V6 Oil Burn

[Sevn86]

Originally Posted by CAMARO_MOW

Bump...

I am seeing a lot of black soot in the exhaust tips. Is this from burning oil or normal? Will it stop?

whats the reason behind this cuz im seeing it alot too...i keep cleaning them...ans what does running rich mean?

[Russell James]

Your not going to be able to accurately measure oil coming out of an engine. There is going to be some left in the filter, in the lifters, in the valley, up in the heads, in every little passage here and there.... Then your probably using the oil qts which have a big space at the top of them anyway so you probably overfilled them...

If it was full on the dipstick before, then you changed it and put 6 back in there and it is roughly full again... I'll wager it had the right amount in there from the factory.

[Russell James]

Originally Posted by Sevn86

whats the reason behind this cuz im seeing it alot too...i keep cleaning them...ans what does running rich mean?

Newer cars have to run pretty rich at start up to get the cat convertors to light off quick. If you start a new car in your garage, you'll notice how bad the fumes are.

We can thank our EPA for some goofy tuning that is less than ideal. Watch some of the Youtube videos of Camaros or Vettes on the dyno. When they stomp on it, most will give a puff of dark smoke on the factory tune. Give that same car a precise aftermarket dyno tune and you probably won't see that puff anymore or soot on the tailpipes.

[alan422]

[QUOTE=duder4thgen;1392022]Did the 5 qts include what was in the filter canister? Meaning did you crack open the lid to the oil filter housing before or after you drained the oil? Should be right around a qt in there, and it isn't going to drain down into the pan until you open it.[/QUOTE

I believe I said I changed the filter also, which means I opened the filter canister. All oil was drained. I put 6 quarts back in the motor. I managed to fill 5 of the empty oil bottles exactly with the oil from the drain pan.

[cschmidt1956]

This from the information pages on the Engines....

Aluminum-intensive construction extends to the pistons, which are manufactured as cast aluminum polymer coated oil cooled pistons, with a fully floating wristpin, and these pistons are considerably lighter than conventional pistons. Less weight means less reciprocating mass in the engine, which in turn means less inertia and greater operating efficiency. Moreover, the V-6 VVT pistons are crafted with a number of features that enhance durability and reduce noise and harshness, including a high-tech polymer coating and floating wrist pins. The V-6 VVT engine family was developed with pressure-actuated oil squirters in all applications. Three jet assemblies in the block hold a pair of oil-squirting nozzles that drench the underside of each piston and the surrounding cylinder wall with an extra layer of cooling, friction-reducing oil. The jets reduce piston temperature, which in turn allows the engine to produce more power without reducing long-term durability. The extra layer of oil on the cylinder walls and wristpin further dampens noise emanating from the pistons.

Could very well be this adding to slight oild usage. Mine only has 750 miles and it is at the same level as when she came home.

[CatiaJockey]

I made my second change with 4k on the oil. There was no notable loss. The first change was a 5 quarter like most every one else.

[alan422]

Originally Posted by theholycow

Did the dipstick level that you saw indicate that it didn't need any oil added?

Having ASSUMED the motor was filled to capacity as I believe it should be, I felt the level showing on the stick was at was the six quart level. Because of that I was somewhat confused at how the dipstick is graduated. This stick reads differently from my 04 Buick or any other car for that fact that I've owned. However, The level on the stick never changed over the 320 miles of driving. Once I filled the motor with 6 quarts of oil, the graduations on the dipstick made a little more sense.

ALL THAT ASIDE... It doesnt change the fact that ALL oil was removed from the sump and the filter canister and measured. It was 5 quarts exactly.

[alan422]

Originally Posted by CatiaJockey

I made my second change with 4k on the oil. There was no notable loss. The first change was a 5 quarter like most every one else.

Putting 5 quarts back in the motor as you said and didn't notice less on the stick than you had before you changed the oil, I have to assume you only had 5 quarts in your motor as I had found with mine.

Dont forget your V6 has a 6 qt. capacity. But I would also be willing to bet this motor would be fine to run with just 5 quarts. Six quarts is a lot of oil for a V6. I'm sure its just a larger sump.

Considering that all the small block V8s Ive owned only had a 5 qt. cap. And look at the Camaro V8 with an 8 quart capacity. Thats a lot of oil. But the more the merrier.

[Russell James]

Originally Posted by alan422

Having ASSUMED the motor was filled to capacity as I believe it should be, I felt the level showing on the stick was at was the six quart level. Because of that I was somewhat confused at how the dipstick is graduated. This stick reads differently from my 04 Buick or any other car for that fact that I've owned. However, The level on the stick never changed over the 320 miles of driving. Once I filled the motor with 6 quarts of oil, the graduations on the dipstick made a little more sense.

