The King - a 2002 GMC Yukon XL... 496 CI of STILL not an LS!

Streetbu

Know it all, that doesn't
Supporting Member
May 22, 2011
3,721
11,525
113
Central NY
I'd bet you're fine and it's just a bad sensor.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

ck80

Moderator
Moderator
Supporting Member
Feb 18, 2014
5,742
9,111
113
I'd bet you're fine and it's just a bad sensor.
That's the hope. Level sensors like $20-30 of plastic. Probably 5 minutes to change.

Pressure sensor is cheap but a PITA to change and get to. Let's hope it's not that.

Now if I drain it and only find a couple quarts, or, find only a couple with any copper, thats the worst case scenario which I'm ready for in the 5% chance it goes there. Just not happy about it.
 

Supercharged111

Comic Book Super Hero
Oct 25, 2019
4,907
7,669
113
Colorado Springs, CO
If you've been burning a half quart every 5000 miles and she was just putt putting around and it didn't turn into the Exxon Valdez I'm inclined to thinking that the sky is not falling. Easy for me to type from behind the keyboard halfway across the country.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: 1 user

ck80

Moderator
Moderator
Supporting Member
Feb 18, 2014
5,742
9,111
113
If you've been burning a half quart every 5000 miles and she was just putt putting around and it didn't turn into the Exxon Valdez I'm inclined to thinking that the sky is not falling. Easy for me to type from behind the keyboard halfway across the country.
It bugged me enough to go outside for 5 minutes to just check wetness around the external oil cooler... and none. No issues with the lines either.

But, the dipstick does not read. So oil is absolutely missing. Too much in the system for the dipstick not to show after sitting a couple hours.

So... tomorrow I'll drain and measure. But with no smoke out the tailpipe having been visible, no residue in the tailpipe, and no noticed wetness underneath the truck.... and nothing where it gets parked....

You know, I almost wonder if someone would've been sadistic enough to drain the oil to f*** with the truck because it sits outside. Or at the school she took it to one day as she's a teacher and was moving classroom supplies to switch to 1st grade.. Yet we haven't had any disputes with anyone either....

So where would an unknown, but generous, amount of oil go in under 300 miles, I was being generous by rounding up?
 

ck80

Moderator
Moderator
Supporting Member
Feb 18, 2014
5,742
9,111
113
If the tailpipe isn't sooty I'd have a hard time believing it burned 2+ qt so fast.
Agreed. Not real sooty. And I know these trucks had a port on the bottom of the intake that pointed down to the top of the valley tray and acted as if it was a pcv because it had a closed crankcase ventilation system. People who had a lot of oil consumption that new intake bolts didn't fix the issue would add a piece of pipe at an angle pointing sideways from that pipe.

But those were issues that cropped up and got sorted when new. Not nearly 20 years and 130k+ miles in.

And although it probably had 1000lbs payload in books and supplies, it wasn't towing or working hard when she did use it. So.... I guess we'll see what comes of it when the oil is drained.

But if it was emptied I'd think the warning would've come on after startup, not after 10 minutes driving time
 

ck80

Moderator
Moderator
Supporting Member
Feb 18, 2014
5,742
9,111
113
Something is rotten in Denmark.

Did the oil change this morning. Gm manual states 6.5qt with filter change, but that only gets you mid stick on op range. Given these motors were rated to use oil, I always go 7qt to get just below upper operating range on dipstick.

Today's change had about 4 1/4 qts come out. After letting it drain over 1/2 hr. And draining oil filter.

So, it's missing 2 3/4 +/- qts of oil, with no tailpipe smoke, and with no soot in tailpipe. Only thing that comes off the inside of the tailpipe is rust stain.

After I bottled the used oil up, I panned for gold.

20210809_100253.jpg


20210809_100335.jpg


20210809_100309.jpg


I'd say eureka, but this isn't the kind of gold that earns you $2000/oz, it's the kind that costs you that much.

I'm not sure about all the black specks being bearing material though. They didn't show much shine to them. But the oil that came out was very dark.

I guess I could cut open the oil filter, but not sure that would tell me anything more than I see here.

So.... there's that.
 

ck80

Moderator
Moderator
Supporting Member
Feb 18, 2014
5,742
9,111
113
Whelp, I've recently decided the best course of action is 1) send it! (At least until it breaks) and 2) hold off on having any body work done.

I've got new "leather" seat covers on the shelf, and some new sheetmetal. But. I'm taking a wait and see approach. If we can find another truck with either a better body or lower miles in similar color/trim I may just trade this one in on... something? Eye on those awd challengers still. So if I could keep a tow pig and get one of those we'd be set. Or, I'll run it till it breaks then address it. Either way, holding off on dumping much money in.

On that note I added 2 more cans of r134 this morning. Cycling at 52psi with 85* and 80% humidity. Maybe it could've taken a part of a third can but no big deal, good enough to be in the op range.

It's cheaper to add $7/month in r134 than fix the leak, for now. If it leaked faster maybe I'd change my tune.
 

ck80

Moderator
Moderator
Supporting Member
Feb 18, 2014
5,742
9,111
113
Why not just roll new bearings in as it sits? I did this to both of my trucks when they got their cams.
Whelp, the shop manual procedure write-up I had goes something like this:

1) remove skid plates
2) remove the inner cv joints and the front driveshaft from the diff
3) remove 4 differential mount bolts and pull it completely out
4) remove crossmember under the oil pan
5) remove starter
6) remove harness from front of oil pan
7) remove oil level sensor from side of pan
8) remove oil pan

And that's before actually replacing any bearings on the bottom end. If it was camshaft bearing material instead then there's a whole different set of tear down up top.

To be honest, the oil issue hasn't been traced down either. It's not in the tailpipe, but its not on the undercarriage. But it makes good oil pressure filled up hot and cold, throttle and idle.

So on my basic longterm todo list goes something like this: rear outer rockers, rear lower quarters, seat covers, a/c refrigerant leak, oil issue, bearing material issue, minor PS area weep, and a minor weep on the hydroboost unit.

It's a decent amount of work to put in that, $ for $, if I see another low mileage unit in the sub-$16k range I probably come out ahead selling this one off and buying another. Mainly it's the body/paint side of things that start to really add up. The rest is just time consuming while the garages are full with things I'd rather not have sit outside while this is torn apart an extended period of time.

It could be sorted out, and maybe will if it starts behaving itself.
 

GBodyForum is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Amazon, the Amazon logo, AmazonSupply, and the AmazonSupply logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

Please support GBodyForum Sponsors

Classic Truck Consoles Dixie Restoration Depot UMI Performance

Contact [email protected] for info on becoming a sponsor