Burning up a lot of oil or just paranoid ?

[mixwell]

Okay I have a 2001 ranger and it appears that about every 2-3 weeks I have to drop about 1 quart in it to get it back to full but I am wondering if this is normal on higher mile rangers ? I say higher mile when i quote my odo at 105,000 which really isn't that high.. I have 0 leaks under the truck so the only thing I can conclude is that the oil is just getting burnt up.. are there factors that can contribute to that, ie.. low coolant etc ? I try to keep a quart with me (just used my reserve today, have to buy another) but is this normal in certain conditions ? It seems like 1 quart per 2-3 weeks is a bit much but that is the pattern I have been noticing.. Thanks in advance !!

 

[michowski]

Take your plugs out and see for yourself if your burning oil. I also got a 3.0 and am just slightly ahead of you for burning oil. Mines about every 300 miles(1 tank of gas) I need a quart.

 

[mixwell]

Take your plugs out and see for yourself if your burning oil. I also got a 3.0 and am just slightly ahead of you for burning oil. Mines about every 300 miles(1 tank of gas) I need a quart.

what would be signs of burning or what should i look for ? Oil in the spark plug hole or any signs on the spark plug ? I think mine is about on par with yours as 1 tank of gas lasts me about 1 1/2 weeks but i can go about maybe 2-3 weeks before I get that low where i need 1 qt... If you can give me some more examples of what to look for I will check for excess oil in the cylinders because I just recently pulled a P304 code which is cyl 4 and my truck was stumbling but not too bad but the old plug had white almost carbon type build up on it and maybe these 2 problems are going hand in hand, who knows..

 

[Original_Ranger84]

A white carbon type would indicate coolent in the cylinder from a blown ead gasket or something. If oil was getting burned I would expect to see an almost tar like substance building up on the plug vs. the usual slight carbon build up that would be normal.

As for it burning that much oil... I would expect it has to be going somewhere, my friends ranger does that too. but he has atleast 200,000 on his truck. No leaks and he has to put in a quart like every month or so. I assume he is burning it but then again... the catalytic converter should be clogged by now.

 

[James86]

I have 112,000+ miles on my 3.0 and I burn about a quart every 3,000 miles. Is it leaving spots where you park it?

 

[alaskan155]

it may not leave a noticeable spot so start looking around the engine with a flashlight.

my f150 lost about a quart for 1000 miles when i got it, which none of the oil really hit the ground(exhaust burned it up when it landed on it), 1st repairted equaled about a 1 quart every 50miles(head was warped) and now about a 1/2 quart for 5,000(if that) miles a head later and all new top end gaskets

 

[fourwheelford]

Could be your valve cover gaskets, it generally wont hit the the ground it will just run down and burn off the block mine is starting to do that but I also have a rear main leak at 110,000

 

[TomB1269]

Mine just hit 110k and I do not lose an noticable amount of oil. Check the hose from the top of the valve cover to the air intake hose. If you have oil here, you are experiencing "blow-by". Blow-by is basically when your engine fires the compression rings are worn enough to allow gas pressure to pass. This pressure is releived thru the crank case breather (the hose from the valve cover to the air intake. With this additional pressure atomized oil is pushed up and out of the engine where the pressure disapates and the oil collects. The only true fix for blow-up is a ring job. CD2 or restore at each oil change may make a difference, but it will enevtually become an expensive solution, and you'' ll still need new rings...........