we have a 97 expy with a 5.4. the other day we checked the oil in it and it was over a quart low! we change the oil every 3000 miles and it was still 800 miles to the next change. what is causing this? is does not appear to be leaking oil. my dad is considering trading it off because of it and i don't want that to happen because i like this one. what is causing this?

 

That is an acceptable amount of usage according to Ford. How many miles are on it?

 

it has around 102k miles on it. he has never heard of a ford using that much oil. neither have i. if this was a chevy, he would consider it normal. do any other people's engines do this?

 

00 Expy 5.4 120K, same problem, but worse. Quart low, but only 1000 miles since last change.

 

did you switch from a heavy weight oil to a thin oil like from 5w30 to 5w20

 

no, we use motocraft 10w-30. we always have used it. we usually try to use the same weight all the time.

 

Frost - Look at your spark plugs and the inside of your tail pipe to see if you are really "burning" oil.

Was the vehicle driven differently over the last period from what it normally is driven?

MV oils have additive packages. These additives volitize and burn off at normal operating temps so with a fresh oil change followed by highway trips you will lose some additives during the first 500 miles or so, the oil level will be lower, and you will appear to be "burning" oil when in reality all that is happening is the normal loss of some of the additives through volitizing.

Short trips, city driving, stop and go, idling at stop lights your engine will volitize less of the additives because the operating temperature doesn't get reached for as long as in highway driving AND you will get some gas introduced into the oil and the appearance is that you are not using any oil. The reality is that you have lost some of the additives (reducing the oil level) and you have gained some gas (raising the oil level). You now have a "full" pan of fuel diluted oil which has lost a lot of it lubricating properties. This is why city driving is terrible for your engine.

You take a highway ride and get the operating temps up for a longer period than normal and more of the additives volitize and the fuel volitizes and, now the oil level is low and you think something is wrong with your engine.

All additives volitize, and stop and go driving introduces fuel into the oil of every engine. Folks who say "my engine doesn't burn a drop of oil" are primarily city drivers whose oil is thin with fuel even at a 3,000 mile change.

Highway drivers will see a loss of additives and a drop in oil level during the first 500 miles. Add some fresh oil to top off and the next 500 miles will show a significantly less drop in oil level because the only new additives are from the fresh oil.

Hawkeye77

 

thats a good post hawkeye77

 

97 f150 with 4.6 174000 miles uses 1/2 to 1 quart between 3000 mile ocis. ford also told me that this is normal even in a newer vehicle. i have went to a 5w30 down from a 10w40.

 

hawkeye, what would the spark plugs or tailpipe look like if you were burning oil?

 

Ford will consider 1 quart per 1000 miles to be acceptable for a new engine.

Both of my high mileage vehicles, the 97 F150 at 135K and my 89 SHO at 235K miles use oil at this rate.

A quart of oil costs anywhere from $1.00 to $2.00 for conventional stuff. The old man can buy a LOT of oil for what that new vehicle would cost him.

Just remember to feed the engine another quart about every three fillups or so. Heck, even my wife can remember that (so far).

Steve

 

Try replacing the PCV valve. Bad PCV valves are a common problem with the 5.4 and they will cause excessive oil burning. If you search this site, you will find posts by others who corrected oil burning problems by replacing the PCV valve.

I hope this fixes your problem.
- Ron

 

he just though that the oil usage might lead to worse problems. putting the oil in it would not be a big deal.

 

Frost - Sorry for the delay but we were traveling.


Check the Tailpipe:

Black and sooty - fuel mixture too rich.

Black and oily - burning oil

Coppery color - all is well

Exhaust color:

Invisible to light white (especially on initial warm-up on a cold morning) - water vapor, no worries.

Black - fuel mixture too rich.

Blue - oil burner.

Hawkeye77