White smoke after oil change
05-31-2018, 07:37 PM
#1
Heel & Toe
Thread Starter
White smoke after oil change
I took my 2012 GS in for an oil change today. While leaving the dealer lot, I first noticed the car was not running right, thought I had another plug wire issue. Then I looked in the mirror and there was massive amount of white smoke pouring out the exhaust, and I do mean massive. I instantly turned around and pulled in to the service bay and watched all of the service advisors scratch their heads. Their so called 'Corvette expert' was already off and they did not want anyone else to touch it till tomorrow so I went home in a loaner.
What could this possibly be? Too much oil? Not enough? I just can't understand how a simple oil change could cause this problem.
It is a manual tranny so it does have the sump system, the service guy assured me they put the whole 10qts in.
What do you think?
What could this possibly be? Too much oil? Not enough? I just can't understand how a simple oil change could cause this problem.
It is a manual tranny so it does have the sump system, the service guy assured me they put the whole 10qts in.
What do you think?
05-31-2018, 10:04 PM
#4
Race Director
Very bad. And I bet they put in 6 qts. Also check to see if they broke the cap on the valve cover.
Last edited by EVRose; 05-31-2018 at 10:05 PM.
05-31-2018, 10:11 PM
#5
Dry sump motor, or wet sump motor?
Dry sump motor calls out for 10.5 quarts, while the wet sump motor only needs about 6 quarts instead.
So if wet sump, only single side oil drain plug to remove to remove all the oil from the wet sump pan, and if they dumped in 10.5 quarts (instead of only the 6 quarts of oil needed), the motor is toasted.
If dry sump, they did not remove both drain plugs, but only the side one, not the front one as well, only got about 1 quart of oil out of the dry sump pan, about 1/2 a quart out of the oil filter on the change, but worse yet, they pulled the passenger side fuel rail cover, and used the valve cover sealer cap (its not used to put oil into the motor), and proceed to over fill the dry sump pan that only hold about 2 quarts of oil safely by way over filling the motor with too much oil, which toasted the motor.
Bottom line, get a flat bed truck to haul the car to a GM dealer for the need motor replacement at this point, get a lawyer to counter sue for damage if the oil change shop does not step up to the plate for the motor replacement, and inform you insurance company if you don't have $12K grand is going to take to replace the motor now.
And again, dry sump pan only hold about 1 quart of oil when the motor is shut down (what the side plug will drain out). The other 9 quarts of oil are stored in the linespump/tank, and the way to drain that oil is to remove the front oil plug.
When the oil is put back in the car, you fill the tank with about 8 quarts to start with, start the motor so that oil is pushed through the line/pump/motor that was drain out from a correctly oil drain from both crain plugs removed, the oil warm up, then you fill the tank the rest of the way to the full line on the tank dip stick.
At no time to you remove the passenger fuel rail cover to add oil to the motor through the valve cover filler on the dry sump motor!!!!!
Note, GM labels everything else, and why they did not label the filler hole cap with (do not use to fill motor with oil) on the cap is beyond me. Better yet, why the did not just make a passenger valve cover without a hole for the dry sump motor that would require a filler hole cap in the first place, is still a mystery.
On a wet sump motor, there is a hole in the fuel rail cover, that protrudes the oil filler section through the with a cap on that motor isntead.
P.S, tell me that this was a GM dealer lot, and not some off brand lot isntead. If off brand, the tech working on the car did not have a clue how to do a oil change on a Vet, and what killed the motor. Also, take the car to a GM dealer to have the motor replaced, not some non GM off brand dealer instead.
On a blow motor, it more than just the motor that has to be replace, but any part that the oil travels that needs to be replaced as well. Hence oil tank ,oil lines,oil cooler, oil pump, (ect) since once parts of the broken motor get into such, replacing the motor and using the old parts end up with piece of broken motor now pushed into the new motor to destroy the new motor as well.
Dry sump motor calls out for 10.5 quarts, while the wet sump motor only needs about 6 quarts instead.
So if wet sump, only single side oil drain plug to remove to remove all the oil from the wet sump pan, and if they dumped in 10.5 quarts (instead of only the 6 quarts of oil needed), the motor is toasted.
If dry sump, they did not remove both drain plugs, but only the side one, not the front one as well, only got about 1 quart of oil out of the dry sump pan, about 1/2 a quart out of the oil filter on the change, but worse yet, they pulled the passenger side fuel rail cover, and used the valve cover sealer cap (its not used to put oil into the motor), and proceed to over fill the dry sump pan that only hold about 2 quarts of oil safely by way over filling the motor with too much oil, which toasted the motor.
