2009 H3 I5 exhaust leak and oil consumption help

[SGT-Wright]

Now I am at 140K miles and the oil consumption is getting to be a quart every 1000 miles with no leaks. I think the PCV system is plugged and causing it to burn by the rings since I don't see much oil in the intake. Now the exhaust gasket blew out so thinking the cat is starting to plug up from burning oil. So my solution is to replace the valve cover to fix PCV issue and replace the exhaust manifold/cat. After looking online I found a bunch of manifold or headers for around the $300 to 500 price range that look to be OEM fit replacements. Does anyone have experience on what to buy or stay away from??? Also any input on the PCV and oil consumption issue is welcome, what to check and how to test or verify problem. Thanks everyone!

 

[alrock]

I stayed with OEM on the exhaust manifold. Others have had issues with fitment on aftermarket ones. I also don't need the extra noise that would come from steel vs. cast iron.

Can't really help on the oil. Mine burns only under high rpms, like long hill climbs. It can use a quart on 500 miles, or 1 quart in 5000 miles depending on how I drive it.

 

[SGT-Wright]

I drive my H3 like I am in a car, so I may be going faster than I should. I noticed that when I accelerated hard like getting on the freeway I would get a puff of smoke once in a while at around 110k miles. Now at 140k I get the same puff now and then when running high RPMs but I am going through a lot more oil now. I will do the PCV replacement, but if I am still going through oil then what do I look at next? Thanks alrock for info on the manifold. I was leaning on going OEM, but was just wondering what benefits if any for going to steel headers vs the drawbacks.

 

[humbleag]

I'm going to jump in here without an answer, but I have the same issue with the valve cover on my 2010 I5 and want to follow along. I found oil around the outside of the plugs when I changed them (183k miles) and in the intake hose from the valve cover. Previous owner said it was using about a quart every 1000 miles.

I can't tell if the valve cover is still available. Rock Auto doesn't have it and there is only new one listed on ebay that I've found. Various online parts suppliers list it but I haven't called to see if they can actually get it.

If anyone knows for sure either way that would be great. I suppose if it is not available I can pull it off and have it dipped somewhere to clean it.

 

[chaos254]

Im interested to see if a new valve cover would help. My engine has 140k and I definitely burn a good amount of oil. I probably burn 1-2 qt every 3000 miles. I don't think there is going to be a fix outside of a new engine

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

 

[Traxx]

When the pcv is plugged it will burn quite a bit of oil. If your getting alot of it coming out the exhaust instead then an overhaul may be in order, though the I5 generally does 200-250k depending on maintenance and your driving habits.

 

[gamma195]

I concur with Traxx. My H3 I5 starting burning about a quart every 500-1000 miles. Much worse at high RPMs/Highway speeds. I changed out the entire Valve Cover (This is the best way don't try to clean it). There is no PCV per se, there are baffles in on the inside of the valve cover that act as a PCV. They are sheet metal and when clogged and start to disintegrate. After replacement, oil consumption is gone.

See this thread: https://www.hummer4x4offroad.com/fo...L-excessive-oil-usage-PCV?p=227496#post227496