Been a diehard Chevrolet gas, engine truck person my entire life. Use them very hard in my landscaping business, and the 6.0 gasoline never missed a beat. unfortunately the 6.0 gasoline is nonexistent, and I had to buy the 6.6 but I’m not happy about it. It has been burning oil since day one. Roughly every 5000 miles, it’s using 2 1/2 quarts of oil. it might even be more than that, going through an oil usage test with the dealer now. Anyone else have similar oil burning problem with their 6.6 Chevrolet gasoline? If it was an older truck, I would understand, but I just spent 50,000 and need to carry quarts of oil in my truck.Thanks!

I was told a long time ago by a dealer, that excessive oil consumption is "1 qt./1000 miles" or more!That was 40 years ago.

I agree. They have a threshold for oil usage. Below that, nothing wrong. Above that, they'll do something about it.Unfortunately you're in that space where the consumption is irritating but not bad enough that they will admit to a problem.Judging by the lack of response here, either there aren't a lot of members that will admit to owning 6.6's or nobody else has this problem.I'd say check on one of the GM forums but in my expeience, all they want to do on those sites is blame everything on you and some obscure made-up maintenance task that you failed to perform.They (the GM forums) will probably tell you that you didn't break in the engine properly.

If you get on You Tube you will see some discussion of it. Is the pickup under warranty? I believe the last number I heard was one quart every 1200 miles was GM's line. Hopefully the dealer will get you some help. This seems to be hit and miss on who has the issue and who doesn't. I don't know if they got some bad rings on certain engines or what this is about. On other issues such as Duramax fuel injection issues with the Bosch system used for a while, GM has been pretty good about accepting issues under warranty. If there are a bad run of 6.6 gas engines, hopefully they do the same here.

Ha, oil usage, remember the Chevy Vega?? Had a '72 fun to drive with 4 speed, but pull into a station, check the gas, fill the oil. Was carrying a gal jug with oil marked in quarts, would drive until the oil light would flash when cornering, stop and add a quart.

When I worked for Toyota in the 90's the acceptable consumption was 1 qt every 1,000 miles. As already said the manufacturers had to have a spec to go off of. To the general population it probably seems unreasonably high. But it's the spec they came up with.Here's to hoping that GM does something to help you out.

Chevrolet 6.6 burning oil | Good Sam Community

41 Replies

cummins2014
Explorer
May 02, 2023
larry barnhart wrote:
we had the 2001 3500 8.1 chev dually towing a 15K alpenlite. Friend with a 7.3 ford dually with a lighter fifth passed us as were sitting on a long hill wide area waiting for our MH friend to catch up. We waited for enough time that I didn't think we would catch up to our friend. Well we did very quickly and he was so slow. But he loved his truck. chevman.

Loved the truck ,but when I went to a 38' fifth wheel, it had to go . Never regretted getting the 6.7 Cummins , but my son asked me one day , did I get the discount on my Ram truck . I asked what discount was that , he said the " UGLY discount . :B He's a ford guy . :(
larry_barnhart
Explorer
May 02, 2023
we had the 2001 3500 8.1 chev dually towing a 15K alpenlite. Friend with a 7.3 ford dually with a lighter fifth passed us as were sitting on a long hill wide area waiting for our MH friend to catch up. We waited for enough time that I didn't think we would catch up to our friend. Well we did very quickly and he was so slow. But he loved his truck. chevman.
FishOnOne
Nomad
May 01, 2023
cummins2014 wrote:
Grit dog wrote:
CWilson wrote:
Grit dog wrote:
Whoa, sorry for being a month behind on GMs next years models….lol.
Well good, GM finally pulled their heads out of their posteriors.
Now Ram is the only one left running 100% outdated transmissions in some of their HD models (aka all the diesels).

Actually more like being about 5 months behind, GM made the announcement early in Dec 22 and launched the new websites then....lol.

Perhaps too busy then stirring up the shitpot at the time on these boards....lol?

Lol, nah, you may be mistaking me for someone who watches every YooToob video, actually caring about what the next latest update is….

And no one is raving about the (stock) power of the old 7.3 Powerstroke. At least not in the last 15 years or more. That is a poor comparison by which to make a point.

I certainly hope not ,bought new ,and drove for nearly 16 years a early 99 7.3 Powerstroke . Did a great job on any thing around 10K or under ,after that it fell on its face .

Agreed... We have a 02 7.3PSD and power is not it's strength. Having said that I've read reports of ex 7.3PSD owners who now own a 7.3 gas and reported a much improved towing experience.
cummins2014
Explorer
May 01, 2023
Grit dog wrote:
CWilson wrote:
Grit dog wrote:
Whoa, sorry for being a month behind on GMs next years models….lol.
Well good, GM finally pulled their heads out of their posteriors.
Now Ram is the only one left running 100% outdated transmissions in some of their HD models (aka all the diesels).

Actually more like being about 5 months behind, GM made the announcement early in Dec 22 and launched the new websites then....lol.

