Burning Oil, from where? Options

[hurley97]

ok, I'm already working on the issue I just want various opinions to work with in case I run out of ideas.



recently my car has been going through oil like crazy. here are some of the facts so far:
- it doesn't seem to be leaking from any gaskets (at idle speed) checked valve cover, sender, and head gaskets
- never see any puddles of oil on the ground after being parked
- no blue smoke out the back. theres a little white smoke, slightly more than there used to be but not that bad at all and could just be from the cold and wet weather. and it smells normal
- oil light comes on about every 2,000 miles or so now. before about 3 or 4 months ago it had never come on before, I would just change it every 3-5k miles regardless
- extra info: started out using 10w-40 then switched to 5w-30 then 5w-30 synth now 10w-30 synth (over the course of about 3 years)


here's whats happened and when in detail:

[07.15.06] 159,400 mi - oil and filter changed, everything normal

[08.20.06] 162,300 mi - oil and filter changed again, like normal

[09.01.06] 163,165 mi - first time I'd ever seen the oil light come on. was low but still clear, 1qt added

[09.16.06] 164,749 mi - oil and filter changed

[10.14.06] 166,853 mi - oil light on again. very low but still clear, 1qt added

[11.02.06] 168,262 mi - oil light on. switch to Mobil 1 full synth 5W-30, changed oil and filter

[11.26.06] 170,000 mi - oil light on. added 1qt Shell 10W-40 synth blend, its all I could get and I had a long drive home

[11.30.06] 170,748 mi - oil and filter changed. switch to 10W-30, still Mobil1 full synth

[12.18.06] 172,370 mi - oil light on. change oil and filter

[01.04.07] 173,800 mi - oil light on. found oil leaking from drain plug, tightened it and put it 3qt Mobil1. ran car for about an hour, no more leaking from plug

[01.07.07] 173,900 mi - still no leak from drain plug. added engine oil tracer dye, will check it in a few days



thats where I am now. throw out any ideas you might have and I'll either try it or tell you I've already tried.

This post has been edited by hurley97: Mar 15, 2007 - 11:25 PM

[hurley97]

my car is at 142xxx miles and it also burns/leaks oil. it runs great, but somehow loses alot of oil n i have to constantly top it off.

quick off topic question: how much oil does the st take? i put about 4qts in when i change the oil, maybe even more. i just try to get it to the full mark onthe dipstick. Also, i thought that the cross hatched part of the dipstick is supposed to be 1qt, but on mine, it is definitely more than that.

yes, the ST takes 4qts. I think technically its something like 3.9 but I always drain it and put in 4.

My sons car (147K) is curently burning oil at the rate of 1 qt. for every two hundred fifty miles, it smokes on start up, and while at highway speeds, I changed out the valve stem seals hoping that would cut down comsuption, no such luck, My next step is to replace the motor with another used engine with less miles that isn't supposed to be using any oil. Keeping fingers crossed on that one. My guess is that the previous owner overheated it and burned up the rings in it.

I'm hoping the problem can be solved without getting a new engine.

next oil change run 1/2 qt ATF through the engine for 100 miles and then change the oil again. i suspect that you're loosing it through valve seals, which can be accelerated if you do alot of high rpm driving.

I will try that. that was also a thought since I have been doing a lot more highway driving lately