Check your oil dipstick, if your dipstick oil looks "seperated" like with little lines in it then you have a problem., if your oil on the dipstick looks normal then you shouldnt be too far along with any problem and id take it to the shop just to get it looked at.

 

It tells me that I should change the coolant.

 

These V10 engines have an oil cooler on the oil filter adapter that uses coolant to cool the oil (or in cases of extreme cold, might actually warm the oil to some extent). When the coolers rot from old coolant, or just break for whatever reason, oil mixes with the coolant. Because oil is almost always at a higher pressure than the cooling system, oil will be forced into the coolant and you'll see it in the expansion tank.

 

So does that mean its time to do a coolant flush?

 

I'd fix the leak first then flush.

 

Depends ... not sure of your history or what's in this thread about it, but if you don't remember when it was last done, or it hasn't been done in 2 years, do it now.

That reminds me. I'm overdue myself on both my vehicles...

 

So when you flush it do you just use the garden hose or do you use the "flush" prestone product? Ive chaned coolant before but have never flushed

 

I've only done my own vehicles, so they are (sort of) taken well care-of, so I don't need to use any caustic flush products.

I drain everything I can, radiator, engine, everything. I remove the thermostat and put the thermostat housing back on. I leave all the drains open, stick the garden hose in the expansion tank, turn it on, let it run until water is overflowing out the tank, and start the engine. I run it until all the water runs out clean. I know, with regular coolant that is an environmental issue, but the little bit left over isn't that big a deal, and I do it in my own backyard. And, I usually run propylene glycol coolant which is biodegradable (and apparently used in human food consumption as a sweetener and preservative) so it's only the stock brand-new coolant that gets on the ground.

I turn the engine off, let everything drain out completely again, and close the drains. In the case of my modular engines, this is only the radiator drain, as it's the only one I can easily get to. Put the thermostat back in. Remove the heater hose from the rear of the intake.

I look in the owner's manual for the capacity of the cooling system. Using 100% coolant (not 50/50 mix), I put in HALF of the capacity of the cooling system of 100% coolant, then top off with fresh water. This means that no matter how much fresh water is still in the engine block or anywhere else, I have a 50/50 mix when done. Or at least, close enough. When filling with the final fresh water, I do it until the rear heater hose connection on the intake has water/coolant right to the top of the fitting. Reinstall the heater hose to the intake, keep the cap off the overflow tank, turn the heat on if there's a heater-core cutt-off valve, and warm the engine up to operating temp. Keep putting fresh water in the overflow tank until it stops going down. The system will still have some air in it somewhere, so I always make sure to keep checking on the level for a few drive-cycles afterward.

 

Awesome thank you!! Ill be doing it on my next day off

 

I always use distilled water. The water is very hard in CA.

 

I have owned my V10 since 2004. Purchased it used with 80K. It now has over 200,000K.

It has always used one quart of oil between changes. I do 3000 mile oil changes using Motorcraft oil and filters. The oil consumption has remained constant over the years and is not getting worse. Plugs show no sign of oil consumption and exhaust never smokes.

I do not see this as a problem. A lot if big block engines use a little oil. I check oil every fillup anyway.

I owned a Suburban with a 454 for years. Both Suburbans used at least a quart per oil change.

Some trucks seem to do much better than others but really one quart per 1500 miles is not a problem.

Mine seems to use more as the oil gets older.

PS: You can use a whole lot of oil before you see smoke. The cat will clean it up. One SUburban burned a quart every 200 miles after an intake manafold gasget change. Found out on the way to Colorado. I bought a case of oil and finished my trip. 5000 miles. Never smoked. Changed the intake manafold gasget myself and problem went away.