Isuzu Trooper Oil consumption possible fix or at least an improvement

[AKTrooper]

I was sent the below post after conplaining about the oil consumption on my 1998 Trooper ( roughly a quart every 500 miles). I followed these instructions to the letter and have driven the Trooper two hundred miles using Royal Purple and fram combo with no noticable drop on the dipstick.

I used to see roughly 1/2 a quart gone by this time an dssemed to put oil into the crank case every time I fueled up.

With only 200 miles on the RP oil I can't say this is a permanant fix by any means but it did improve my situation and I will keep people updated on things as I have a 1500 mile road trip next week.

Please read on......

I have a '99 and was able to alleviate much of the oil burning by a combination of flushing the engine and using certain oils & additives. One thing I would definately advise you to stay away from is Mobile's Mobile 1 "performance" filters. In the process of trying different oils and filters, it seems using that one gunked up my engine and started the oil burning all over again.

anyway... try this on your next oil change:

Go buy the following: a PCV valve, a can of brake cleaner spray, a bottle of Seafoam (not the spray) case of cheap 5W30 (I like Partsmaster stuff from Genuine Auto), an inexpensive filter, 2 containers of Gunk motor flush, 6 quarts of Royal Purple synthetic (Mobile1 synthetic will work, but not as well as RP) and a decent oil filter (I like Frams filters, but have had luck with the less expensive WIX/Partsmaster ones as well). This should all run you about $100. Trust me, its worth it.

now- go dump the can of Seafoam in the crankcase. Drive it like normal until the weekend (at least a few days).

On the weekend- park the truck, set the brake.

Step 1: Dump 1 can of Gunk flush into the crankcase and let the truck idle for about 10 minutes. Do Not drive the truck. Let the truck cool for a few after idling, but not too long. Dont want the oil getting thick. Drain it as well as possible, crack open a frosty beverage and replace the pvc valve while waiting. Remove the old filter, let the block drain. Hose off the oil filter mount on the block with the brake cleaner until it runs clear, then put on the "cheap" filter. Hose off the drain plug and replace.

Step 2: Fill the crankcase with the less expensive oil (about 5 quarts I think? Check the capacity..) and go for a drive. Take it out for about half an hour or so, avoiding highway speeds and stop and go traffic.

Step 3: Bring her back to the garage, set the brake and dump that next can of flush in. Restart the truck and let it idle for 10 minutes. Don't drive the truck. Shut it down and let it cool. Lube the u-joints while waiting . When cooled a bit, drain again and remove the filter. Have another frosty bev while awaiting all the oil to drain again and check your tire pressure . Hose off the drain plug and filter mount with brake cleaner again and let dry.

(by the way, the oil coming out when you drain it at this point should be darker, but still reasonably clean. If it looks realy bad, consider dropping the oil pan and cleaning it which is outside the scope of this...)

Reinstall drain plug and new "good" filter. Fill with the Royal Purple synthetic, and take it for a short test drive. Bring it back, let it cool completely, check for leaks from the filter and drain plug, doublecheck oil level and add if necessary.

From here on out, try to stick with a "genuine" synthetic (Royal Purple, Mobile 1, and I think Amsol makes one...) and change your oil <i>before</i> 3500miles.

Some might call this process a waste of oil but frankly, this <b>*completely eliminated*</b> my oil burning issue until I changed oils to a lesser synthetic, and even then I only had to add a minimal amount of oil beween changes. IMHO, I think spending a bit more on one good engine cleaning like this and using a good quality "true" synthetic is cheaper in the long run than having to add a quart of oil every 1k miles and certainly works better for the engine in the long run.

For what it's worth, I've been experimenting over the last year with different oils and filters, and the Royal Purple/fram filter has worked out far and away the best. Keep the second half of the case of cheap oil around in case you want to repeat this process again sometime in the future.

 

[Zaphod]

I read this post as well, but can't remember where.

When I brought up flushing the engine on a different website, I was warned not to do it, including by an Isuzu mechanic.

I'd like to see what the folks here think, as I was hoping to do this this weekend. Unfortunately, the rain bloody well washed away any chances of that happening.

 

[madizell]

Assuming that the recommended process of flush and synthetic oil has a real and positive result, it has to come from somewhere. The only places that improvements in oil consumption can come from are better sealing, and if mere motor flush and a different oil makes such a dramatic difference in oil consumption, then before the flush, something has to have been gummed and stuck to the point of failure, such as oil rings, or valve guide seals (if Isuzu uses them) have to have been hard and shrunken and the flush softened them and caused some swelling in the seal. Otherwise I can't see where it could make a difference. Not saying it didn't, just saying I don't believe in Voodoo. Any conclusions so far on why a flush and oil change would make the difference noted?

 

[AKTrooper]

I have heard the other side as well

Before I followed though with the engine flush idea I read and talked to alot of people around the auto repair business. The collective opinion was that Seafoam and Gunk products have been around awhile and the worst case senario would be that nothing would improve. Given that, I went ahead and gave it a chance.