Bottom line, get a flat bed truck to haul the car to a GM dealer for the need motor replacement at this point, get a lawyer to counter sue for damage if the oil change shop does not step up to the plate for the motor replacement, and inform you insurance company if you don't have $12K grand is going to take to replace the motor now.
And again, dry sump pan only hold about 1 quart of oil when the motor is shut down (what the side plug will drain out). The other 9 quarts of oil are stored in the linespump/tank, and the way to drain that oil is to remove the front oil plug.
When the oil is put back in the car, you fill the tank with about 8 quarts to start with, start the motor so that oil is pushed through the line/pump/motor that was drain out from a correctly oil drain from both crain plugs removed, the oil warm up, then you fill the tank the rest of the way to the full line on the tank dip stick.
At no time to you remove the passenger fuel rail cover to add oil to the motor through the valve cover filler on the dry sump motor!!!!!
Note, GM labels everything else, and why they did not label the filler hole cap with (do not use to fill motor with oil) on the cap is beyond me. Better yet, why the did not just make a passenger valve cover without a hole for the dry sump motor that would require a filler hole cap in the first place, is still a mystery.
On a wet sump motor, there is a hole in the fuel rail cover, that protrudes the oil filler section through the with a cap on that motor isntead.
P.S, tell me that this was a GM dealer lot, and not some off brand lot isntead. If off brand, the tech working on the car did not have a clue how to do a oil change on a Vet, and what killed the motor. Also, take the car to a GM dealer to have the motor replaced, not some non GM off brand dealer instead.
On a blow motor, it more than just the motor that has to be replace, but any part that the oil travels that needs to be replaced as well. Hence oil tank ,oil lines,oil cooler, oil pump, (ect) since once parts of the broken motor get into such, replacing the motor and using the old parts end up with piece of broken motor now pushed into the new motor to destroy the new motor as well.
Last edited by Dano523; 05-31-2018 at 10:20 PM.
The following 2 users liked this post by Dano523:
morrisk64 (06-03-2018),
stingray71 (06-04-2018)
05-31-2018, 11:17 PM
#6
Le Mans Master
Member Since: Jan 2016
Location: New Mexico
Posts: 8,055
Received 2,683 Likes
on
1,408 Posts
2018 C6 of Year Finalist
Following. Hopefully OP is one of the few who share a conclusion/closure/fix/whatever to their issue. I'm not holding my breath.
05-31-2018, 11:43 PM
#7
Trust is, the way I see this playing out, opt will report such to his insurance company to let them cover the costs, and they will just total the car out, and go after the dealer themselves.
Its about $12~14K to replace what needs to be replace due to blown motor from the incorrect oil change, will take months are the GM dealer to replace such, and if you add in the rental car during such time and deprecated value from the replacement motor that will show up on a GM service history report, the costs ends up being too high, and cheaper for his insurance company to just write the car off instead.
Lesson to be learned on the vet, know how to change the oil yourself to start with. Even if you don't want to do the work yourself, spend 5 mins with the tech that is going to change the oil walking them through the procedure in great detail, with dos and don't as well. Even on a wet sump motor in say a GS model that can have both, make sure that the Tech is squared away on what type sump system it has, the amount of oil it will need, and how to drain and fill it back up correctly as well.
Short of this, then take the car to a GM dealer only that knows how to change the oil on both a dry and wet sump Vet motor to start with only.
Last edited by Dano523; 05-31-2018 at 11:48 PM.
06-01-2018, 10:51 AM
#8
White smoke sounds like intermix (oil and coolant), which can be caused by the failure of a part, but if it happens right after an oil change it's just too much of a coincidence and so I would suspect gross overfillin. This is why I cange my own oil. Most shops give oil changes to some off-the-street hire, not a mechanic. I've seen them fill from the overhead oil supply until it overflows the filler port and then use an air impact to replace the drain plug. I hope since it happened right there they step up and own it, do whatever is right and proper to put it right.
06-01-2018, 11:29 AM
#9
Race Director
Member Since: Sep 2007
Location: Peoria/Phoenix AZ
Posts: 16,555
Received 2,061 Likes
on
1,505 Posts
C6 of Year Finalist (performance mods) 2019
Dry sump motor, or wet sump motor?
Dry sump motor calls out for 10.5 quarts, while the wet sump motor only needs about 6 quarts instead.
So if wet sump, only single side oil drain plug to remove to remove all the oil from the wet sump pan, and if they dumped in 10.5 quarts (instead of only the 6 quarts of oil needed), the motor is toasted.
If dry sump, they did not remove both drain plugs, but only the side one, not the front one as well, only got about 1 quart of oil out of the dry sump pan, about 1/2 a quart out of the oil filter on the change, but worse yet, they pulled the passenger side fuel rail cover, and used the valve cover sealer cap (its not used to put oil into the motor), and proceed to over fill the dry sump pan that only hold about 2 quarts of oil safely by way over filling the motor with too much oil, which toasted the motor.
