Squid treatment for my oil burner motor

[burijon]

I have pined away in the past about my excessive oil consumption. I have read with disbelief at the comments about the oil rings needing "cleaning" with some revving of the motor. The GM dealer suggested a "squid" treatment to clean the rings/motor at a cost of $600! The car is barely worth that in spare parts. The car still gets 29.xx on the highway all the time and has great acceleration still. It's reliable as can be and holds the entire family.

Can I expect the rings to get cleaned if I burn through a couple of gallons of oil and several tanks of gas?

I burn a quart of oil(easy) in the time it takes to go through a tank of gas or about 300 miles.

3.5 liter with 139k on it. Noticed it around 45k loving the oil.opcorn: Black soot coming outta tail pipe on anything more than average takeoffs.

It's more annoying than anything. If I could get the oil drinking down to a quart a month I would be happy!

[LittleHoov]

Have you ever changed out the spark plugs? If so did you notice any oil around them? I wont say that my oil consumption is gone after doing the cam cover gaskets front and rear, but it does seem to have declined.

Either way, 600 dollars will buy a heck of a lot of oil. Its also a lot of money to spend on something that may or may not work. Your car is getting the mileage its capable of, and you dont seem to have any complaints aside from having to add oil every time you put gas in.

Just think, you can get a 5 quart jug of the cheap stuff for around 10 bucks still. Thats a lot less than 600.

[remark123]

By the way, if you are shooting black smoke out of the tailpipe under heavy acceleration, you are burning excess GASOLINE, not oil. Oil burns with a distinctive bluish-gray color. Are you sure that you are burning oil, not leaking oil? One quart per tank of gas sounds like leaking oil, not burning.
Just my .02 worth.

[harmankardon35]

the 3.5's were known to use more oil than most engines..most would consider it normal. I have seen many earlier toyota's (i used to work for at a toyota dealership) with the oil ring problem...it would get stuck in the groove and not wipe away excess oil. Warmer climates you can use a heavier oil, try a 5w40 or 10w40. Also seafoam makes a great additive for cleaning.

http://www.seafoamsales.com/motorTuneUpConsumer.htm

[burijon]

When I changed the spark plugs around 100k, the top left one was coated in oil when you are facing the car from the front. What does that mean?

[LittleHoov]

Well, oddly enough that was the same place I found oil. I took it to mean that the small seals around the top of the spark plug column were messed up. I replaced all those gaskets, etc, but it doesnt seem like my oil loss has completely dried up.

But it didnt make sense to me either that the oil in the spark plug chamber would cause dramatic oil loss, because it would eventually just fill up I would think. It made sense that it would cause rough running issues though.

[Jimmy Olsen]

Try some Marvel Mystery oil. At least your exhaust will smell nice. You might also try putting in an extra qt above the fill line. An oil change place did that once just before I went on a 3000 road trip and my Intrique didn't use any oil (that I could notice) on the trip. It normally would have used 2 qts.

[dizzle1]

Look at your gaskets, it could be motor oil getting through the headgaskets, and gun it a few times a week to clean up the cylinder walls.