Kreen in a 07 5.3 oil burner??

[bama7x57]

I recently purchased an 07 Suburban with the 5.3. These are infamous for being oil burners due to the Active Fuel Management. Mine has not had any of the "fixes".
From what I've read the oil rings on the deactivated cylinders get carboned up and stick allowing oil to enter the combustion chamber and burn.
My thought was to do a piston soak with Kreen to possibly free up the oil rings. And then run half QT in the oil and half QT in the gas.

Any thoughts? Any other fluids to use for a piston soak?

 

[ls1mike]

GM top end engine cleaner.

 

[Clevy]

Guys are having really good experiences with kreen however I would try an ester based oil first before adding something to my oil.
Try red line. And stick with it to prevent any future issues.
If it doesn't help then I'd use kreen,then red line for life.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: bama7x57
I recently purchased an 07 Suburban with the 5.3. These are infamous for being oil burners due to the Active Fuel Management. Mine has not had any of the "fixes".
From what I've read the oil rings on the deactivated cylinders get carboned up and stick allowing oil to enter the combustion chamber and burn.
My thought was to do a piston soak with Kreen to possibly free up the oil rings. And then run half QT in the oil and half QT in the gas.

Any thoughts? Any other fluids to use for a piston soak?


Sounds like a good plan to me. I'd do it.

 

[maybehabitformin]

Isnt there some nice ring pack cleaner going around lol

 

[Trajan]

If you are using a Synthetic oil leave the wizards in a bottle on the shelf if you are using anything less then yes they may be of some benefit but at the and of the day you are just trying to turn a dog into a fox.

 

[bama7x57]

Originally Posted By: ls1mike
GM top end engine cleaner.


That is one of GM's "fixes" that has had very little success, based on what I have read.

 

[electrolover]

Order 3qts of kreen. Start with a complete purge (instuctions on can) and then change the oil and run a 1/2 in the oil and gas for 1000 miles and then add again. After that just switch to a good syn and run a good fuel add with pea every now and then.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: electrolover
Order 3qts of kreen. Start with a complete purge (instuctions on can) and then change the oil and run a 1/2 in the oil and gas for 1000 miles and then add again. After that just switch to a good syn and run a good fuel add with pea every now and then.


Looks like you've become a Kreen expert! Good on you!

 

[bama7x57]

How long would you recommend letting the pistons soak?
Would adding air pressure through the spark plug hole help to get the Kreen down to the oil rings?

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: bama7x57
How long would you recommend letting the pistons soak?
Would adding air pressure through the spark plug hole help to get the Kreen down to the oil rings?
'


The longer the soak the better. Gravity and engine rotation should be enough. I'd give it a few days, and every few hours turn the engine over manually via the damper pulley, then refill the cylinders. If turning it over manually is not practical you can rotate it with the starter as long as the plugs are out. That method works but is a bit messier.

Keep in mind one thing before re-installing the plugs. Crank the engine over with the plugs out, clean up the mess and re-install the plugs, then fire it up. The last thing you want to do is hydro-lock the engine by having one or more cylinders full of Kreen.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: bama7x57
I recently purchased an 07 Suburban with the 5.3. These are infamous for being oil burners due to the Active Fuel Management. Mine has not had any of the "fixes".
From what I've read the oil rings on the deactivated cylinders get carboned up and stick allowing oil to enter the combustion chamber and burn.
My thought was to do a piston soak with Kreen to possibly free up the oil rings. And then run half QT in the oil and half QT in the gas.

Any thoughts? Any other fluids to use for a piston soak?



While Kreen is a strong and very effective cleaner it seems to me that diagnosis is the key here. I'm not sure that the rings being coked up in their grooves is the issue.

If it is, it's a very effective choice to use Kreen, it has helped me tremendously in my fleet trucks which are all GMC V-8's.

 

[bama7x57]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: bama7x57
How long would you recommend letting the pistons soak?
Would adding air pressure through the spark plug hole help to get the Kreen down to the oil rings?
'


The longer the soak the better. Gravity and engine rotation should be enough. I'd give it a few days, and every few hours turn the engine over manually via the damper pulley, then refill the cylinders. If turning it over manually is not practical you can rotate it with the starter as long as the plugs are out. That method works but is a bit messier.

Keep in mind one thing before re-installing the plugs. Crank the engine over with the plugs out, clean up the mess and re-install the plugs, then fire it up. The last thing you want to do is hydro-lock the engine by having one or more cylinders full of Kreen.


10-4

 

[bama7x57]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: bama7x57
I recently purchased an 07 Suburban with the 5.3. These are infamous for being oil burners due to the Active Fuel Management. Mine has not had any of the "fixes".
From what I've read the oil rings on the deactivated cylinders get carboned up and stick allowing oil to enter the combustion chamber and burn.
My thought was to do a piston soak with Kreen to possibly free up the oil rings. And then run half QT in the oil and half QT in the gas.

Any thoughts? Any other fluids to use for a piston soak?



