thomas1737

What is the actual refill oil capacity on the Grand Sport? The manual states 10.5 quarts but my dealer said it only took 8 when he changed it. I noticed the oil pressure seems lower than normal so I checked the dip stick after a drive and then letting it sit for 10 minutes. No oil in between the hash marks. Seems to me I need to add a quart or so.

NORTY

Seems to me, you need to find another dealership.

BEZ06

with NORTY - get your car serviced at a different dealer that knows what they're doing!!! (they may know, but they should be able to explain to you what/why if you have questions).

That being said, I think it's very important to know a bit about your car so that when you take it in for service you can be proactive to keep the highly experienced and knowledgeable techs from messing up your car.

What model do you have???

I don't have a GS, but I believe the only GS with the dry sump is the manual transmission coupe.

So.....if you don't have a manual transmission coupe you won't have the dry sump system and you'll be using the lower quantity number.

If you have the dry sump, you'll need to refill with the higher quantity.

Bob

AORoads

where the heck are you? to come back from a dealer oil change with low oil is just about inexcusable. mistakes happen, but this is one that could have been really bad.

btw, check the oil level in the morning and see where it is then, too. ten minutes after shutdown is a good indicator but not always the definitive word.

if this is what really happened, you need a new dealer AND you need to make Chevrolet aware of this. for your own sake and others.

mcrams

Big time!

Should be 10.5.

JoesC5

It holds 10.5 quarts. Since you don't really know how many qts the idiot dealer put in the car, I would add one quart , warm the car up and check the oil level after it sits for 5 minutes. If it's still not showing on the dipstick, or on the dip stick but below the bottom hash mark, add another quart, drive for a while, and then shut down for 5 minutes and recheck the dipstick. Then top off with how ever much oil the dip stick shows that needs to bring up to the top hash mark.

smonska

Just curious, how many quarts does it take from the bottom of the hash mark to full? My GS has 1100 miles on it and the oil is just below the bottom of the hash mark, I'm none too happy but don't want to fill it up so I can take it to the dealer so they can document it. Did my car use 1 quart in 1100mi or 2 quarts?

JoesC5

Did you check you oil level when you purchased the car? I didn't when I bought my 09 Z06 and when I did check it at ~670 miles it was a little over a quart low. Needless to say I was upset. I added a qt and then started checking it about every 500 miles and it wasn't using any(well, maybe a little bit). At ~1670 miles I changed the oil and it was down around a 1/4 qt. I changed the oil again at ~5500 and it was about a half qt low. I just checked my oil a couple of days ago and in the last 2250 miles, I'm guessing it's down around 3/8 qt.

I don't believe my car had the full 10.5 qt when it left the factory(but no way to prove it). The oil usage is acceptable now(~6000 miles/quart).

EDinPA

It depends on exactly how you check a dry sump. If you check it at the wrong time you will get a low reading. If you top it off after getting a erroneous low reading, you could overfill the system and cause damage.

If the dealer only drained one plug, there would have still been old oil in the system, requiring less oil to refill.

spinkick

You have yourself a full retard dealership.



* NEVER go full retard.

BEZ06

Checking your profile, I can't tell what model GS you have.

So.....What model GS do you have????

Here's a cut-n-paste from the 2010 Owner's Manual
If you have a Convertible GS, or a GS coupe with automatic transmission - your engine will take 6 quarts.

If you have a GS coupe with a manual transmission, it will have the dry sump system - your engine will take 10.5 quarts.

I just change my own oil so I don't have to deal with techs that don't quite know what they're supposed to know!

Bob

GSRANDY

I just changed the oil in my Z52 GS, adding 10.5 quarts brought the oil level up to the middle of the hash mark on the dip stick.

Taking the GS out for a drive, getting the oil temperature up to 170 degrees, resulted in the oil level reaching the top of the hash mark on the dip stick.

An accurate oil level reading on the dip stick requires the oil be up to operating temperature, Z52 GS sitting on a level surface and waiting for 5 minutes after shutting the engine off prior to checking.

After a short period of time (15-20 minutes) the oil level on the dip stick begins to drop.

Details on checking the oil level can be found in the owners manual.

Regards,

GSRANDY

smonska

6spd manual coupe, w/ dry sump. You know, I didn't check it when it was brand new. I guess it was foolish of me to assume the oil is full when you buy it new. It is under the hash mark now. So is that 1 qt low I can assume? I didn't know if each dot was 1 quart or a half.

bub

I agree with Bob and GSRANDY.

You have to follow the procedure outlined in the Owner's Manual explicitly for the dry sump system engines (run until warm [175F oil temp on DIC], set and wait 5 minutes, then check).

This allows the scavenge pump to return oil from the pan to the reservoir where the level is to be measured with the dipstick. I have always assumed that the time delay was about letting the system re-equalize to a specific pre-defined point for measurement prior to checking, so I tend to go with the 5 minutes vs. 20 minutes. If done on a fill-up, checking oil at the end of the fuel filling cycle is pretty close to the 5 minutes.

