2011 Camaro RS 3.6 Oil Disappearing

[HotRodRick68]

Hey all, I'm new here and am wondering if anyone else experienced the oil disappearing in their 3.6? The original engine spun a crank bearing at only 47,523 miles back in May 2020 which is BS as i have always changed the oil & filter every 3,000 miles using mobil 1. When it was bought the original mileage was was 32,186 and it wasn't using any oil at the time of purchase however when it spun the bearing there was about 2 quarts left in it. GM should have recalled these pieces of crap 3.6's long ago.

A remanufactured engine was bought from Fraser Engines back in June 2020, It's my sons car which since the engine was installed he put 12,637 miles total on it and now this motor is losing oil as well, No leaks what so ever underneath as i have already checked. Also wanted to point out that that a catch can was installed on it plus the updated pcv.

He brought the car to me a week before leaving from PA to OH, I put in all new fluids etc to make sure he was good to go, About a half an hour after he got there he called me and said he checked the oil and it was down a little over 2.5 quarts which since the remanufactured engine was installed it hasn't used any oil until the trip.

Anyone know if it's possible to install an older V8 engine and if so what all needs to be done to make it work right? The piece of garbage 3.6 needs to go.

[Whoomba]

PVC valve?

[gtstorey]

Some of the V6's are notorious for using oil. I don't keep up with the various V6 configurations though to say which ones.

[redcoats1976]

mines a later model(LFX).i think i may have added 2 quarts in the last 75,000 miles,somethings got to be wrong.

[HotRodRick68]

gtstorey, I would have thought that the remanufactured engine wouldn't have been prone to the oil problem but i was wrong.

[PaulsSS]

My 3.6 has always used alot of oil and at 124k its starting to use alot more, disappointing for sure. I keep mine 1 qt over full and check it once a week. It usually uses about 1 qt every 1-2k miles but if she drives it hard it drinks it. Won't be buying another one foe sure! You could pull the plugs and see if its all the cylinders or just one. Try using heavier oil too. Using cheap fuel can cause oil usage in these direct injected engines too. Part of the trouble is the direct injection is constantly washing down the cylinder walls with high pressure fuel then the oil gets burned off in the cylinders. IMO Direct injection was designed to ruin engines.

[NOT A 45]

1 Qt every 2000 miles is considered normal

[HotRodRick68]

PaulsSS, That is no doubt a bunch of crap about the 3.6 oil consumption, Especially with a remanufactured engine that only has 12,637 miles on it.

The engine is still under warranty which i did not know that it was. My son said he purchased the gold package which warranties the engine for 5 years of defects with unlimited mileage so i am going to call Fraser and see what they have to say about the oil issue.

I'm going to tell my son to add an extra quart over filled on his trip back home and to recheck the oil level again midways back. When he gets home this weekend i'm going to pull the plugs and see which ones it is. After the issues my son is having with the 3.6 i surely cannot say that i am a fan of the direct injection.

I was reading the thread below about using a thicker oil and some disagree on doing so?

https://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=160731

[HotRodRick68]

NOT A 45, I'm sorry but i just cannot accept any new engine that's burning oil to be normal. I drive a 1997 chevy C2500HD dually that has 217,000 miles on it that uses about a half a quart every 6 months. I can see that as being normal.

[GrandAmGT]

I have a 3.6 liter LLT, with 81,000 miles on it, and it consumes oil; I check it at the 2000 mile mark after each oil change and add some. I first discovered the consumption issue about 4 years ago and it came as a big surprise, I thought there was something wrong with my dipstick when I saw that it was bone dry! I'm just glad I discovered the problem before something catastrophic happened.

[arussh]

I would suggest not overfilling crankcase and check oil level every gas fill and top up as necessary. Also log the consumption mileage date quantity added this will go a long way with dealership when you tell them about oil consumption. More data the better.

[PaulsSS]

I have been running 1qt over since she bought the car, thats over 100k miles ago. I started doing that after reading about the timing chains wearing and seeing how much oil it was using. Its never caused a issue because all the newer engines use a windage tray that keeps oil away from the crankshaft. If anything it seems to run a little better with the extra oil. One thing I have to say the engine runs extremely well for a 6 cylinder and so far has been trouble free except for oil consumption. I changed the plugs at 50k and they all had signs of oil on them. I did read that Jasper uses a updated piston when they rebuild them that helps with oil consumption but thats them advertising. Who knows if it really helps. They also claim they pin the reluctor wheel to the crank like GM should have done. If you ever get both cam codes at the same time and the car runs terrible the reluctor wheel has slipped on the crank.

I have to say my wife loves her car and over the last 124k has been trouble free and it runs like a hurricane ! Fastest v6 I've ever driven.

[HotRodRick68]

I called the Fraser place where my son bought the engine from and they said to take it to a certified garage and that they will have the issue taken care of since it is still under warranty.

Fraser said it sounds like the rings didn't seat properly which they instructed the garage that had installed the engine to use synthetic oil from the start, I told them that i have never heard of using synthetic oil to break in a engine and maybe that is why the rings did not seat properly?

[redcoats1976]

GM recommends dexos which is only part synthetic for this engine...maybe thats what happened.