Perhaps too busy then stirring up the shitpot at the time on these boards....lol?

Lol, nah, you may be mistaking me for someone who watches every YooToob video, actually caring about what the next latest update is….

And no one is raving about the (stock) power of the old 7.3 Powerstroke. At least not in the last 15 years or more. That is a poor comparison by which to make a point.

I certainly hope not ,bought new ,and drove for nearly 16 years a early 99 7.3 Powerstroke . Did a great job on any thing around 10K or under ,after that it fell on its face .
larry_barnhart
Explorer
Apr 30, 2023
frankwp wrote:
If an 8.1 isn't burning oil, then it isn't running :) Mine takes a liter every 3000 or 4000 Km

the 2001 8.1 engine we had used a 1/2 qt to 1500 miles when towing a 15K fifthwheel. Not an issue for me. chevman
FishOnOne
Nomad
Apr 30, 2023
If you decide to purchase a new truck I would give the Ford 7.3 a hard look. Reason why is Ford stuck with port injection instead of direct injection like on the Chevy 6.6 engine.

Good luck...
Grit_dog
Navigator
Apr 29, 2023
CWilson wrote:
Grit dog wrote:
Whoa, sorry for being a month behind on GMs next years models….lol.
Well good, GM finally pulled their heads out of their posteriors.
Now Ram is the only one left running 100% outdated transmissions in some of their HD models (aka all the diesels).

Actually more like being about 5 months behind, GM made the announcement early in Dec 22 and launched the new websites then....lol.

Perhaps too busy then stirring up the shitpot at the time on these boards....lol?

Lol, nah, you may be mistaking me for someone who watches every YooToob video, actually caring about what the next latest update is….

And no one is raving about the (stock) power of the old 7.3 Powerstroke. At least not in the last 15 years or more. That is a poor comparison by which to make a point.
ognend
Explorer
Apr 29, 2023
jabres wrote:
Thanks guys for all the input! I am just extremely particular about my vehicles, and hate the thought of needing to carry extra oil at all times!!
Tough decisions on if I trade in, (and fortunately will get every dollar back that I got in it) and get another GM hoping this one was out of the ordinary, or try out a Ford...

People who own the Godzillas seem to be happy with them. It is a nice engine, top of the offering in the gas world right now. Ford even introduced a 6.8L gas engine in the XL trims - so you might want to check that out. I am happy with the 6.6L GM/Chevy gasser, does what I want and does it without a fuss. I am not brand loyal, test drove all three for months and joined all the Facebook groups, followed them to find out all the issues the engines/trannies were having etc. I came from the diesel world (never going back)- the new gassers are potent and do their jobs well. If you think about it - people rave about the 7.3L powerstroke from 20 years ago - well the gassers have double the HP and the same torque but with computer controlled transmissions and very smooth power delivery curves, same level of simplicity (comparably) and cheapness of maintenance. Win-win.
ognend
Explorer
Apr 29, 2023
Grit dog wrote:
Whoa, sorry for being a month behind on GMs next years models….lol.
Well good, GM finally pulled their heads out of their posteriors.
Now Ram is the only one left running 100% outdated transmissions in some of their HD models (aka all the diesels).

A lot of people like the 6-sp. It is a known entity, it is paired well with the 6.6L gasser and it is dialed in very well as to where it delivers a smooth power curve and it does it effortlessly. I test drove 10-speeds multiple times (Ford 7.3L gasser) and I went and I test drove the new 10-sp with the 6.6L Chevy. The trannies were constantly shifting and it annoyed the **** out of me. The 6-speed GM trannies are known entities, have been around for years, they are super cheap to replace when they go out. 'Nuff for me. Not every new thing is a good thing for everyone ;) (how many people have left the diesel world because of CP4 pumps?).

I can even see the point of the 10-sp if you offer different gear ratios but GM is stuck on the 3.73 only whereas Ford offers everything from 3.55 up to 4.30. So what exactly to you get with a 10-sp on the GM gassers? Maybe slightly better gas mileage (although people are reporting pretty similar numbers with the 6-sp) and maybe better towing up the steepest grades. But then I always think to myself - people have been towing up steep grades since 50+ years ago with much less powerful trucks and did it just fine - whether I get to the top of the hill in 15 minutes or 18 minutes - who cares? ;) Me personally, I am after simplicity and longevity, not the shiny new thing...
Huntindog
Explorer
Apr 29, 2023
jabres wrote:
Thanks guys for all the input! I am just extremely particular about my vehicles, and hate the thought of needing to carry extra oil at all times!!
Tough decisions on if I trade in, (and fortunately will get every dollar back that I got in it) and get another GM hoping this one was out of the ordinary, or try out a Ford...
I don't know how you are doing the math but, trading in is NEVER the best financial move. There can be good logical reasons for doing a trade in....But finances isn't one of them.

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Chevrolet 6.6 burning oil

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