Oil Consumption...Please read

[Fred(DrivingSchool)Kinder]

To me 1 qt/1000 miles sounds high to me.

 

[Steve-Indy]

Word on the 2000 and 2001 Vipers is that we should expect oil consumption during breakin period (1000+ miles)...noting that the breakin has been VERY carefully redesigned and defined.

 

[Y2K5SRT]

I have heard about this with other Z06's and know that they have generally worked on them under warranty. They replace the rings and have other fixes. I also saw one of the guys on the Corvette Forums successfully arbitrated to get a buy back on his car from GM for this same problem (his was burning at 1 quart every 750 miles and it was in the dealer six times).

Answer to your question: No, that is not normal. I have had the pleasure of driving my Viper at the drag strip and autocross events with ZERO oil burning. Mind you, that was on a motor that was completely rebuilt by the factory after it also experienced oil burning problems early on. This problem affected a few isolated 2000 Vipers and was addressed on a case-by-case basis. The nice thing about Dodge (among many other things), is that they will do a complete rebuild and make the motor like new. I much preferred that route over having a questionable dealer pulling my motor apart and putting it back together piece by piece.

In any case, I would say that you probably have one of the "problem" Z06's that are well documented. Don't despair. Find a different dealer that recognizes the problem and get it fixed. The Z06 is a great car and you will be happy when you don't have to cringe every time you check the oil. I get this big stupid grin every time I check my oil level now - it doesn't change!

Good luck and keep us posted.

Chris

 

[Mike Brunton]

I don't think 1 quart in 1000 miles is acceptable - not by a long shot. This number seems to be the level where a company will consider a rebuild.. more than 1 qt in 1000 miles cannot be passed off as "normal", however bear in mind the manufactuer does NOT want to rebuild your motor so what they call "normal" is not normal for the consumer. I personally believe that if I need to be adding oil between changes at 3000 miles, then I have a problem.

Personally, my '98 GTS doesn't use any oil. I autoX it, drag race it, and commute in it a lot - and I MAYBE lose 1/4th of a quart in 3000 miles - if that... and the Viper holds about 8.5-9 quarts.

Autocrossing or drag racing will often cause your car to use a little more oil, but even then you shouldn't have to add a quart per 1000 miles... If I lost a quart in 3000 miles of HARD driving, I'd be slightly disappointed, but that would be MY limit before I thought there was a problem.

 

[Kurt 97 GTS]

Michael,

Again, congrats on your new 2001 Viper!! I think/hope that you will be very pleased with it. I'm obvisouly partial to red, so I think you made an excellent choice

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See you at Papa's tomorrow night.

Now for the hard part.......waiting for it to arrive!!

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[treynor]

FWIW, I had some oil consumption during breakin on my '01 RT/10, but since 1000 miles have had zero oil consumption over ~15 dragstrip passes.