No problem mixing at this point--being that low on oil is RED ALERT time and THAT is a serious danger. I would suggest transitioning to the 5W30 high mileage oil which *may* lessen consumption.

Get it to the full mark, check your mileage, and when it is down to the low mark, add a quart and note how many miles you have traveled. Again, this will establish a baseline to see how far gone your engine is. Two quarts below the add mark is scary....have you seen the low oil pressure light flickering, or the oil pressure gauge (basically a switch) bouncing from low to normal?

And I can build you a PC as well, or diagnose and fix one...been doing that since my first machine in 1991.

Good luck,
George

 

No, the oil pressure gauge on the dash has been steady a little past the midpoint for as long as I can remember. It doesn't move. I'll have to get another quart tomorrow to put it at the full mark.

 

The gauges on Fords are fake. They sit at that single point above the midpoint unless the pressure goes below 5 psi or something--which is when a low oil pressure light would go on.

They dumbed the gauges down because people used to worry when their pressure got low during a hot idle, etc (which is normal). If you ever see the gauge go into the low area, or a low oil pressure light go on, stop the truck and get some more oil in it if the reason is low oil....

Good luck,
George

 

Fortunately the light has never come on. It may be awhile before I report back since I have some numbers to note down.

 

And you took the time to post this because(?)
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Moderators Note: That was a spammer. I removed the quote you included so his spam would be deleted. That's why his post is gone too.

 

I guess that comment was deleted. I do appreciate y'alls input. I will also look into replacing sensors (oxygen, knock) and the PCV valve. I assume it's time to do those. I also assume they are cheap.....enough.

 

Update:

I added it to full at 173,121 miles. A little over two quarts are gone at 175,564 miles. 2,443 have gone by. Does that constitute burning through oil?

 

Every engine will burn a bit of oil; in the old days, I thought a car that used as little as a quart in 1000 miles was great, and many manufacturers use that threshold for NEW engines which may consume some oil. (Some engine designs just seem to use some oil.)

With 173,000 miles on your engine, I would say your oil consumption is just fine, and so long as you don't let it get low enough to cause more damage (and make oil consumption worse), I'm guessing your engine will continue to remain dependable for many, many more miles. I would check it at least every 500 miles or so, and not let it get below the "add one quart" mark on the dipstick.

Again, you might want to switch to a 5W20 or 5W30 "high mileage" oil (the latter in higher ambient temps)--these formulations run just a bit thicker and are meant to reduce consumption a bit.

I'm using 10W40 high mileage oil in my '91 BMW and it seems to reduce a bit of gasket leakage--but note that my engine specifies 15W40 for basically all temperatures in my climate--I would not run such a thick oil in a mod motor.

Good luck for many more miles,
George

 

For your milage , I , do not see that as "excessive " . Liveable , I would say . I would use a 10w30 or 10w40 oil if it were mine . I would not use a 5w oil of any grade at those miles and oil usage . There is much debate on oil , but from what I have seen , I would use a 10w oil . The first # in say , 5w30 = the pour rate and flow rate . The 2nd # = the addative protection weight . So a 5w30 flows at a 5w weight at freezing , but protects like a 30w oil . It is much more complicated than that , but that is the just of it .The lower the first # , the thinner the oil . The wider the # , = less base oil and more addetives .