thekrazykat

I have a 2013 ecotec. I had it for 1 year with minimal oil burning compared to others. Approximately 1 quart every 2500.
I have been reading about this engine and lawsuits. I saw that the pcv is an issue with these engines. I believe the hose that connects to the plenum should have zero or negative pressure- I checked and it does not. So I called my local gm dealer about it and they said your VIN regarding a clogged pcv is not covered.

I really want to fix this before something worsens. I already installed the fc219 vented cap.
Is it possible to do this myself? I am quite handy around cars.

tech2

the pcv system is designed to control engine blow by...if the piston rings are the problem...(which they are) the pcv system will be over whelmed. there are technical service bulletins on piston replacement for oil consumption.

put a link up for where you got this information as I would like to look into it.

thekrazykat

i am talking about this.

https://gm.oemdtc.com/1899/special-c...-chevrolet-gmc

I checked this hose that goes to the intake plenum and its positive pressure all the time. My VIN is not covered. I would want to take the upper intake off and "unclog" the pcv.
any suggestions?

tech2

here is my take on it. do what you think is required.

the link refers to oil loss from external seal leaks (a rear main or front crank seal leak) created from and ice formation in the pcv system. Your first post is about oil consumption from the engine not external oil leaks.

if you think you have an external leak...have it inspected. engine oil leaks are covered under powertrain warranty. you are probably out of powertrain coverage unless you bought a service plan. If the service bulletin has updated parts to prevent the ice formation...check to see if the updated parts are on your vehicle. the bulletin may not apply because the updated parts were installed at the factory.

if you think you have oil consumption. the dealer must quantify it in order to determine if action is required. if it is consuming oil in xs of gm specs...it is also covered under powertrain warranty.

not sure what the ecotec uses for a pcv system....some gms don't use a valve but rather a fixed orfice.

every engine will have some blow by and the pcv system is designed to route the gases into the induction system. The blowby at idle should be minimal but a pressure transducer is required to measure it. When pcv blowby is excessive...it will pressurize oil into the air filter.

Cowpie

Removing the intake manifold every, say, 30,000 miles and cleaning the PCV orifice would probably eliminate many of the oil burning issues. There is a TSB out on doing this. The PCV port is located between cylinders 3 and 4 under the intake manifold. A 1/16th drill bit should be used to clean out the orifice. One way to tell if this port is developing a problem is look at the clean side of the PCV that goes into the air breather plenum. If there is gunk and water build up in there, then the PCV is starting to clog.

Regarding the low tension oil rings on these engines, using a good quality motor oil that has a healthy amount of molybdenum will go a long way to reducing oil blow by on the rings. Yes, there are some Dexos1 Gen 2 oils out there that use a serious amount of moly in them. Moly has been used in engines for well over a half century. It was first tested by the military during WW II and found to have some real great properties and advantages. Once you understand those characteristics, you will understand why it would be a great component in a motor oil for low tension oil rings on some newer vehicles. I use high moly motor oils in all my personal and commercial vehicles.

Really sad that many experience high oil consumption in these vehicles. I have a factory remanned Detroit 60 12.7L engine in a commercial truck. It now has 926,000 miles on the reman and it only uses about 1 qt of oil every 11,000 miles. The junk they make today is terrible.