Bottom line, get a flat bed truck to haul the car to a GM dealer for the need motor replacement at this point, get a lawyer to counter sue for damage if the oil change shop does not step up to the plate for the motor replacement, and inform you insurance company if you don't have $12K grand is going to take to replace the motor now.
And again, dry sump pan only hold about 1 quart of oil when the motor is shut down (what the side plug will drain out). The other 9 quarts of oil are stored in the linespump/tank, and the way to drain that oil is to remove the front oil plug.
When the oil is put back in the car, you fill the tank with about 8 quarts to start with, start the motor so that oil is pushed through the line/pump/motor that was drain out from a correctly oil drain from both crain plugs removed, the oil warm up, then you fill the tank the rest of the way to the full line on the tank dip stick.
At no time to you remove the passenger fuel rail cover to add oil to the motor through the valve cover filler on the dry sump motor!!!!!
Note, GM labels everything else, and why they did not label the filler hole cap with (do not use to fill motor with oil) on the cap is beyond me. Better yet, why the did not just make a passenger valve cover without a hole for the dry sump motor that would require a filler hole cap in the first place, is still a mystery.
On a wet sump motor, there is a hole in the fuel rail cover, that protrudes the oil filler section through the with a cap on that motor isntead.
P.S, tell me that this was a GM dealer lot, and not some off brand lot isntead. If off brand, the tech working on the car did not have a clue how to do a oil change on a Vet, and what killed the motor. Also, take the car to a GM dealer to have the motor replaced, not some non GM off brand dealer instead.
On a blow motor, it more than just the motor that has to be replace, but any part that the oil travels that needs to be replaced as well. Hence oil tank ,oil lines,oil cooler, oil pump, (ect) since once parts of the broken motor get into such, replacing the motor and using the old parts end up with piece of broken motor now pushed into the new motor to destroy the new motor as well.
Dry sump motor calls out for 10.5 quarts, while the wet sump motor only needs about 6 quarts instead.
So if wet sump, only single side oil drain plug to remove to remove all the oil from the wet sump pan, and if they dumped in 10.5 quarts (instead of only the 6 quarts of oil needed), the motor is toasted.
If dry sump, they did not remove both drain plugs, but only the side one, not the front one as well, only got about 1 quart of oil out of the dry sump pan, about 1/2 a quart out of the oil filter on the change, but worse yet, they pulled the passenger side fuel rail cover, and used the valve cover sealer cap (its not used to put oil into the motor), and proceed to over fill the dry sump pan that only hold about 2 quarts of oil safely by way over filling the motor with too much oil, which toasted the motor.
Bottom line, get a flat bed truck to haul the car to a GM dealer for the need motor replacement at this point, get a lawyer to counter sue for damage if the oil change shop does not step up to the plate for the motor replacement, and inform you insurance company if you don't have $12K grand is going to take to replace the motor now.
And again, dry sump pan only hold about 1 quart of oil when the motor is shut down (what the side plug will drain out). The other 9 quarts of oil are stored in the linespump/tank, and the way to drain that oil is to remove the front oil plug.
When the oil is put back in the car, you fill the tank with about 8 quarts to start with, start the motor so that oil is pushed through the line/pump/motor that was drain out from a correctly oil drain from both crain plugs removed, the oil warm up, then you fill the tank the rest of the way to the full line on the tank dip stick.
At no time to you remove the passenger fuel rail cover to add oil to the motor through the valve cover filler on the dry sump motor!!!!!
Note, GM labels everything else, and why they did not label the filler hole cap with (do not use to fill motor with oil) on the cap is beyond me. Better yet, why the did not just make a passenger valve cover without a hole for the dry sump motor that would require a filler hole cap in the first place, is still a mystery.
On a wet sump motor, there is a hole in the fuel rail cover, that protrudes the oil filler section through the with a cap on that motor isntead.
P.S, tell me that this was a GM dealer lot, and not some off brand lot isntead. If off brand, the tech working on the car did not have a clue how to do a oil change on a Vet, and what killed the motor. Also, take the car to a GM dealer to have the motor replaced, not some non GM off brand dealer instead.
On a blow motor, it more than just the motor that has to be replace, but any part that the oil travels that needs to be replaced as well. Hence oil tank ,oil lines,oil cooler, oil pump, (ect) since once parts of the broken motor get into such, replacing the motor and using the old parts end up with piece of broken motor now pushed into the new motor to destroy the new motor as well.
Considering the amount of time that car will be with GM to replace the motor and oil parts in the car, and then the amount time he and his lawyer are going to spent in court to recover the funds from the dealer that screwed the oil change up to destroy the motor, don't see the op posting a conclusion to the end his just starting drama as well.
