Yes, you added the Seafoam to address a specific problem. When you change your oil, no manufacturer wants you to use oil additives, especially ones that might change the viscosity of your oil.
I would change the oil within a 100-500 mile period of adding the Seafoam. This is good stuff but is a very aggressive cleaner. If the engine is really dirty you risk plugging off the filter as it will bust loose all the crud all at once. I am one of the enthusiasts for the Geo Metro (yes, they have a fan club) and neglected engines are more often the norm than the exception in these little cars. They were so cheap to start with that people treated them as a throwaway and never did any maintenance to them. For this reason you see LOTS and LOTS of really dirty engines. The inside of the valve cover looks like a tar pit on some.
I don’t know how much crud/sludge is inside your engine or if you have been pretty good about changing the oil. The issue with a tar pit engine is that all that junk comes loose at the same time with Seafoam, ruining the engine. Unless you know your engine is reasonable clean inside, I would get this oil drained ASAP.
The preferred method (at least on the Geo forums) for cleaning out a really dirty engine is to run a full synthetic oil meeting the GM Dexos 1 specification with 8 ounces or so of Marvel Mystery Oil added. This is a more gentle cleaner and won’t bust all the gunk loose at once. You might change the oil at 500-1000 miles and if the sound doesn’t come back during this time, consider the problem cured. I had an oil burner once and the MMO treatment helped free up the sticky rings or whatever and the rate of consumption dropped dramatically.
Keep up with oil changed from then on. That is all you need to keep the insides of your engine clean. Most of the additives are just snake oil and the ones mentioned above should only be used if needed. Plenty of studies out there show why it is best to leave Lucas in the bottle on the store shelf.
I also concur about people not being able to properly diagnose ANYTHING over the phone. I work on computers and always have people wanting to know what the problem is and what it will cost them to fix. I used to say it MIGHT BE X and if it is X, it will cost Y to fix. The problem was that if it WASN’T what I mentioned over the phone and it cost more, then the person would be all mad. I now tell them I will not attempt to diagnose over the phone. If they insist, I tell them to get onto a lottery website and lookup the numbers of the last Powerball or Mega Millions drawing. I tell them to add those numbers up and that is my best guess as to the estimated price. I also let them know that my odds of correctly diagnosing the problem without seeing it is about as high as winning the lottery.
I have done computer work for several automotive shops. I am in among everyone so hear the phone calls they receive. It didn’t take me long to realize they are also plagued with the same type of callers. “My car won’t start. How long will it take to fix it and what will it cost?” My experience has been that those who insist on getting a price over the phone usually end up being problematic so I don’t spend much time with them.
Just to be clear–I called to ask if it would be okay to stop by when in town and the noise was present for someone to hear. The gentleman said sure, asked the sound, make, model and mileage and if it was continuous or intermittent. It was then that he said lifters and don’t waste your money. I have no dog in this fight ;-).
I’ll be getting the oil change Monday which would be ~100-150 miles post SeaFoam.
I have been religious about oil changes since purchase at between 5 and 7k miles (I do a tire rotation at Costco on the same day). I’ve been using Grease Monkey’s ‘regular’ 5 w30 for several years. Does it make sense requesting a ‘better’, but not necessarily synthetic, oil for this change?
The Seafoam is probably fine then but would go ahead and get it out. It has had plenty of time to do the job. 10 miles is enough if you ask me.
Has the noise come back since the Seafoam or not? I suspect it might not have.
As for the next oil change, I would probably use synthetic but then again I am biased. I run synthetic in some form or another in everything from the cheapo push mower to the cars including the cheapo Geo Metro. I would run a 5W30 meeting the GM Dexos spec at the very minimum. There are a few conventionals and blends meeting this but most are full synthetic.
One thing quite a few people I know do is to run the Mobil 1 0W40 European synthetic oil in engines calling for 5W30. This tests out pretty much as a thick 0W30 or 5W30 and would do no harm in your engine. Check out the oil on Bobistheoilguy.com for more information. I understand “high mileage” oils are pretty much the same way and I would say this truck qualifies as high mileage. They test at the thick end of the viscosity spectrum. There are a few reasons people run this. 1. It is the cheapest fully European spec oil money can buy and costs the same as any other Mobil 1 product . A 5 quart jug goes for like $25 at Wal-Mart. Any other European oil will go for double that! 2. Synthetic oil is defined differently in Europe than it is here. Conventional oil can be highly refined here and considered synthetic. This is a group 3 oil. Yes, this is still good oil but Euro makes do not recognize it as such. True synthetics are group 4 and 5 oils. The film strength of the base oil is supposed to be better for use in high performance European cars. This doesn’t matter for most people but is an added bonus. 3. European makes require additional anti-wear additives as well as additives for cleanliness that US spec oils do not. The cleaner additives are what I see as being beneficial to you.
