Well the thing has finally burned a full quart. 4000 miles.

 

Well, I was happy when my brand new engine use a quart in 4k miles, so I think you're in good shape. Keep your eye on the levels and put some miles on it....

George

 

A brand new engine using a quart of oil in 4k miles, this is not a good thing. Someone or many have told you some BS. I over the years have owned a few new engines and neither one used a drop, the same 5 quarts that went in was the same 5 that came out with oil changes.

 

I have owned about 45 cars since I started driving in 1970.

Internal combustion engines all use *some* oil, whether it's a microscopic amount or more than that. There is always oil on cylinder walls to lube the rings, and by definition, in a cross-hatched cylinder finish, some oil will get past the rings and burn. Valve seals are also another area where oil moves from a relatively closed system into the port. Likewise, oil vapor can move thru the PCV valve into the intake system.

In the 1960's-70's new cars were doing great to only use a quart in 2000 miles. Carburetors were much less elegant about dumping raw fuel into cylinders during cold starts, cylinder machining was done by hand, clearances were much more random, blocks were not x-rayed and had flaws. In those years, new cars would often use a quart in 1000 miles, and I believe that many manufacturers even TODAY use a quart in 1000 miles as their yardstick to determine if they are gonna do warranty work on an engine. (I have also had stuff like English cars that used a quart in two or three HUNDRED miles...) Mazda rotary engines used significant oil, literally sprayed onto rotor tip seals, as part of their design.

In recent years, I agree that newer cars are generally way better. My 2002 E150 with 4.6 has consistently used maybe a quart in 4000-6000 miles from the day it was new to now, at 10+ years old and 112k miles. That is no problem and it is not getting worse. My wife's '07 Honda Civic would go 7-8k miles between changes and use zero oil, but now at 105k, seems to be using a quart in about 6-7k miles.

Nobody has "told me BS"...I am reporting on my own experience over 43 years of driving and owning cars, and reading about them. I'm guessing you are younger than me (lucky you) and have set your expectations based on modern machining processes, fuel injection, etc. Maybe do some reading on what manufacturers consider "excessive oil use" before they will do warranty work to fix an engine. Why do you think manufacturers STILL recommend checking the oil whenever you refuel?

George

 

Don't ask me where I read it because I don't remember. But I recall that Ford used to accept 900 miles as okay for one consumed quart of oil, but then later revised it up to 1,500 miles for one quart. These figures do not take into account any loss of oil due to leaks, only oil normally consumed for normal engine operation.

 

well im just happy for new engines that have came my way, used/lost no oil. Currently driving a 2007 Chrysler Town and Country with the 3.8 w97,540 miles and the oil does not drop at all on the oil dip stick.I even had a 93 F150 with a 5.0 that had 285,000 miles and that too had no drop on the dipstick. On this engine I did have to replace the oil pump and doing so I could tell in its early life it was rebuilt so thank you to who ever that redid this engine for doing better than others that have their rebuilt engines taking some amount of oil during what ever mileage. I have had a total of 6 new engines, rather new from the factory(just few miles on for testing and other test drives)or rebuilt myself due to problems and not one lost or used and oil. Engines that I had new were 1982 Chevy 305, Ford 351w(loved this one), Buick v6( iforget what cubic in or liter this was, 281 comes to mind though) Ford 460 , Ford 289 and a Ford 302

 

Hodges: what year 460 did you have that didn't use oil??

 

It was a 1970 block but was rebuilt in 1999, drove it for 3 years and never had to add a drop of oil. Sold the truck and up to 2006 it was the same, only after or around this time did it start needing oil. I lost contact in years since but hopefully she is still running strong. Im all for an engine in need of oil during a certain amount of miles but a new/rebuilt engine , no way would i believe anyone saying otherwise from what i witnessed in my own records.

 

They ask you to check in case something goes WRONG but under conditions of an engine built right, even some new ones by certain manufacturers are not.

 

I dont know if its luck in new engines that i have had in new cars or the list of certain parts that i use in my rebuilds but no new/rebuilt engine that i have had has ever had an oil loss issue.

 

I have driven a million miles in vehicles that I have maintained for all of those miles. Probably add another half million miles for my wife's cars that I have maintained. Some of these have been new, some very used. Every engine uses oil. Some engines use very little. I'm not sure what there is to discuss here.

Good luck,
George

 

Wrong from what i have seen, sorry for others that have new engines and have to add a quart every now and then.

 

Ive got 140k mi on my 2000 EB, Ive used mobil 1 synthetic, burns 1 quart every 3000 miles.

I change the oil every 3k, regardless.

I switched to motorcraft blend at dealer since they give me the $49 full once over and tire rotation...a great value.

Since using the blend, it uses 1/2 quart every 3000 miles.

I also get 14mpg in city and 16 hwy...but I keep her really well tuned and purdy.

 

"synthetic" oil is really not man made as the name suggests,i didnt know that until recently...synthetic oil is just the top of the barrel oil, smaller and lighter molecules,smaller thus actually burning or leaking more than dino oil...there are also different tiers of synthetic,most being just a tier 3...mobil 1 is a true tier 4 oil so is Schaeffers which also has moly,great stuff for your engine...Most other brands,including Castrol Syntec are a tier 3 synthetic but since Mobil 1 lost their class action lawsuit against Castrol,any tier 3 oil can claim to be a full synthetic,which is why you are seeing more and more cheaper brands starting to include a full synthetic line..I had always heard the smaller molecules argument but heard this straight from a sales rep who happens to be an engineer that has worked for some of the top oil companies

 

Again, there is not much to discuss here. If your engine gets to the "add oil" mark, add some oil. If it stays in the safe zone, don't add oil. Cars and trucks will use oil based on many factors; there is no internal combustion engine that will use "no oil". Just check your oil, get to know your engine, and don't let it get below the "add oil" mark. And check it more often than you think you should, because sometimes it will go down faster than you expect.

Likewise, when your gas gauge is close to empty, put some gas in the tank. When your windshield washer fluid runs out, put some more in. When your brake pads/linings get under a couple mm thick, change them. And eat when you are hungry...

Peace out,
George