While Kreen is a strong and very effective cleaner it seems to me that diagnosis is the key here. I'm not sure that the rings being coked up in their grooves is the issue.

If it is, it's a very effective choice to use Kreen, it has helped me tremendously in my fleet trucks which are all GMC V-8's.


True on the diagnosis. I'm open to any other suggestions. I'm basing my "diagnosis" on what I have read and what people have told me. My '01 5.3 with double the miles uses VERY little oil between 5-6000 mile changes.
I plan to look at the plugs on the deactivated cylinders and see if they appear to have more carbon than the others. Previous owner changed the plugs last July, so I think they will be a pretty good indicator.

 

[ls1mike]

Originally Posted By: bama7x57
Originally Posted By: ls1mike
GM top end engine cleaner.


That is one of GM's "fixes" that has had very little success, based on what I have read.

It works pretty good for cleaning up carbon, problem is is comes back. The stuff is pretty similar to Seafoam.

 

[electrolover]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: electrolover
Order 3qts of kreen. Start with a complete purge (instuctions on can) and then change the oil and run a 1/2 in the oil and gas for 1000 miles and then add again. After that just switch to a good syn and run a good fuel add with pea every now and then.


Looks like you've become a Kreen expert! Good on you!

I don't know about expert, but thas what I would do.

 

[skyship]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: bama7x57
How long would you recommend letting the pistons soak?
Would adding air pressure through the spark plug hole help to get the Kreen down to the oil rings?
'


The longer the soak the better. Gravity and engine rotation should be enough. I'd give it a few days, and every few hours turn the engine over manually via the damper pulley, then refill the cylinders. If turning it over manually is not practical you can rotate it with the starter as long as the plugs are out. That method works but is a bit messier.

Keep in mind one thing before re-installing the plugs. Crank the engine over with the plugs out, clean up the mess and re-install the plugs, then fire it up. The last thing you want to do is hydro-lock the engine by having one or more cylinders full of Kreen.


Turning the engine over during a piston soak by using a spanner is a good idea, BUT never put the plugs or glows back in until you have given it a quick spin or two with them out to get rid of any cleaner left in the cylinders, it might make a mess if you don't have enough rags in place, but a hydro lock will wreck an engine with a classic boink!

 

[skyship]

I agree that it might not be stuck rings as I can only think of 3 reasons for modern engines suffering stuck rings, which are excessive time at idle, faulty injection system or the most common lack of use for long periods.
I suppose this type of engine has a sort of built in case of injectoritis and the only long term solution is to buy a turbo diesel, or fit a steam kettle in the intake.
Sorry to dermapaint as I clicked on his post in my last comment about the plugs in or out business, as his advice was correct.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Skyship,

Coked up rings happens in almost any engine eventually. I've seen ring packs with less than 100k miles that were completely stuck in the grooves with hard carbon/coke. This was on a late model port fuel injected motor.

If you could see the pistons out of a late model new gen Hemi you'd see carbon/coke as well. Most modern engines might run leaner, but many still run pig rich to control knocking and egt's, so they still carbon up unless the driver gets out there and blows them out HARD on the freeway regularly!

 

[bama7x57]

Originally Posted By: skyship
I agree that it might not be stuck rings as I can only think of 3 reasons for modern engines suffering stuck rings, which are excessive time at idle, faulty injection system or the most common lack of use for long periods.
I suppose this type of engine has a sort of built in case of injectoritis and the only long term solution is to buy a turbo diesel, or fit a steam kettle in the intake.
Sorry to dermapaint as I clicked on his post in my last comment about the plugs in or out business, as his advice was correct.


This from a GM service bulletin:
Quote:
Condition
Some customers may comment about engine oil consumption of vehicles with higher mileage (approximately 48,000 to 64,000 km (30,000 to 40,000 mi). Verify that the induction system is assembled correctly and that there is no evidence that the engine has been ingesting dirty air due to a mis-assembled induction system. Also verify that the PCV system is functioning properly. If diagnostic procedures indicate that oil consumption is piston/piston ring related, verify that oil consumption is less than 3,000 km (2,000 mi) per liter/quart. If these conditions are met and oil consumption is less than 3,000 km (2,000 mi) per liter/quart, perform the service indicated in this bulletin.


Cause
This condition may be caused by oil spray that is discharged from the AFM pressure relief valve within the crankcase. Under most driving conditions and drive cycles, the discharged oil does not cause a problem. Under certain drive cycles (extended high engine speed operation), in combination with parts at the high end of their tolerance specification, the oil spray quantity may be more than usual, resulting in excessive deposit formation in the piston ring grooves, causing increased oil consumption.

Correction
To correct this condition, perform the piston cleaning procedure as described in this document, and install a shield over the AFM pressure relief valve per the procedure outlined in this document. Monitor oil consumption after this repair to ensure oil consumption has improved to acceptable levels. If this repair does not correct the condition, it may be necessary to replace the piston assemblies (piston and rings) with new parts.


My plan was to try the piston soak and see if I get results. If I do, I was going to drop the pan and install the shield over the AFM (Active Fuel Management) pressure relief valve.