Noisy lifters are no reason to trash an otherwise perfectly good engine. It would be like sending a car to the crusher because of a scratch on the paint. This seems somewhat common on GMs and I have had it myself. Also the person who told you to drive with a “knocking rod” until it blows was also incorrect. Jasper and other reman engines usually require the old unit as a core and you are charged several hundred dollars until this is returned. That advice was wrong on multiple counts.
If you use the more expensive synthetic oil I suggest or another one, expect your oil to get dirty quicker after that change. The cleaning ability of any synthetic tends to be better and this will remove more sludge that has accumulated inside your engine. I personally wouldn’t go beyond 3,000 miles on the first change with synthetic. Then after this you might stick with synthetic or you can use any oil meeting the GM Dexos spec if you want to keep the engine cleaner. This way the additives are already in the oil and you aren’t messing with the balanced mixture that engineers spent lots of time and money by adding some third party snake oil.
Yes, the noise was present yesterday and the day before. However, each time it was present at a low level and for only ~1/8 of the day’s total drive time.
When the truck needs oil in between oil changes I use a ‘no name’ oil that I buy by the case at Sam’s. Here’s the rate at which I’ve added oil during 2015:
1/29/15 (215,278)—12/8/2014 (213,389)= 1,889 miles, 1 quart
2/23/15 (216,277)-1/29/15 (215,278)= 999 miles, 1 quart
3/16/15 (216,962)-2/23/15 (216,277)= 685 miles, 1 quart
4/29/15 (218,291)-(216,962)= 1,329 miles, 1 quart
5/28/15 (219,446)-(218,291)= 1,155 miles, 1 quart
8/01/15 (222,273)-(219,446)= 2,827 miles, 1 quart
9/30/15 (224,777)-(222,273)= 2,504 miles, 2 quarts
11/01/15 (226,245)-(224,777)= 1,468 miles, 1 quart
11/24/15 (227,282)-( 226,245)= 1,037 Miles, 2 quarts
12/23/15 (228,754)-(227,2821)= 1,472 miles, 1 quart
01/15/16 (229,705)-(228,754)= 951 miles, 2 quarts
02/12/16 (231,183)-(229,705)= 1,478 miles, 1 quart
So however relatively good the standard Grease Monkey (used them for the past several years) oil may be, I’ve been progressively diluting it between oil changes with the likely inferior Sam’s product. Given the current problem I’m thinking I need to use a better oil for my in between adds.
If I go for the synthetic that Grease Monkey sells on Monday’s oil change and do the next change at 3,000 how long could I go between changes if I used synthetic (I currently change oil about every 6k miles).If it makes any difference I live at 8,400’ and travel I70 to Denver about 4 times/week–an elevation change of ~3,000’.
I doubt the Sams oil is any worse than the cheapest bulk oil at a quick lube place. This stuff all has to meet some spec these days. I am sure they are using the newest spec so not a huge concern for you. My biggest concern would be if you are using oil from a dollar store or similar. I have seen some oils that don’t appear to meet any spec for sale. Apparently people buy them because they stock the stuff. I had some given to me and used it as bar oil in a chainsaw.
I am not familiar with Grease Monkey but am guessing it is a quick lube place in your part of the world. We don’t have them around here. Find out what bulk oil they use and try to use the same one as a top-off if you can. Some quick lube places will also top off for free during your change interval. Of course they may consider that to be 3000 miles. It sounds like you are doing a lot of highway driving so the 5-7k interval is probably OK for you. Mixing oils will not cause your engine to blow up or anything but I have seen arguments about this too. Many suggest staying with the same oil and not mixing them. I don’t think this is the end of the world but would suggest trying to stay with the same type of oil while you get this all sorted out.
You are using a considerable amount of oil. I would suggest changing the PCV valve for good measure but I do know that some of the 5.3L engines with cylinder deactivation were known for using some oil. The PCV may be plugged. This can lead to excess crankcase pressure and oil burning. This is a $10 part that takes 5 minutes to change on most engines.
It sounds like you live in the mountains west of Denver. You are definitely giving the engine a workout which is good. This isn’t a granny car that never gets above 25mph and only goes short distances. I have seen a few of those where they burn oil due to stuck rings. My treatment for this is to put in a fresh change of oil and drive them like they are stolen! I leave them in low gear and let the engine compression do the braking between quick bursts of acceleration. That seems to do wonders for engines like this. This basically mirrors many engine break in procedures which load the rings under compression as well as vacuum.
