Its pretty clear now why the 2008 Pontiac in my signature was such a good deal. It has a serious oil consumption problem. 1qt every 2k. Been like that since purchase @70k. I was hoping that it would be something simple like a cleanup or a PCV valve, but after a 10k cleanup there's been no change. To consume so much with such low miles there must be something mechanical going wrong. Googling I found a TSB that fits. The short of it..
TSB 05-06-01-035A
Condition - Some customers may comment on excessive oil consumption on 3800 Series II and Series III engines. An engine that has excessive oil consumption uses 0.9L (1 qt) of oil or more within 3200 km (2,000 mi).
Cause - This condition may be caused by the retaining ring on the exhaust valve stem seal not securely holding the seal on the cylinder head boss. If this occurs, the exhaust valve stem seal(s) may move off the cylinder head boss and no longer provide a sealing function between the exhaust valve stem and the valve guide.
This is my third headache with this car in a year. I'm going to farm the job off. Have a quote of $500 to replace intake and exhaust valve seals, replace VC gaskets. Is that price reasonable?
TSB 05-06-01-035A
Condition - Some customers may comment on excessive oil consumption on 3800 Series II and Series III engines. An engine that has excessive oil consumption uses 0.9L (1 qt) of oil or more within 3200 km (2,000 mi).
Cause - This condition may be caused by the retaining ring on the exhaust valve stem seal not securely holding the seal on the cylinder head boss. If this occurs, the exhaust valve stem seal(s) may move off the cylinder head boss and no longer provide a sealing function between the exhaust valve stem and the valve guide.