I know this may sound like an oil thread, but it is not. I do have what some would guess is a stupid question, does the 7.3 normally use any oil between 5000 miles oil changes? If so what would be considered normal?

OK, here is the background. My 1999 F250 Crew Cab 7.3 was my deceased fathers prized possession. He purchased it approximately 10 months before he passed away back in 1999. The truck was given to my brother who did the best that he could to care for it, but financially he was just unable to keep up with the expenses of owning a diesel truck. I offered to swap my truck with him, and he readily accepted.

This is the first diesel I have ever owned, so it is a learning experience for me. I already have had all the mechanicals gone through, at great expense I might add, and the truck is absolutely running great and I love it. I plan on keeping it up as an honor to my father, and will probably be the last truck I own. At my age, and from what I read, this engine should out last me.

The truck has about 135,000 miles on it, and that has been mostly local driving and very little towing. It as been about 1700 miles since the last oil change and the dip stick show that it is about a quarter distance down between the full and add more oil level. I think in all my reading, that I read that large diesel engines do use some oil in normal use. I was just wondering if what I am experiencing is normal consumption?

Thanks

 

My 97 with 193k doesn't use any oil. I change it every 5k miles.

 

Thanks for your response.

Your reply made me see that I posted this in the wrong section. I am not sure if there are any real differences between the 94-97 and the 99-04 7.3.

To the moderators, I apologize for posting this in the wrong section, please feel free to move it to the proper section.

 

with that said my dad had a 96 with 160k on it that would use 1 to 2 qts between oil changes. I think it just depends on how the engines was treated and maintained.

 

I run the crap out of mine and it will use a little oil.

 

pull fuel filter and see if the pleats are dark, that could mean injector o rings are shot and not expensive to replace but does take some time to do

 

If you drove it and it used a qt of oil in 1700 miles you are doing absolutlely fine... I would n't think twice about it. I have a few trucks that use 1-1.5 qts in 5000+ miles, and one that uses 1 qt for every 900 miles 500+k on motor... It all depends how hard you beat on them over time. I wouldn't think twice about it though unless it becomes a drastic loss.

 

These engines rely on oil pressure to fire the injectors so it will not run well at all if too low on oil. Mine has over 300K and uses about a half qt between 3K oil changes. One of the obs company trucks I drove back in the day had well over 800K and still going strong. Regular oil changes are one of THE most important maintenance routines you must not ignore. Don't try to save money on cheap oil. I use Rotella but there are others out there just as good. You should be able to enjoy this truck for many years to come.