Forum Discussion

Janss's avatar
Janss
Explorer II
Jul 19, 2019

Motorhome drinking oil

We keep having to add engine oil to our Chevy 8.1L motorhome in signature...like 16 oz. every 500 miles. It had a leak a couple months ago and we had an oil line changed. No visible leak now. No smoke coming out of exhaust pipe. Oil pressure on dash gauge is just like it's always been, about 55 when driving...with 40 being the middle and 80 the highest. Does that sound good? We don't even know what those numbers mean.

We are over 3,000 miles from home, so can't go back to the mechanic right now.

Just wondered if anyone has any ideas about our older motorhome, with 90,000 miles, that uses alot of oil. Should we be concerned? What can be done?

The engine still sounds and runs great!
Class A
  • Bruce_Brown's avatar
    Bruce_Brown
    Moderator
    Jul 19, 2019
    K Charles wrote:
    1/2 qt in 500 miles but how much in 1000 miles? Many engines will use a half at and stay there for many miles. You don't need to add until it gets to "add" our almost.


    I agree with this. Many times an engine will seek it's own level and stay there for many, many miles.
  • enblethen's avatar
    enblethen
    Nomad
    Jul 19, 2019
    PCV could such some oil as Chris said.
    Quart every thousand miles is not that bad for Chev big block.90,000 miles should not need engine rebuild.
    You may even put Seafoam in crankcase and run it to clean system. Run for 1000 miles before next oil chaange.
    We have nearly 200,000 on 7.4 miles and uses a quart very 12-1500 miles. This depends on how hard the engine is working.
  • Janss's avatar
    Janss
    Explorer II
    Jul 19, 2019
    Thanks for the great input from all you knowledgeable people! Puts us at ease for the rest of our trip.
  • time2roll's avatar
    time2roll
    Nomad
    Jul 19, 2019
    Next oil change make sure you check the level immediately after to verify the full mark. Slight overfill can burn more oil.
    Fill by capacity specification not the stick.
  • olfarmer's avatar
    olfarmer
    Explorer II
    Jul 19, 2019
    K Charles wrote:
    1/2 qt in 500 miles but how much in 1000 miles? Many engines will use a half at and stay there for many miles. You don't need to add until it gets to "add" our almost.


    I agree, a qt to 1000 miles is no big deal. I don't think the manufacturer would fix that even if it was still under warranty.
  • K_Charles's avatar
    K_Charles
    Explorer
    Jul 19, 2019
    1/2 qt in 500 miles but how much in 1000 miles? Many engines will use a half at and stay there for many miles. You don't need to add until it gets to "add" our almost.
  • SidecarFlip's avatar
    SidecarFlip
    Explorer III
    Jul 19, 2019
    Keep an eye on the oil level and when you get home, take it to a shop and have the motor rebuilt.

    90K in a Mo Ho, it's time.
  • boogie_4wheel's avatar
    boogie_4wheel
    Explorer
    Jul 19, 2019
    I had a '97 SBC with a bad valve stem seal suck approx 1qt per 600mi when I was on a trip from UT to CO. I did have a cold misfire at idle. The problem cylinder had heavy ash deposits on the spark plug. I could not see any smoke from the pipe.

    A 'quick' test would be to pull the spark plugs and inspect for abnormal, this would tell you which cylinder(s) are having an issue. Leak, rings, or valve stems.

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