ALL THAT ASIDE... It doesnt change the fact that ALL oil was removed from the sump and the filter canister and measured. It was 5 quarts exactly.

The sump and filter isn't the only place oil can be found in an engine. Ever rebuild an engine on an engine stand? Drain the oil out the drain pug.... then rotate the engine 180 degrees... what happens? Better have a drain pan ready because more is going to be dripping out for the next half hour with that engine upside down.

What happened was - some stayed in your engine, some stayed in your filter (unless you have one of those 2 ton filter crushers), and you probably overfilled the little qt bottles a bit.

I just rebuilt my Harley engine. All these years, at every change it has taken 3.5 qts to fill it. The spec in the manual is 4 qts. This time after the complete rebuild, it took 4 qts to fill. Because it had been completely apart, and from a bone dry refill it actually held the full 4 qts.

[OUR72GTO]

There is no can with the V6 filter.

The filter "wet" may hold a 1/4 cup of oil.

PDI includes the dealer confirming the oil is at the proper level at delivery.

Our engine used 1/2 a qt in 550 miles of break in the 1st 3 days. None since at 4500 miles.

[alan422]

Originally Posted by Russell James

The sump and filter isn't the only place oil can be found in an engine. Ever rebuild an engine on an engine stand? Drain the oil out the drain pug.... then rotate the engine 180 degrees... what happens? Better have a drain pan ready because more is going to be dripping out for the next half hour with that engine upside down.

What happened was - some stayed in your engine, some stayed in your filter (unless you have one of those 2 ton filter crushers), and you probably overfilled the little qt bottles a bit.

I just rebuilt my Harley engine. All these years, at every change it has taken 3.5 qts to fill it. The spec in the manual is 4 qts. This time after the complete rebuild, it took 4 qts to fill. Because it had been completely apart, and from a bone dry refill it actually held the full 4 qts.

You're absolutley right.. There is redsidual oil still in a motor after draining. A brand new motor filled for the first time is going to take a little more oil. But Im not dealing with a motor being filled with oil for the first time.

The factory, as well as the person doing the PDI should make sure the motor is filled to capacity or FULL level on the stick.

Now... Let me try this again.

This is simple... Read carefully.

The manual tells you basically that an oil change with filter replacement on the V6 motor requires 6 quarts of oil. Right or Wrong?

If wrong, someone correct me.

I drained the all oil possible from the motor including the filter housing, letting it drip for about an hour. I then replaced the filter, added five quarts, started the engine in order to fill the filter housing, turned off the motor and added one more quart. Total = 6 quarts of oil put back into the motor.

I then was able to fill only 5 quart bottles (NOT FILLING THEM RIGHT TO THE TOP) with the oil from the drain pan.

Now... If I did my math right, the motor was about a quart low.

There is only 320 miles on the car and it couldnt have burned a quart with that mileage without a lot of blue smoke.

I only wondered if anyone also experienced that.

[OUR72GTO]

I did. That is break in oil until the rings set. plus what the filter wicks.

Your good to go now.

[Angrybird 12]

Originally Posted by alan422

You're absolutley right.. There is redsidual oil still in a motor after draining. A brand new motor filled for the first time is going to take a little more oil. But Im not dealing with a motor being filled with oil for the first time.

The factory, as well as the person doing the PDI should make sure the motor is filled to capacity or FULL level on the stick.

Now... Let me try this again.

This is simple... Read carefully.

The manual tells you basically that an oil change with filter replacement on the V6 motor requires 6 quarts of oil. Right or Wrong?

If wrong, someone correct me.

I drained the all oil possible from the motor including the filter housing, letting it drip for about an hour. I then replaced the filter, added five quarts, started the engine in order to fill the filter housing, turned off the motor and added one more quart. Total = 6 quarts of oil put back into the motor.

I then was able to fill only 5 quart bottles (NOT FILLING THEM RIGHT TO THE TOP) with the oil from the drain pan.

Now... If I did my math right, the motor was about a quart low.

There is only 320 miles on the car and it couldnt have burned a quart with that mileage without a lot of blue smoke.

I only wondered if anyone also experienced that.

Did you check the oil level before you added the last quart of oil? Is it overfull now? Why did you change the oil after only 320 miles???

[CoachJ]

Not a gear head, and trying to follow along here..Just took my V6 in for its first oil change at 6,000 miles (yea I slacked,wicked busy this winter)...Tech said 'dipstick dry, two quarts shy as well'...

Should this be a concern? Thoughts?

Thanks