Losing oil?

I've had an SL1 (2000) for about 3 months now and I've been monitoring the
oil level in it and i have a concern.

I seem to be losing about Half a quart every few weeks and I'm wondering
where. I've change the oil filter a few times and I've made sure to
tighten it properly. I hand tighten then take a strap wrench and tighten it
with the wrench 3/16 ths of turn. I see no leak from the motor. I've used
a piece of cardboard underneath the motor overnight to see if any oil leaks
and I see no spots. I'm not burning any oil and there is no carbon in the
muffler pipe. I do some hiway driving and I drive quite fast usually
around 135 KM/hr steady speed for about 5 hours every weekend. Most of week
driving is city driving.


Well Any ideas? Any concerns?

 

I'm not burning any oil

You might want to reconsider that statement.......

Go do some searching at groups.google.com......................

 

It's burning oil. You can burn a LOT before you see any indication as far
as smoke or residue. It's not usually an indication of impending doom.
Just keep an eye on the level and add when it needs it. Saturn even
publishes a spec on how much oil consumption is considered normal (but I
don't know what it is offhand).

Lane [ l a n e @ p a i r . c o m ]

 

It isn't going into the coolant by any chance, is it? If it is, you
might have the infamous Saturn bad engine head problem....

 

pull you plug wires and see if you leaking oil out of the "cam-valve
cover" into the little spark plug hole(s) in the head.. then you might
want to pull your plugs and see how burnt (black) they are, thats
another indication of oil consumption (depending on miles of course, be
reasonable) questions,

 

I had the same problem ('99 SL1 SOHC) with my car. I was running 5W-30 as
Saturn (and GM consequently) suggest and going through the same amount if
not more. I changed the PCV valve, cleaned out the gummed up throttle body,
and switched to 10W-30 oil instead. Since then, I haven't had any problems.

 

Welcome to the wonderful world of Saturn, the only car that eats a quart of
oil every 500-1000 miles. I have 3 quarts of oil in my trunk. I thinking of
cutting to the quick and running diesel.
Joe

 

Hang on guys...

- cylinder head cracks were only a problem on SL1's from 1994-1996.
2001's don't have this problem.
- leaking oil from the valve cover into the spark plug wells will fill
the well with oil and that's about it - no oil consumption. Also the
newer valve covers (2000's-up) were far less likely to leak here.
- oil consumption (burning oil) was improved dramatically in the 1999
engine redesign (pistons, rings, heads, etc.). 2001's are typically
not oil burners (at least not as bad as pre-99).

We own two 2000's. My SL2 with 200,000 (very hard) kms now burns
about 1 liter (quart) per 4500 kms. My wife's SW2 with 70,000 kms
burn about 1/4 of a liter (quart) per 5000 kms (oil change interval).

Oil viscosity does help. For my SL2 the numbers above are for 10w30,
5w30 I burn 1 liter per 3500 kms (I just switched to 5w30 for the
winter 3 weeks ago and just added a liter at 3500 kms). When towing
the 2000 lbs camper (yes with the SL2) and running Delvac 1300S 15w40
it burns about 1 liter per 4000 kms. Not towing with the Delvac it
burns about 1/2 a liter per 4000 kms (I don't typically run the thick
oil unless towing a lot though).

For a 2001, unless the oil hasn't been changed regularly or the car
sees lots of gridlock or idling I wouldn't expect you'd have to add
any oil between changes until there were lots of miles on the car
(well over 100,000 miles or 160,000 kms).

To answer your question - I would say you are burning the oil. How or
why is the next question. Are you running a Saturn PCV valve?
Aftermarket's are known to suck oil through them. Do you change the
oil regularly (I'd recommend every 5000 km or 3000 miles)? Idle alot?

Try a 10w30 oil if the temperatures are above 20°F or -7°C. In hotter
weather you can run a 10w40 or even get away with 15w40.

 

Nope, you forgot Alfa Romeo -- the only carmaker who says nothing's amiss unless
oil consumption exceeds one quart per 500 miles.

Matt O.