I bought my truck a few months ago, and it is using a lot more oil that i am comfortable with, It does have a decent puff of blue when it starts, so i am guessing the valve seals are worn, but i cant imagine that is the whole cause of the issue, what else should i be checking?

 

any signs of leaks on the driveway, underbelly of truck..etc. Hows the coolant level, is there a new "layer" of anything inside the bottle?

 

The coolant is a bit low, but it was that way when i bought it, I drained the oil over the weekend, and it came out black, didn't appear to have any coolant in it.

what bottle are you talking about? the coolant tank? that is clean

 

also, when i was under the truck the motor was pretty covered in oil on the bottom

 

yeah, coolant tank. mt guess would be, injector o-rings, since your saying, theres no trace of oil on the driveway, truck..etc. Oils get'n burned.

 

I have a gravel driveway, so i am not sure if its leaking on the drive or not, its definitely not a large amount if it is leaking

when i bought the truck the previous owner said he just put new injectors in it, wouldnt those come with new o-rings?

 

If it's leaking, that's one thing. Find it and fix it. We know where most of the common leaks are located.

If it's burning it, I'd bet that Ford considers that consumption rate as "normal".

If nothing else is amiss (compression-wise), I'd just feed it oil and press on.

Oil's much cheaper than re-rings.

Pop

 

wow 5qt over 3k to be normal is scary, where are the common leak points on the 7.3?

 

I'd roll the pressure washer out there and just clean the entire engine spotless (some will disagree on the pressure washer, but I've used one for over 5 years with no problems). Then I would watch the truck like a hawk, checking the entire block for leaks every day. Just to give you an idea, I go 5k between oil changes and have never had to add a quart...Now here is another point, I have driven diesel trucks for many years...too many! Some engines will go down a few quarts and you add the oil back to full - then they immediately go back down a couple of quarts. If I left it a few quarts low, it would stop using oil. I can't tell you why that is, but I have seen many engines that just plain stopped using oil if left a gallon low.

 

You have a leak. Clean up the motor and find it.

 

Gassers will do that, too, but the loss is measured in smaller units.

Pop

 

I'd say when the injectors were done, something did'nt go right, and your burning more than your leaking. JMOP.

 

I'm with Neal. I too have a gravel driveway, and it's impossible to tell whether or not its leaking if you park on a gravel driveway.

I lived in a condo for two months with a HPOP leak, and every morning i'd pull away from a new softball sized puddle on the ground.

When I moved back home, to the gravel driveway, it was like having no leak! There was no trace of it except for one black pebble....

Once I fixed the leak I parked on top of a big piece of sheet metal to see if I still had any leaks, I recommend you do something similar. A 4x4 sheet of just about anything will do the trick, center it under the back of your motor, oil will rarely drip down the front.

If you find spots of oil, do what Neal says and wash the motor down....make sure you get under there real good...I've even taken my battery box out to get the side of the motor clean, once you get it nice and clean take a look under there after a nice long drive, if you can't see it go back the next day and look again. Keep parking on top of the sheet of whatever you use. If you see fresh drops, get under there and follow the path, you'll find your culprit.

5 quarts every 3000 miles is a lot though....you might be leaking and burning it. If that's the case, at least you're not burning 5 quarts, I'd say just about every leak is easier to fix than replacing your injectors or rings!

Good luck, and let us know what you find!

Also, in case you want to get even more dirty, I use straight simple green in a bottle to clean my engine, and shower scrubbing bubbles on the nasty spots. I usually do it when it's nice and hot so it penetrates well, then pressure wash it clean. Cover you alternator and air filter, and don't blast and electrical connections! They're everywhere, so be careful! When I had my HPOP leak I would just stick the pressure washer in the valley, behind the fuel bowl and let it rip with hot water and watch the sludge flow from underneath the truck

It's nice having a DIY car wash down the street

 

If I Lost 5 quarts in 3,000 miles i would go crazy. I am strict when it comes to leaks, No leaks in my garage, that is the rule. If it leaks a drop i get all bent out of shape and will live in the garage to find/fix it. I did my turbo orings last week. I have been under the truck with a flash light everyday to check for even the slightest drop of oil. I just came in from checking and i have concluded that i don't have to check anymore.

I would start with cleaning also like other have stated.. This is happening to my friend. Called stating the truck is gulping oil and he parks in a gravel driveway as well. I told him to clean it up and park it in the garage. Run it for a bit in the garage too. He called last night to see if i can help him change turbo pedestal o rings. He found it right away after he cleaned it up and ran it for bit in a place that will tell him where the leak is dropping on the ground. running idle at 500psi may not leak much, full throttle at 3000psi will leak a lot.

 

Get a box, flatten it out and stick it under the truck right after you are done driving it...make sure it's under the front of the transmission too as most leak there from the valley pan...let it sit overnight (again, after being hot) and u will know if u have a leak....gravel or not, brown boxes don't lie Oh, and park fairly level or if that's not possible....the front of the truck higher.