Isuzu bulletin confirms oil use bull****

[lasturbo]

So after reviewing this whole thread again, there is nothing you can do to stop the consumption (additives etc.) and just keep it "topped up" at the interval your VX consumes? What is the cause? Oil passages, rings? There was mention of a ring change in MY(Model Year) 2000 which may explain the later models not using as much as MY 1999. Also, if the EGR was clogged, I would think that would throw a check engine light fault as well. Deermagnet, Darkwing and Nfpgasmask-What is your consumption? Mine is 1 quart in 500 miles using Castrol Synthetic 5w-30. I am sure the thinner oil does not help and I do not abuse the vehicle. I change the PCV every 1000 miles and change the oil every 5000 miles. The tailpipe does have some soot on it but I figured with 142k, just keep topping it up and it should keep running!!

[nfpgasmask]

Nfpgasmask-What is your consumption? Mine is 1 quart in 500 miles using Castrol Synthetic 5w-30.

Yeah, sounds about right. I burn a quart every 500-1000 miles as well, depending on what kind of driving I do. 5W, 10W, 15W, change the PCV every oil change, nothing stops it for me...

Bart

[BigSwede]

So after reviewing this whole thread again, there is nothing you can do to stop the consumption (additives etc.) and just keep it "topped up" at the interval your VX consumes? What is the cause? Oil passages, rings? There was mention of a ring change in MY(Model Year) 2000 which may explain the later models not using as much as MY 1999.

According to Jerry Lemond and the chart above, the improved ring design actually came in mid 2001, not 2000 as I said earlier from memory...

[SlowPro48]

Lasturbo, I don't think any of us Average Joes know FOR SURE what causes the oil burning. If I'm reading the chart that Mark posted properly, the Trooper got the 3.5 liter Reference Code "B" engine in mid-2001 but the VX never got the "B" engine with the updated pistons/rings - or whatever the mods were. So the wide variations in oil burning we see on this forum aren't due to design.

Bottom line is too much oil is getting past either the rings or the valve seals (maybe both!) or getting sucked in with the intake charge (.i.e. through PCV) those are the only ways for oil to enter the combustion chamber. Don't blame the nasty EGR - it's role is after the combustion process - so EGR woes are a result of oil burning not the cause.

Somebody correct this if I'm wrong but from what I can gather, the most popular explanation is lack of oil-drainback holes in the piston. If that's the case anything you can do to keep those holes clear and to keep the oil rings clean and free will help the situation. You might want to try using Rotella T 15W-40 oil which is made for diesels so it's high in detergents. And just in case there's something to the PCV theory (which has always confused me because it seems if you have a clogged PCV valve there would be less crankcase vapor/oil consumed, not more) you should make sure your PCV valve rattles every time you change the oil.

[nfpgasmask]

Another thing I have always wondered (maybe worthy of another poll) is if the folks who have more oil burning issues are on synthetic and not standard oil. I often wonder if the oil burning is a result of using synthetic oil.

Bart

[SlowPro48]

You know, you might be on to something there. One of my motorcycles is an oil burner - it's a known issue - Yamaha bored the cylinders slightly oval - whoops! This makes for lots of blow-by so I use Rotella to keep things as clean as possible - especially the rings - stuck rings would only make the situation worse. That's right - diesel spec oil in a 12,000 rpm engine. Well one day I got a wild hair up my *** and decided to try Mobil 1. My oil burn rate went up 500%. So back to Rotella I went! Oil consumption went down to normal. Not saying this is true for the VX but that's my experience with synthetic oil and an oil burning engine...

[SlowPro48]

Duly bookmarked. They will hire experts to delve into this and probably get their hands on internal documents too so it would be VERY interesting to see what their research turns up.
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Ldub might be King of Site Search but Mark I gotta tell ya - you are The Master when it comes to pulling highly useful tidbits of info out of The Cloud.

[disasterlady]

Hey Mark, thanks for the lawsuite info, I will be filing mine with them today. I have a question for you as VX Kat refered me to you for possible info on parts. I am currently looking for a used 02 Axiom block ( head is still good ) and wondered where to get the pistons and rings and if you knew of BETTER rings and where I might get them?
thanks Julie
disasterlady

[lasturbo]

Another thing I have always wondered (maybe worthy of another poll) is if the folks who have more oil burning issues are on synthetic and not standard oil. I often wonder if the oil burning is a result of using synthetic oil.

Bart

Not only that Bart but the viscosity. A Mobil 1 0W/40 or Castrol 5w/30 and so on would be logical to consume more oil due to how thin it is??

[Gussie2000]

I have been hearing good stuff about rotella.

I'm highly considering switching to this brand when winter is over.

[TheGanzman]

Another thing I have always wondered (maybe worthy of another poll) is if the folks who have more oil burning issues are on synthetic and not standard oil. I often wonder if the oil burning is a result of using synthetic oil.

Bart

I was mildly "concerned" about this too - I just switched to Mobil One at 60K miles on mine, after NO oil consumption issues to date on dino oil, either by me or the PO. So far in 3K miles on synthetic, STILL no oil consumption...