Incusus
Adventurer
AKTrooper said:
I was suprised as well, but I hear the problem was fixed in the post-2000 troopers. Unfortunately since part of the fix was to reengineer certain parts of the head, its not exactly easy to retrofit the old ones.
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.:rockon:
