oil drinker
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From: ft myers florida
oil drinker
Hello everyone, I have a 02 f150 4x4 with the 5.4 triton engine. i have about 24,000 miles and uses a little more than 1-1/2 qts of oil between oil changes(every 3000 miles). I took my concern to my ford dealer and their reply was " ford says it is normal for that engine to use a qt of oil every 900 miles. Well its my opinion there is nothing normal about that. Does anyone have any information on this problem.
Thank you
Thank you
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oil drinker
Actually it is not just that engine. Fords states that for all their engines. I guess it is a loop hole so they don't have to admit to anything wrong. Every Ford that I have owned has used about a quart of oil every 3000 miles. The only truck that I have owned that did not use oil was a chevy 4.3 S10 Blazer.
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From: Trussville, Alabama
oil drinker
Funny thing...we once had a 5.4 Expedition ('98 model if I remember correctly) and it would go through about 3/4 qt in 3,000 miles. I currently drive a F150 w/ the 4.2 V6. I go w/ 5,000 drain intervals and have 101,000 miles on the motor. It burns no oil bewteen changes. Oh maybe an ounce or two (literally) but not enough that you can really tell any drop on the dipstick.
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From: Running Springs CA
oil drinker
Thats odd. My 4.3 GM V-6 used a quart every 2000 from new until I sold it at 100,000 miles. I've heard that the Ford 4.6/5.4 OHC engines sometimes use a little more oil than people like, but as long as it is stable and not increasing, there is probably nothing wrong. Since you are in Florida, you might want to try 10W-30 instead of 5W-30.
Jim
Jim
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From: ft myers florida
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Thanks for the reply, I think your right on track about the loop hole, BUT! I have never in my 24 years of driving, experienced this kind of oil usage. My boat 5.7 350 GM doesn't use a drop nor does my motorcycle Suzuki GSXR 750 and it gets thashed. As i stated before I don't beleive its "normal" and i think they should have to disclose the fact that they (Ford) beleives it is normal to use a qt every 900 miles. Before you shell out $30,000.
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From: So Cal
oil drinker
Several makers claim 1qt per 1,000 miles is normal, Volvo was one off the top of my head. Probably a loop hole for all of them. The only time I ever used more than a qt per 3,000 miles was when I had a visible leak(usually main seal or intake gasket) or when the engine was worn out.
I think using a qt or so between oil changes(7,500 interval) is about par for the course. Many engines do better, but most I have seen in the past do about a qt every 3,000 or so. My 94 460 uses maybe a qt in 5,000, my 96 Chebby uses a quart in maybe 3,000 but has a small leak, my 95 Villager uses almost none in 5,000. When I mean they use some, I mean I do have to add some oil before the next oil change since the level was approaching the "Add oil" mark.
I doubt that a properly assembled and broken in engine would use a qt every thousand.
Just my opinion based upon doing hundreds(?) of oil changes.
Jim Henderson
I think using a qt or so between oil changes(7,500 interval) is about par for the course. Many engines do better, but most I have seen in the past do about a qt every 3,000 or so. My 94 460 uses maybe a qt in 5,000, my 96 Chebby uses a quart in maybe 3,000 but has a small leak, my 95 Villager uses almost none in 5,000. When I mean they use some, I mean I do have to add some oil before the next oil change since the level was approaching the "Add oil" mark.
I doubt that a properly assembled and broken in engine would use a qt every thousand.
Just my opinion based upon doing hundreds(?) of oil changes.
Jim Henderson
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From: Iowa
oil drinker
My '92 explorer with 186,800 miles doesnt use any oil between changes. It's right where I left it after filling it. Not a drop. My dad's 2000 chev silverado, uses about 1 quart every 5000 miles. Not too bad. My truck uses about 1 quart every 500 miles because of a leak at the back of the intake.
My theory is that the looser piston to bore clearances used to improve C.A.F.E. (corporate adverage fuel economy) allow more oil to get by the rings and into the cylinder.
You might try something like some gunk engine stop leak, it slowed the leak on my truck. If it's a seal or gasket thats leaking, it should work. If it's getting by the rings, it wont. Good luck!
P.S. Do you see anywhere it's leaking?
My theory is that the looser piston to bore clearances used to improve C.A.F.E. (corporate adverage fuel economy) allow more oil to get by the rings and into the cylinder.
You might try something like some gunk engine stop leak, it slowed the leak on my truck. If it's a seal or gasket thats leaking, it should work. If it's getting by the rings, it wont. Good luck!
P.S. Do you see anywhere it's leaking?
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From: Trussville, Alabama
oil drinker
There's one thing that has always puzzled me about the oil consumption issue. If Ford, or any other auto manufacturer, says it's "normal" to burn a quart of oil in 3000 miles, how do they get by EPA regs.????
Two stroke motors are dying because under "normal" use they burn oil. If it's "normal" for all these 4 stroke motors to burn oil, that adds up to a HECK of a lot of oil being burned and exhausted into the atmosphere.
I'd be suprised to learn that catalytic converters deal with all the spent gases of burning not only gasoline, but a quart of 10w30 every 3000 miles. Maybe the cats DO handle that, but if so, I sure didn't know it.
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Two stroke motors are dying because under "normal" use they burn oil. If it's "normal" for all these 4 stroke motors to burn oil, that adds up to a HECK of a lot of oil being burned and exhausted into the atmosphere.
I'd be suprised to learn that catalytic converters deal with all the spent gases of burning not only gasoline, but a quart of 10w30 every 3000 miles. Maybe the cats DO handle that, but if so, I sure didn't know it.
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From: Running Springs CA
oil drinker
Once I started flying small airplanes I stopped worrying about a car or truck using a little oil between changes. A typical four cylinder Lycoming engine in a Cessna will burn a quart of SAE 50 every 5-10 hours!
Jim
Jim
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From: Southern California
oil drinker
IMHO, the CAT's can handle a lot of oil. For how long they can keep it up, I really don't know. I had a Honda that all of a sudden started using a quart every 300 miles. I kept trying to find a leak, since it wasn't smoking any. Came to find out that the PCV valve was bad and there was excessive vacuum on the crankcase. Sucked the oil right through the intake manifold.
Most of the Ford's I've owned used oil between changes. 1-1/2 qt/3000 miles is not too bad. But for sure, annoying in such a new vehicle.
You didn't say what brand or weight of oil you are using. Just out of curiousity, are you using the newly recommended 5w20 oil?
Most of the Ford's I've owned used oil between changes. 1-1/2 qt/3000 miles is not too bad. But for sure, annoying in such a new vehicle.
You didn't say what brand or weight of oil you are using. Just out of curiousity, are you using the newly recommended 5w20 oil?
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oil drinker
I am going to assume that you have been using the recommended 5w-20 in your truck. You most likely need to move out of that viscosity range. The oil I would try is Mystic JT-8 in the 10w-30 range and you may even need to move to the 15w-40. Neither oil weights are going to hurt the engine and engine life will not be altered. You may see a decrease in fuel mileage at worse. The Mystic is known for stopping engines from using oil. I have never seen a virgin analysis on it so I can't tell you the whats or whys but I have seen it stop engines from using oil on a first hand basis- might want to give it a try. My understanding is that it is available at most farm supplys and you may find it at Citgo since Mystic is now under their umbrella.