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

[97lestyousay]

Our cars really are twins. I am losing/using about that much also.
No signs of where it is going. My car has less than 90K on it
so don't feel to bad.

[hurley97]

damn. my car feels old now. I got it with about 126,300 miles so its been fine for almost 40,000 miles. but that is weird thats its happening around the same point in time. maybe its just aged parts rather than worn?


other than this the car runs incredibly smooth for the amount of miles it has. if I can't figure out why its doing this I'm going to have to switch back to regular oil and just keep putting more in when it needs it. I'm not going to spend more on synth if its just going to eat it every 2,000 miles ....

This post has been edited by hurley97: Jan 8, 2007 - 12:42 AM

[97lestyousay]

I just switched back to castrol gtx 5w-30 from mobile1 5w-30.
I was using this before and didn't seem to have as much loss.
I haven't driven enough yet to really tell since I switched back.

[hashmaster52]

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.

This post has been edited by hashmaster52: Jan 8, 2007 - 1:46 AM

[56willysnut]

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.

[Bitter]

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.

[hurley97]

I just switched back to castrol gtx 5w-30 from mobile1 5w-30.
I was using this before and didn't seem to have as much loss.
I haven't driven enough yet to really tell since I switched back.

haha. same here, used to use Castrol GTX and never had a problem.

[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

[JonCars17]

I wish my car would get that much life on oil. My car was getting around 400 miles on a full tank of oil and then a couple weeks ago it was getting like 133. As I type this it is in the shop having an engine put into it. So be greatful that it gets that much. For last couple of weeks it would putting oil all of the passenger's side of the car and the rear.

I was trying to make it last til Summer so I could do a V6 swap, but I don't have the time or the money to do it right now so I'm having the same type engine put in it. Atleast I should have a brand new car basicly after it is done. They are putting in a refurbished engine with 0 miles on it in my car .

[LewFX]

i too have switched back from mobil 1 to castrol gtx

[bufferdan]

Wear...worn out rings. My 7afe with 190k uses alot also...it just disappears! Just go to walmart and buy a 7$ 5qt jug of supertech or something cheap and use it to top off every few weeks.

[Bitter]

what kind of milages are you guys at? im at 123K miles and i use about 1/3 qt every 3-4k miles.

[hurley97]

what kind of milages are you guys at? im at 123K miles and i use about 1/3 qt every 3-4k miles.

when I first got the car it had about 126k and when I'd forget and change it after 5 or 6k miles it would still be over half full

[LewFX]

try using an oil additive such as lucas or napa brand.

[wind]

im just comming up to 200,000km....

im using ~2 liters between oil changes.... it burns on start up and the rear main seal is leaking more and more every month.

rebuild time.

[presure2]

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.

naa, if it was leaking that bad thru the seals, it would be smoking pretty much non-stop for her to loose that much oil.
steff, have D climb under and have a look where the tranny meets the engine.
if your sure the upper stuff youve checked isnt leaking, its gotta be going somewhere..
a little bit of smoke on cold start will be valve seals, but i really dont thing its that, if it were, the car would be smoking like crazy with the amount of oil your loosing.
have D gimme a call when your up, maybe we can swing by moms and jack it up and get a good look.

[king_wsk]

what kind of milages are you guys at? im at 123K miles and i use about 1/3 qt every 3-4k miles.

I just hit 150k miles and I burn 1 qt. every 3-4 tanks of gas (800-1100 miles or so). I notice blue smoke when I first start the car... and it smells really bad. But driving after it warms up = no smoke and no smell. I remember reading somewhere that there is some kind of value gasket that needs to be changed every 65k miles to stop this.

What would it take to change it? If I gota tear apart the engine, I might as well do some mods as well. Until then is the Costco 8pk of Castrol GTX 10w40 for me.

[hurley97]

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.

naa, if it was leaking that bad thru the seals, it would be smoking pretty much non-stop for her to loose that much oil.
steff, have D climb under and have a look where the tranny meets the engine.
if your sure the upper stuff youve checked isnt leaking, its gotta be going somewhere..
a little bit of smoke on cold start will be valve seals, but i really dont thing its that, if it were, the car would be smoking like crazy with the amount of oil your loosing.
have D gimme a call when your up, maybe we can swing by moms and jack it up and get a good look.

I put it up on the lift at work and checked the underside too. theres slight seepage that all looks pretty normal but nothing where it would be losing oil that rapidly. I don't think it smokes bad at all, cause like you said it would be smoking much worse at the rate I'm losing oil, but if you want we can still take a look at it this weekend and see what you think. I'll be up there from sat to mon

ps. I have not seen you guys in so long!
and I have to pick up that engine harness for Corey. I hope you remember cause neither me or D will

This post has been edited by hurley97: Jan 9, 2007 - 10:50 PM

[presure2]

are your underplastics installed?