over it. It was a puzzler to me and I just wanted to see if anyone had the answer on file like "Oh yeah, there's a blinker fluid recall on that year's z71 models." or some [censored] like that.
I just hate that it happened to my co-worker's son b/c I know the family can't just go out and buy a new engine. My co-worker is driving an old Chevy diesel (with no bed) and letting her son drive her Trailblazer
Originally Posted By: BrianWC
-dad is pretty mechanical and doubts he forgot to add oil
-no visible leaks
-no smoke
-dipstick shows no oil on it
-engine began "making loud noise" and oil light came on
It doesn't add up. One of those statements is wrong.
and you forgot one, no oil on undercarriage.
I dunno. No one have a thromo over it. It was a puzzler to me and I just wanted to see if anyone had the answer on file like "Oh yeah, there's a blinker fluid recall on that year's z71 models." or some [censored] like that.
Originally Posted By: BrianWC
Originally Posted By: Kestas
Originally Posted By: BrianWC
-dad is pretty mechanical and doubts he forgot to add oil
-no visible leaks
-no smoke
-dipstick shows no oil on it
-engine began "making loud noise" and oil light came on
It doesn't add up. One of those statements is wrong.
and you forgot one, no oil on undercarriage.
I dunno. No one have a thromo over it. It was a puzzler to me and I just wanted to see if anyone had the answer on file like "Oh yeah, there's a blinker fluid recall on that year's z71 models." or some [censored] like that.
I just hate that it happened to my co-worker's son b/c I know the family can't just go out and buy a new engine. My co-worker is driving an old Chevy diesel (with no bed) and letting her son drive her Trailblazer
Well that was nice of her. If it was my son, he would be driving the old chevy diesel.
Originally Posted By: Kestas
Originally Posted By: BrianWC
-dad is pretty mechanical and doubts he forgot to add oil
-no visible leaks
-no smoke
-dipstick shows no oil on it
-engine began "making loud noise" and oil light came on
It doesn't add up. One of those statements is wrong.
and you forgot one, no oil on undercarriage.
I dunno. No one have a thromo over it. It was a puzzler to me and I just wanted to see if anyone had the answer on file like "Oh yeah, there's a blinker fluid recall on that year's z71 models." or some [censored] like that.
Well that was nice of her. If it was my son, he would be driving the old chevy diesel.
Originally Posted By: Steve S
No oil on the dipstick??? Lets start the diagnosing as to the mystery engine death there.
engine has 75k miles (5 cyl)
-2006 model, IIRC
-always used M1 5W30 changed at 3-5k despite oil life monitor
-oil was changed 1 month before engine went
-kid's dad changed oil....................................
-dad is pretty mechanical and doubts he forgot to add oil..
-no visible leaks
-no smoke
-dipstick shows no oil it........................................
-engine began "making loud noise" and oil light came on
-dad says it's not making pressure now???????????????????????
Running M1 oil 3 to 5,000 miles shows beginning of fault right there. Misunderstanding starts then snowballs.
Fill in the diagram with possible causes, investigate each possibility and you should get to root cause.
An Is/Is Not chart would work too.
No oil on the dipstick??? Lets start the diagnosing as to the mystery engine death there.
engine has 75k miles (5 cyl)
-2006 model, IIRC
-always used M1 5W30 changed at 3-5k despite oil life monitor
-oil was changed 1 month before engine went
-kid's dad changed oil....................................
-dad is pretty mechanical and doubts he forgot to add oil..
-no visible leaks
-no smoke
-dipstick shows no oil it........................................
-engine began "making loud noise" and oil light came on
-dad says it's not making pressure now???????????????????????
Running M1 oil 3 to 5,000 miles shows beginning of fault right there. Misunderstanding starts then snowballs.
Fill in the diagram with possible causes, investigate each possibility and you should get to root cause.
An Is/Is Not chart would work too.
Last edited:
It's a "Chevy" case solved..
How about adding more oil and trying to start it. Maybe then look around (especially the filter) for leaks.
I think the oil leaked out. Doubtful the Dad did not add the correct amount of oil. Even if he got distracted, he would realize he did not have enough empty containers.
I suspect a double gasket situation or a warped/distorted gasket sealing area on the filter. (I had that happen once, but it was very obvious).
But after filling with oil, one should start the engine, look under the car for obvious leaks, and around the filter if you can see it easily, check oil pressure gauge, or lack of idiot light being on, then stop engine and wait a minute and recheck the dipstick now that the filter is filled with oil.
I think the oil leaked out. Doubtful the Dad did not add the correct amount of oil. Even if he got distracted, he would realize he did not have enough empty containers.
I suspect a double gasket situation or a warped/distorted gasket sealing area on the filter. (I had that happen once, but it was very obvious).
But after filling with oil, one should start the engine, look under the car for obvious leaks, and around the filter if you can see it easily, check oil pressure gauge, or lack of idiot light being on, then stop engine and wait a minute and recheck the dipstick now that the filter is filled with oil.
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