Here's my Owner's manual excerpt (2008 Z06, but same concept applies to all dry sumps):

Checking Engine Oil (Z06 Only)

A. Engine Oil Dipstick
B. Engine Oil Fill Cap
It is a good idea to check the engine oil level every time
you get fuel. In order to get an accurate reading, the
oil must be warm and the vehicle must be on level
ground.
The engine oil dipstick handle is a yellow loop. The
dipstick is located on the dry sump engine oil tank. See
Engine Compartment Overview on page 5-14 for the
location of the dry sump engine oil tank.

Z06 models have a racetrack-ready dry sump engine
lubrication system. This high-performance system
operates differently than a standard engine lubrication
system and requires a special procedure when checking
the engine oil level. Follow this procedure closely
when checking the engine oil level.
The engine oil level must be checked when the engine
is warm. Cold oil level in the dry sump tank may not
indicate the actual amount of oil in the system. With this
system, engine oil is contained in an external tank,
separate from the engine. Under normal operating
conditions, the oil pan under the engine does not store
any oil. If the vehicle has been parked for an extended
period without the engine being started, some oil
will seep back into the oil pan, reducing the amount of
oil held in the dry sump tank and there could be no
engine oil at all showing on the dipstick. This is normal
since the dipstick is designed to read engine oil level
only after the engine has run long enough to reach
normal operating temperature. Do not add engine oil
based on cold engine dipstick readings. The engine oil
level on the dipstick will also be inaccurate if checked
while the engine is running.
1. To obtain an accurate engine oil level reading,
warm up the engine to at least 175°F (80°C).
Cold oil will not give a correct oil level reading.
2. Once the engine is warm, turn off the engine.
Checking the oil while the engine is running
will result in an incorrect oil level reading.
3. Wait at least five minutes (but not more than
20 minutes) to allow oil to drain and settle in
the engine.
4. Remove the dipstick from the external engine oil
tank and clean it with a lint-free paper towel or a
cloth. Re-insert the dipstick into the external oil tank,
pushing it all the way in until it stops.
5. Remove the dipstick from the oil tank and read the
level on the cross-hatched area. Oil levels that fall
in the cross-hatched area are normal.

When to Add Engine Oil (Z06 Only)

If the oil is below the cross-hatched area at the tip of
the dipstick, add at least one quart/liter of the
recommended oil through the oil fill cap opening in the
oil tank. This section explains what kind of oil to
use. For engine oil crankcase capacity, see Capacities
and Specifications on page 5-103.
See Racing or Other Competitive Driving on page 4-15
for additional information on engine oil.
Notice: Do not add too much oil. If the engine has
so much oil that the oil level gets above the
cross-hatched area that shows the proper operating
range, the engine could be damaged.
See Engine Compartment
Overview on page 5-14 for
the location of the
external engine oil tank
and fill cap.
Be sure to add enough oil to put the level somewhere in
the proper operating range. Push the dipstick all the
way back into the oil tank when you are through.

bub

I have a hypothesis of why the tech may have used 8 qt.

The early dry sump engines ('06 thru '08 Z06 LS7) systems held less capacity than the '09 and newer dry sumps. The guy may not have picked up on that, but should have checked the service manual.

2008 capacities:

Engine Oil with Filter
6.2 LV8 Engine 5.5 qt 5.2 L
6.2 LV8 Engine with extended oil cooler 6.0 qt 5.7 L
7.0 L V8 Engine 8.0 qt 7.6 L NOTE - This applies to 2006 to 2008 LS7 only!!!

Likely one of those "I know what I am doing!" moments when he really didn't. Always, RTFM.

BEZ06

Hey Chris, I think you've got it figured out!!!

We still don't know what model GS the OP has, but I guess we'll assume it's a manual coupe with the dry sump system.

Like you say, my 2006 Z06 with the early dry sump tank takes 8 qts, but the newer dry sump with the bigger tank takes 10.5 qts.

I think you're exactly right that the tech "thought" he knew what a dry sump system takes.

Don't assume your tech knows what he's doing. A good reason to just do your own oil change.

Bob

cclive

It still amazes me that the tech can't check the dipstick though, as that is the final word as to how much oil should be in there....it should be enough to hit the top of the cross-hatch area on the stick.

JoesC5

You are not 100% correct in your facts. In the middle of the 2008 Z06 run, around March 1, GM increased the oil capacity from 8 quarts to 8.5 quarts. GM also revised the owners manual and the service manual to reflect this change.

JoesC5

Logic tells me that the OP has the GS with the dry sump. If he didn't have the dry sump LS3, he would be on here telling us how the dealer OVERFILLED the car by putting in 8 quarts, since the wet sump LS3 holds 6 quarts of oil. By the OP telling us that the dealer put in 8 quarts and the car is low on oil....well that means the car holds more then 8 quarts, because the OP says he's low on oil......which means the car has to have the dry sump LS3, that holds 10.5 quarts.

Inkmann

How much oil did they charge you for?
I believe they break it down on the bill, my dealer does, so they can charge you for every little thing.