7AFE using oil Options

[dan85204]

my 94 st is using about a quart of oil every 3,000 miles or so. i have noticed my engine does seem to be leaking oil from under the valve cover, but no puddles under the car or anything. the exhaust does not smoke.

where is my oil going? does anybody have any advice on how to fix this? or should i just live with it because it's an older engine?

i'm currently using Shell 5w-30. think i should switch to a heavier weight oil? i'm hesitant about switching to synthetic because i was told it would only leak more because it is thinnner.

i saw a thread earlier about puting automatic transmission fluid through the oil for a short period of time, and that's supposed to stop leaking. can somebody explain what that is supposed to do or how it works?

thanks,

dan

[jc47]

It is normal for your engine to burn some oil. 1qt per 3000 miles doesn't sound unreasonable. Switching to heavier weight oil should help some, but it usually won't be a huge difference. You probably should be using 10w30 anyway unless it is very cold outside. It shouldn't matter much whether it is synthetic or not, as long as the weight is the same.