Massive oil usage

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Nov 4, 2002 | 08:33 AM

86Betty

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Massive oil usage

Hi folks...I just recently bought an oil burner, but I didn't think it was going to burn THIS much oil. It's a '96 F-250 4x4 with the PSD. I've put nearly a thousand miles on it, and added 18 quarts of oil!! Where is it going?? It doesn't seem to be smoking visibly. The engine is clean. I read about leaks around the turbo pedestal, and there don't appear to be any. The "valley" area is dry. There are some runs down the oil filter, drops hanging from the bottom, and more oil on the frame crossmembers and the forward drive shaft, downwind from the oil filter. It seems like such a small drip from the fliter gasket, though, hardly enough to account for more than 4 gallons of oil

. Is there some secret oil hiding place that this engine has that I don't know about?

Nov 4, 2002 | 12:31 PM

The Diesel Dude

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Massive oil usage

You've probably got an injector O-ring that has deteriorated and is leaking lube oil into the fuel system. Drain some fluid out of the fuel filter water drain and see if it is darker than regular fuel. If it is, you've got oil in the fuel and you'll have to remove the injectors and replace the O-rings with the newer upgraded O-rings.

Nov 4, 2002 | 03:17 PM

86Betty

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Massive oil usage

Well, I found what I assume is the fuel filter drain...it was a yellow lever at the right front of the fuel filter, marked "closed" and "drain". I pushed it to "drain, and some fuel drained, but I couldn't tell where it drained TO. Eventually, some ran to the bottom of the front frame crossmember and dripped on the ground. I caught some and looked at it, and it certainly didn't seem dark, and even if it did have traces of oil in it, it seemed like it could have picked it up anywhere on its long journey to the bottom of the truck. For me, anyway, very inconclusive

Nov 4, 2002 | 05:19 PM

sailors30

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Massive oil usage

Can't help on the oil problem, but I just drained the fuel filter. The drain is a metal line coming down the front corner (passenger side) of the PSD, and ends. Some have put a section of small hose on it to allow draining the filter into a container sitting on the ground without having it run all over the place. I was able to stick a small plastic cup to get the run off. It's hard to see, take a flashlight, even in the daytime. Dave

Nov 5, 2002 | 07:06 AM

powerstroker250

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Massive oil usage

What Joe said.

Les

Nov 6, 2002 | 04:12 AM

inliner

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Massive oil usage

That happened to one of our furniture vans at work. Someone put gas in it instead of diesel and it burned up the injector o-rings. That thing was losing 2gallons of oil a day, it ended up in the fuel tank and was burned as fuel, but it hardly smoked at all.:-staun

Nov 6, 2002 | 08:20 AM

86Betty

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Massive oil usage

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 06-Nov-02 AT 09:21 AM (EST)]Well, guys, I sure appreciate the help. I took it in to the local Ford dealer yesterday to let them see what they thought. They put some dye in the oil to look for leaks, none found (the engine is really clean) They were going to check compression, but checked crankcase pressure instead...1psi, nice and low, no ring problems. The injector O-rings were their diagnosis, too. They want close to $700 to do the job.

I'm in a backwater place, I may not be able to find anyone else really qualified to do it. Oh, and it really doesn't smoke, even burning all that oil. Dealer said the injectors atomize it real well, and it burns up like fuel.