If its okay with you... I'd like to
"Drop the Cherry on Top of the Sundae" with this Topic by showing what the problems are that will develop by NOT Checking the Engine Oil in ALL LS Motors on a More Regular Basis and by NOT Changing the Oil and Oil Filter MUCH MORE FREQUENTLY than every 5,000 Miles or MORE., The reasons for attending to our engines more often than usual,
Like Checking on a Sleeping Baby in the Crib that seems a Little TOO Quiet... is couched in this Logic:
(1) Like
Human Blood...
Engine Oil is a Liquid...with
SOLIDS suspended within it. If a person becomes Seriously Dehydrated, their
Blood Thickens and poisonous Metabolic By-Product meant to be eliminated via the Kidneys thicken soon accumulate. The Toxins build up until the Person becomes VERY SICK
This very same analogy applies within Motors with Very Low Oil Volume that will rapidly Clog the Oil Filter while this "Stuff" collects and begins to overwhelm the ability of the Oil to KEEP SOLID PARTICLES IN SOLUTION.
Thus. the Build Up of SLUDGE begins to overtake the Engine.
The More Engine Oil Available... The Merrier.
.. (Just below the point of having the Crankshaft Counterweights begin dipping into it and Churning the Motor Oil into a Useless, Compressible Brown Froth). When an Engine either Leaks, Loses, or Burns Motor Oil at Greater Rate than One Quart every 2,000 Miles on
NON-Nominal, High Mileage Engines... the actions necessary to ensure that the
Volume of Oil is Maintained continuously demands much closer attention.
(2) Just as Human Blood undergoes
Gas Exchanges when we
Breathe...
Motor Oil also must suffer from the 'inhalation' of and mixture with
Un-Burned Gasoline and
Thick Black Carbon Residue from poor combustion properties and the inability of the Piston Rings to remain "springy" enough NOT to get buried within the grooves around each piston. The mess left behind forms a
Gooey Lacquer that adheres to EVERYTHING and then gets
Baked On.
The loss of all of these
"Seals in Constant Motion" within all 8 Cylinders means that a substantial amount of this stuff will By-Pass the Rings as Gaseous Blow-By and soon get thoroughly mixed in with the churned Up Motor Oil.
The Loss of Lubricity that follows on
Accelerates Engine Wear and Tear... and just like
Homer Simpson's Cardiac Crisis can happen after he
Wraps his Pancakes around One Too Many Sticks of Butter
and Eats them ...Like he's 'Going to The Chair"...Our beloved LS Engines will likely follow in his footsteps.
Ladies and Gentlemen...
I give you,
"The LS Sludge Monster Engine Tear Down"
....and pretty much...
ALL OF THIS IS PREVENTABLE WITH REGULAR LOOKS AT THE DIPSTICK AND WITH MORE FREQUENT MOTOR OIL AND OIL FILTER CHANGES.
Contrast the above video of that
"LS MUNG TOILET" with THIS Later Model LS Engine AFM Delete Teardown from around 7:44 onward to get a look at what a Well Maintained Engine
SHOULD Look like after removing the Valve Covers: