Burning oil

[1994_4x4]

My 1994 4.0L with less than 80,000 miles burns exactly 1 quart of 5w30 Motorcraft oil every 3000 miles.

Other than that everything is fine on the entire truck.

Should I run a thicker oil?
I thought about running 5w40 or 10w40.

 

[exbass94]

No. Some oil burning is normal. 1 qt every 3k miles is not a big deal. Just top it off as needed. I would sitck with the 5w30.

 

[pcollins]

A quart every 3000 miles seems pretty excessive and not "normal" for a truck with 80,000 miles. I had a '97 with 160,000 miles on it and it didn't lose a drop between oil changes.

However, I don't know how you use your truck or how well its been maintained OP. But switching oils won't help all that much.

 

[1994_4x4]

It's been maintained well. No leaks, rust, corrosion almost looks new. The person who owned it before racked half of those miles, one mile at a time. I have been taught that the short grocery-getter miles are hard on engines.

 

[bmerr98]

Yup, the stop and go stuff causes your oil to change temperature constantly. this causes the oil to break down and lose its viscosity. Highway driving allows the oil to get up to temperature and stay there.

That said, a quart every 3k might be a little much for only 80k miles, but it wouldn't call for a rebuild or anything if it were up to me. As long as your truck isn't referred to regularly as "Old Smokey" I'd keep an eye on the dipstick and roll forth!