I recently acquired a 2001 Silverado (always garage kept) that has a small 4.8L V8engine, 4 wheel drive, short bed and the standard issue fair showing 67k on the odometer. I have used the truck over the past 10 months and consequently changed the oil twice (3-4k between) not noticing any low levels of recaptured used oil (seemingly at least 4 quarts).

However, the 'check oil level' warning light came on after 1200 miles since the last change so I added a quart and have parked the truck, looking for leaks or other issues. I have found clean concrete under its parking bay, little to no oily residue on the bottom of the engine, and no noticeable blue smoke in it's exhaust.

Any ideas??

I have searched on-line and found two seemingly constant threads regarding Chevrolet V8's of this era which include:
1. possible faulty or poorly-designed PVC valves that cause oil consumption, a replacement PVC valve has been manufactured by Chevrolet.
2. Engines in this era just burn more oil due to their ring design and need ring replacement in order to alleviate the issue.

I'm grasping at straws here, I love my truck and I don't want it to succumb to an untimely end due to something curable.

Thanks in advance for any assistance!!

Dave

P.S. I just did a compression check and it was well withing spec.

 

Is it really consuming the oil or is the light just coming on?
I'm guessing you are verifying with the dip stick its low...

 

I did verify with the dipstick and it is one quart low. It's strange due to the care that the truck has had and the millage... I haven't ever run into this type of situation before. I have it parked until I can get some resolution to the cause and what I can possible do to correct the issue. Thanks for the reply!

 

Did you ever find the problem my 2001 silverado 5.3 does the same about a quart every 1200 miles. I also have extremly low miles 51250 miles on this truck. ????