Oil Loss???

[ZEUS]

While your axle is out of the VX during the diff drop would probably be the most convenient time to pull the pan out to look things over. Just make sure you have everything you need on hand.

[JHarris1385]

Could I pick up the gasket for the oil pan at any autozone or such?

[Ldub]

IIRC, there is no pan gasket, just a bead of hi-temp silicone.

[nfpgasmask]

You can't just drop the pan, correct? Isn't there something in the way, ie cross member?

Bart

[Trudy Carp]

I have found that the Egr service was definitely the key to stopping the oil consumption problem. Before, the dipstick was impossible to read even a day after an oil change. Seems the richened fuel mix was washing out the
rings and diluting the oil down pretty quickly. Once it was thinned out by the
fuel dilution it was hard to see on the dipstick. My first oil changes were very much like yours, hardly anything in the pan. Couldn't believe my engine wasn't blown.
The day I bought it in Fort Collins, the dealer changed the oil for me before I left. It had 67k miles on it. I stopped for fuel in Denver and decided to check the oil. Down 2 quarts already! Topped it off and proceeded up the mountains to Alma and home. Checked the oil when I got home and it was down 2 quarts again? At this point the dipstick became hard to read, so I put it in the garage and waited till morning to check it again. After sitting overnight and draining thoroughly, it was readable and definitely 2 quarts low again! It was consuming 6 quarts every 500 miles! Now we're down to 4 quarts every 3500 miles of hard running. Definite improvement. There really is a connection between clogged egr and oil usage.

[nfpgasmask]

Yeah, I need to find a nice step by step instructions with photos on how to clean my EGR.

Bart

[blacksambo]

While I've heard the EGR issue before, have you checked your oil filler cap gasket?? If it's not sealing perfectly it will allow oil into the intake system. Also, we've gone on our two Vx's from a quart of oil usage per 1000 miles to almost zero usage by upgrading our PCV valve to the Purolator brand #1061 with a fresh filler gasket. Try it you'll like it.

[LittleBeast]

EGR cleaning:
http://isuzufaq.ibctech.ca/#faq1
http://www.icess.ucsb.edu/~greg/rodeo/egr.htm
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...&highlight=egr
http://isuzufaq.ibctech.ca/EGR.doc
http://isuzufaq.ibctech.ca/egr-repair.pdf

Fuel filter change (easy):
http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=1673

My dipstick does the same thing, however, if the holes are not filled up on the stick than that means it is not actually going down into the oil, but rather picking it up from the sides of the shaft probably. I usually top off til the top hole is filled in.

[GreatDivideVX]

I know you have likely resolved the issue by now but the stuff in your pan doesn't look like oil but dirty (brown) diff fluid. Are you certain you drained the oil pan right behind the radiator? Don't let the printed words on the oil pan "Tokyo Radiator Company" fool you. That would also explain the small amount of fluid. The oil change on the VX is so easy you don't even need a jack but pick the correct pan!

[Trudy Carp]

Having been there, done that, I'm surprised this still gets the big ? that it does, as often as it comes up in the Troubleshooting Forum. I have wondered myself how mine ran on 1 quart without blowing, but it did, multiple times. Emptied itself on the way home from just having it changed, in 200 miles. Got to the house, pulled the stick, nothing. Took 4 quarts to get a full reading on the stick. Engine damage? Probably. It scares me how many times only a quart ran out when it was getting changed. However, I did my homework and solved the problem. Now I only use about 2 qts every 3500 miles. Here's how:

BIG #1. Clean the egr system every 25k miles. About $200. As carbon builds, the computer gradually richens the fuel mixture to compensate. This dilutes the oil with fuel when it washes past the rings. Hence, the unreadabe dipstick. Oil's just too thin to read. Notice that you can read it fine when you just did your oil change. After 100 miles of driving, it's unreadable again. Isuzu claims this to be the main reason why 3.5's blow their bottom ends, be it a Trooper, Rodeo, or Vehicross. They just get run out of oil.

#2. Don't have an Isuzu dealer near by, go to a GM dealer. My local GM dealer (Hudson in Silverthorne) services mine and the other 2 VehiCross's in my imediate area. They joke that they have become the designated VehiCross service center for this area. All 3 of us have been there at the same time. They did my EGR service, replaced my EGR valve, both upstream Oxygen sensors, and changed my oil. Every part, including the oil filter, came out of their stock. My MAF is even a GM part that came off their shelf. Every Isuzu part has a GM part# on it as well. Not all of them are viable GM #'s but most ignition, fuel injection, and emission parts are. They are always cheaper than their Isuzu counterpart, but still OEM.

Their tranny guy just rebuilt my T-case and installed it right before I went to Moab for Memorial weekend this year. After all, a Canyon/Colorado pickup is an Isuzu I280/I290 truck. The Trailblazer/Envoy is an Asender, etc. So it's very familiar territory to a GM tech.

So, get that EGR service asap and see how huge a difference it makes!