I also considered the common theory that plugged drain holes on the rings are at least part of the cause for the consumption. If this was the case then the above advise just might work to clear them, if not it's back to a quart down the crank every 500+ miles.

And I still have trouble believing that a team of engineers, from Isuzu or anywhere else for that matter, would spend all that the R&D time to create an engine that consumes oil as if it were part of the production specifications. There must be some combination of oil / additives that will work enable the 3.5 litre engine and not have this drawback.

In any event I will keep the thread updated.

 

[Incusus]

I was sent the below post after conplaining about the oil consumption on my 1998 Trooper ... (big snip) .

heh Thats a post I wrote, cant remember where tho. Could be the eZoozoo mailing list.

:jump:

 

[AKTrooper]

Oil consumption update

Returned from a 1500 mile trip and found the Trooper engine consuming a quart of Royal Purple oil every 500 miles. Sadly, this is about what the consumption was before the engine flush and change over to $6.00 dollar per quart synthetic oil so I guess it's back to the cheap stuff and hope for the best.

 

[Incusus]

Returned from a 1500 mile trip and found the Trooper engine consuming a quart of Royal Purple oil every 500 miles. Sadly, this is about what the consumption was before the engine flush and change over to $6.00 dollar per quart synthetic oil so I guess it's back to the cheap stuff and hope for the best.

well crap.. it must be those long highway trips as mine is still burning minimal oil. I've heard many of those who lost engines or had the most dramatic stories to tell about oil loss were driving long trips.

I wonder what that means about the cause of the issue itself? Whats so different inside these engines at highway speed vs. city & trail driving?

 

[jl8088]

bummer, i was hoping for a christmas miracle.....

 

[Zaphod]

well crap.. it must be those long highway trips as mine is still burning minimal oil. I've heard many of those who lost engines or had the most dramatic stories to tell about oil loss were driving long trips.

I wonder what that means about the cause of the issue itself? Whats so different inside these engines at highway speed vs. city & trail driving?

When I drove non-stop from Laredo to Raleigh a few years back, I had an oil change IMMEDIATELY before I began the trip, as in "HOURS BEFORE".

By the time I got to the tip of NC, my crankcase was DRY. Thank God the stupid oil light came on in a parking lot after I stopped to eat. FOUR quarts to get it to level, plus another for good measure.

Yeah, I was a bit pissed.

 

[robertdarin]

i guess i am one of the lucky ones, i only burn a 1/2-1 quart per 3,000 miles at the most. sometimes it does not burn any. i changed my oil and 20 min. later began to drive to moab from fayetteville and did not burn any. good luck finding a fix.

 

[bootzilla]

From what I understand, the problem is the design of the rings themselves - the drainback holes get partially clogged up and that forces some oil up into the combustion chamber - and some of the oil gets burned off.

Supposedly, Isuzu improved the design later in the run of engines, but my 2002 still burns some oil.

I went through that same procedure, minus the seafoam, and didn't have a lot of luck, but - I have since switched to Shell Rotella oil, and have had a good amount of success. I was going through about a qt. every 1500 miles or so, now it is down to about a 1/2 qt. over the same number of miles - not bad.

I have used both the Rotella Synthetic 5w-40 and the conventional 15w-40. Since a little of it is going to burn off anyway, I usually don't push my change intervals, and go with the conventional, but if I have a big trip coming up or if I just want to push out my changes by a thousand miles or so, I use the synthetic, and just keep an eye on it to make sure it isn't getting low.

The Rotella is an HD oil - it doesn't have some of the fancy friction reducers, but it is a high-detergent oil - so I guess it breaks down the deposits on the rings. It doesn't happen in one change, though - for me it started to get better after a few changes.

Other good thing about the Rotella is that it is meant for extended change intervals, and it is pretty cheap - so there isn't much to lose giving it a try!

 

[Zaphod]

Reckon I'll be switching to Rotella, then.

Any specific type/grade of Rotella?

 

[bootzilla]

I've only ever seen the 15w-40 for the conventional and the 5w-40 in synthetic, so I guess that is all they make. I've always been able to find it at Wal Mart - last month I got the synthetic for my bike, and it was $22 for a gallon (it used to be 18, which was a rockin' deal for synth).

There are other HD oils available - Mobil Delvac and Castrol Tection, etc., they might work, too - I know Mobil makes a synthetic Delvac, but I have never found it in a store.

 

[Incusus]

From what I understand, the problem is the design of the rings themselves - the drainback holes get partially clogged up and that forces some oil up into the combustion chamber - and some of the oil gets burned off.*snip*

I had once considered re-ringing my pistons with the newer, redesigned rings, but dropped the idea. (too time consuming, expensive, too many things to go wrong etc). Maybe around 300k I'll do a top end rebuild and do it then. For now, I'm not messing with something that works

Just curiously, I know theres a drainback line through the piston itself, any idea if that gets clogged too? If so, I supose reringing would be pointless...

 

[Gurkha]

I have heard about some miracles performed by Lucas oil treatment, at this point you have nothing to loose but give that a try. Then switch to quality HDEO like Cheveron Delo 400 or Mobil Delvac Super and see how it goes.