Trust is, the way I see this playing out, opt will report such to his insurance company to let them cover the costs, and they will just total the car out, and go after the dealer themselves.
Its about $12~14K to replace what needs to be replace due to blown motor from the incorrect oil change, will take months are the GM dealer to replace such, and if you add in the rental car during such time and deprecated value from the replacement motor that will show up on a GM service history report, the costs ends up being too high, and cheaper for his insurance company to just write the car off instead.
Lesson to be learned on the vet, know how to change the oil yourself to start with. Even if you don't want to do the work yourself, spend 5 mins with the tech that is going to change the oil walking them through the procedure in great detail, with dos and don't as well. Even on a wet sump motor in say a GS model that can have both, make sure that the Tech is squared away on what type sump system it has, the amount of oil it will need, and how to drain and fill it back up correctly as well.
Short of this, then take the car to a GM dealer only that knows how to change the oil on both a dry and wet sump Vet motor to start with only.
Trust is, the way I see this playing out, opt will report such to his insurance company to let them cover the costs, and they will just total the car out, and go after the dealer themselves.
Its about $12~14K to replace what needs to be replace due to blown motor from the incorrect oil change, will take months are the GM dealer to replace such, and if you add in the rental car during such time and deprecated value from the replacement motor that will show up on a GM service history report, the costs ends up being too high, and cheaper for his insurance company to just write the car off instead.
Lesson to be learned on the vet, know how to change the oil yourself to start with. Even if you don't want to do the work yourself, spend 5 mins with the tech that is going to change the oil walking them through the procedure in great detail, with dos and don't as well. Even on a wet sump motor in say a GS model that can have both, make sure that the Tech is squared away on what type sump system it has, the amount of oil it will need, and how to drain and fill it back up correctly as well.
Short of this, then take the car to a GM dealer only that knows how to change the oil on both a dry and wet sump Vet motor to start with only.
06-01-2018, 12:04 PM
#10
Race Director
The following 2 users liked this post by EVRose:
449er (06-01-2018),
marinablu67 (06-03-2018)
06-01-2018, 12:12 PM
#11
Race Director
Member Since: Mar 2010
Location: T-Town WA
Posts: 15,101
Received 3,628 Likes
on
2,349 Posts
2016 C6 of Year Finalist
06-01-2018, 12:29 PM
#12
Le Mans Master
Member Since: Jan 2016
Location: New Mexico
Posts: 8,055
Received 2,683 Likes
on
1,408 Posts
2018 C6 of Year Finalist
06-01-2018, 06:53 PM
#14
Heel & Toe
Thread Starter
OP here, I can't believe you thought I would not be back lol, I know what its like to be left hanging on a posting without closure. I appreciate you guys chiming in on this. The so called 'Corvette Expert' fixed her right up. He said exactly what most of us were suspecting, the tech did not unscrew both plugs, then overfilled 2 1/2qt. He said a 'little' oil got in the manifold, he cleaned it up, changed the oil and filter again and drove it 10 miles or so. He said it smoked for a little while but stopped and he doesn't suspect it will come back. They refunded my $89 for the oil change and he felt very positive things were all good and should not cause any future problems with anything. I don't know, he sounded sincere and I got my car back on the road so life is good again. Cheers!
06-01-2018, 07:14 PM
#16
Race Director
Member Since: Mar 2010
Location: T-Town WA
Posts: 15,101
Received 3,628 Likes
on
2,349 Posts
2016 C6 of Year Finalist
06-01-2018, 07:43 PM
#17
I drive a 2013 427 dry sump. I request and schedule the Corvette Service Tech at the Chevy dealer and ask him to only put in 9 quarts and leave the 10th quart for me to add. When I get home after the car sits for 10 min. I check the oil level and the dip stick usually reads about 3/4 qt. low. Not 1.5 qts. Depending on how long the Service Tech allows for the oil system to drain there may be some residual oil that has not drained out. Assume your oil system is fully drained 10.5 qts. is added and you are instantly over full. I think it is just safer to have the service tech. hold out the 10th quart and you add it yourself. I seldom need to add the full 10th quart to get to the "full" mark. Usually 1/2 to 3/4qt. That tells me there is probably 1/2 qt or more oil that remains in the system even though the dealer service tech may think he drained it all.
Last edited by Nice Ride; 06-01-2018 at 07:58 PM.
06-01-2018, 08:35 PM
#19
Melting Slicks
100% agree...
That thing inhaling all of that oil to the point that it wouldn't run right is bad bad news.
I bet its pooled in the intake so bad that if you floor it, it will still smoke. Who knows what all damage that could have caused to other components.
06-01-2018, 10:28 PM
#20
Did they, or have you, actually looked at your air filter?