I bought the car from Monica in January 04. On the drive back to NM, stopped in Little Rock and had the oil changed at about 600 miles-kept it under 60 MPH. After that a little more gas but no racing, nothing over 4000 rpm. About 1800 miles on it now and today the low oil level notice came on, about a 1qt low. No evidence on the garage floor, nothing noticable just looking at the engine. Is this expected?
Thanks
Don

 

Never seen this before! I think there is something wrong. Get it checked out especially on an '04!!!!!!!!!

 

Your car is fine.

I went through 2 quarts the first 2000 miles on my 2000 coupe and went through a solid quart the first 1500 miles with my 03 Z.

I also did oil changes at the 500 and 700 mark, respectively.

To make a long story short, your engine is breaking itself in. You could go out and buy a thousand more new vettes and they're going to burn an abnormal amount oil the first 2000 miles...it's totally normal.

Your engine's internal components are sealing. You may want to keep an eye on the oil level, but it's nothing to worry about. The LS6 is simply a high compression motor.

After the 2k mark, things will level off.

good luck :)

David In Indy



[Modified by ledfoot, 10:45 AM 3/8/2004]

 

It's not unusual for a new car to use some oil until the rings are seated. You're well past break-in, so just drive it however you like, and check your oil level manually every few hundred miles, adding when necessary. Don't overfill it .. you'll just burn the excess. If after 4-5K miles, you're using more than one quart in 3-4K miles, talk to the dealer. Hard use will consume more oil.

 

FWIW, mine burned not a drop of oil at the first change at 1170 miles. On the second change, at 4700 miles, it had, again, not burned a drop of oil and it saw some high rpm's. :auto:

 

:iagree: No oil cunsumption here too. They may have shot changed you when serviced.

 

Thanks for the info boys. The stress level is a little lower.
Don

 

Well, this could all be just a little oil consumption and the place that did your oil change not putting in more than 5 or 6 quarts. Also, the dipstick on the LS1/LS6 is a joke. You'll never get the same reading twice. Only way to be sure when reading the dipstick, is to do it the same way each time. I wait 15 minutes from a hot run, and check on level ground.

I'm on my 2nd C5. 1st one burned about 1 quart in 5000 miles. My current C5 burns about 1/2 quart in 5000 miles. I drive like crazed maniac....... on occassion. :)


My recommendations... in order:

1) Verify exactly how much oil is put in your car from a full drain, and then take an accurate reading on the dipstick. You might not have a problem at all, especially if you are starting out with a short fill.

2) If you feel you are burning excessive oil, check out 1 or 2 or your sparkplugs and see if they are showing signs of a problem.

3) Take is to GM and document the oil problem so they can monitor your car. IMHO, 1 quart in 1200 miles is not right, and indicates a problem.

.
.


[Modified by TexasRedZ06, 8:12 PM 3/8/2004]

 

I did the old school "break it in the way your going to drive it method" I didnt rev it really high but on the freeway i used 5th gear and kept rpm's up. I think alot of the problem is people driving them around in too high a gear and with cylinder pressures higher for more bottom end , blow by made it difficult for the ring to seat, my thoughts of course but my motor uses hardly any oil at all and i have 18,000 miles.

 

D2, go to http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=768222. A discussion on how to break in your new Vette. I just brought that thread to the top.

In a nutshell: Drive the car hard through the entire rpm range in all gears once in a while. :D

Jim


[Modified by Jim 47, 6:36 AM 3/11/2004]


[Modified by Jim 47, 6:39 AM 3/11/2004]