If an engine “uses oil” it does not matter what quality oil is in the crankcase. A heavier weight oil might result in lower consumption, but the problem is in the engine itself. That needs to be corrected.
I dunno, maybe use a quality oil. Read the other thread on the no name stuff being sold at the dollar stores. Not suitable for anything built after 1930. I’d want to read the label front and back of any store brand or grease monkey stuff.
you’re being overly dramatic
The Dollar store oil was unsuitable for cars built after 1988, not 1930 . . . 
It seems to me that adding a heavier oil would eventually lead to more engine damage since it won’t flow well at startup. Since engine damage can occur at startup, more viscous oil would not flow well and would lead to poor lubrication until the oil warmed up.
"It seems to me that adding a heavier oil would eventually lead to more engine damage since it won’t flow well at startup. Since engine damage can occur at startup, more viscous oil would not flow well and would lead to poor lubrication until the oil warmed up."
I agree. Perhaps in the hottest part of summer one could pull it off, but as general solution? I don’t advise it, either.
CSA
@db4690 In the news article, this was also on the automotive shelf along with the 10-30:
“Our expert says that another DG oil on the shelf, SAE 30, is meant for some small engines like select lawnmowers or air compressors, but we found it on the auto shelf. Its warning reads “not suitable” for “engines built after 1930.””
Not to be overly dramatic but when buying cheap store brands you need to read the label or avoid them. Like I said I also found cheap recycled oil at the farm store if you read the label.
Thanks for the warning
But I don’t buy oil at dollar stores, and I actually do read the label(s)
My local dollar store sells Peak motor oil & it’s not inexpensive . Same company I think that sells Peak antifreeze . I don’t buy it & haven’t read the label .
Hardware stores sell non-detergent SAE30 motor oil for use in machines, no different than Dollar stores other than the people shopping at Dollar stores don’t know what they are shopping for.
I did some looking and it appears that GM 5.3L with the Active Fuel Management (cylinder deactivation) are NOTORIOUS for oil burning issues as well as lifter clatter. Apparently the cylinders that turn off are bad about getting gummed up and having stuck rings which can lead to oil consumption. One of my friends who had one of these trucks was starting to have issues. He turned off or disabled the AFM (not sure how this is done), drove it hard some, and the problem went away. The issue was that he always drove the truck in town and never really got it out on the road and warmed up. Apparently the AFM cylinders never kicked on enough to burn off any oil that got past the rings. Now he gets slightly lower mileage but doesn’t have any issues with smoke or oil consumption.
You have significant oil use on this engine. I would try replacing the PCV as it is cheap and easy and then look into other things if that doesn’t solve or reduce the problem enough. Stuck rings can be resolved with a little TLC if they aren’t too bad. I hear stories about some rebuilders having to pry stuck rings loose and odds are they are beyond any hope of getting unstuck on their own. You won’t know the condition without taking the engine completely apart so it is worth trying some other fixes first.
I would probably run a synthetic oil for now as they are typically better about keeping engine internals cleaner. Look for one meeting the GM Dexos 1 specification. Something else you might consider is pouring Seafoam into the intake and flood out/kill the engine. Your chances of hydrolocking this engine are pretty low with the amount you would pour in, considering the size of the cylinders. You want to get at least 1/2-2/3 of the can in the intake before giving it a good slug of the stuff to kill the engine. Then let it sit an hour or so for the Seafoam to seep down the cylinders past the rings and dissolve the carbon. Then start the truck up and drive it like it is stolen. You might do this in a remote area because there WILL BE SMOKE! AND I MEAN LOTS AND LOTS OF SMOKE!!! I MEAN SMOKE THAT WILL FORCE OTHER DRIVERS TO PULL OVER! This will mostly clear in 5 minutes or less.
As for the oil I see at dollar stores, I don’t even think I would run it in most mowers. I typically run a Rotella product in my mowers since they don’t have emissions equipment that can get fouled by the extra anti-wear additives. Most mower manuals do call for a relatively modern specification of oil these days, not just whatever 30W you can find. Like the others here, the oil I see at dollar stores isn’t even that cheap. A name brand oil from somewhere else will be less money and you sometimes get a filter with that if you find the right deal.
I just looked at the original post and it appears this truck may predate AFM and such. A little Seafoam through the intake followed by an Italian tuneup are in order if you ask me. I would be reluctant to spend much money on a truck this old with this many miles unless the body was in great shape and the transmission has always been serviced with fresh fluid every 30k or so.
I would try a few fixes and if you reduce the oil burning issues, then great. Otherwise oil is cheaper than a new engine or truck so just keep it topped off.