Oil mysteriously disapearing!

[MoToMaStR]

OK, first tings first, 1991 ranger XLT 2wd 2.3L,... i have either 145k or 245k on it, cant tell because i bought it as a used florida work truck. I cant figure out what the hell is up with my truck, it runs fine but if i get on the freeway and drive more then say 50 miles over 75 or 85mph, my "check oil" light comes on. So then, sure as shit, im about 1/2 quart or a quart low. Im constantly adding oil to the thing. I have been having to add a quart about every 500 miles for the past 40k. It runs fine, no fluid leaks, no wetness in the engine compartment,... but it always smells like its burning oil after i beat on it pretty hard. I was wondering where to start. The local rip off artist mechanic has told me 5 or 6 different things he "wants to fix." Iv heard valves, valve guides, piston rings, pcv, among other things. I dont know where to begin. Iv kept up on regular maintenance (plugs, wires, filters, o2, etc) The recent fix has been running 10-40 oil instead of recommended 5-30. when i run 5-30, it disappears REALLY fast. Thick oil is bumming me down to about 22mpg. Any ideas? If i run a compression test, do i have to test the drivers side spark holes too? I just changed the 8 plugs and what a PITA!!! I have big hands and dont want to do that again. Thanks for the input guys, anything pointing me in the right direction is appreciated.

 

[Bryan22]

i couldn't tell you exactly what the problem is, but you only pull one set of plugs to do a compression test. both plugs lead to the same cylinder. just use whichever plug is easier to get at for each cylinder. also take the air intake off the throttle body and see if it's got a nice coat of oil in it. if so that's blow-by. probably worn rings. anyways, good luck and let us know what you find.

also changing the PCV valve is very simple. and cheap. start there.

 

[BeaterMan]

When you get on the highway can you tell if its smoking any?

 

[muscledrifter]

white smoke coming from your tailpipe means its burning oil in the cylinder. it could be the rings, valve seals, or valve seats. there is a possibility that the valve cover gasket could be leaking on the passenger side onto the exhaust manifold which is very dangerous, make sure thats not whats happening.

 

[press 1 for english]

OK, first tings first, 1991 ranger XLT 2wd 2.3L,... i have either 145k or 245k on it, cant tell because i bought it as a used florida work truck. I cant figure out what the hell is up with my truck, it runs fine but if i get on the freeway and drive more then say 50 miles over 75 or 85mph, my "check oil" light comes on. So then, sure as shit, im about 1/2 quart or a quart low. Im constantly adding oil to the thing. I have been having to add a quart about every 500 miles for the past 40k. It runs fine, no fluid leaks, no wetness in the engine compartment,... but it always smells like its burning oil after i beat on it pretty hard. I was wondering where to start. The local rip off artist mechanic has told me 5 or 6 different things he "wants to fix." Iv heard valves, valve guides, piston rings, pcv, among other things. I dont know where to begin. Iv kept up on regular maintenance (plugs, wires, filters, o2, etc) The recent fix has been running 10-40 oil instead of recommended 5-30. when i run 5-30, it disappears REALLY fast. Thick oil is bumming me down to about 22mpg. Any ideas? If i run a compression test, do i have to test the drivers side spark holes too? I just changed the 8 plugs and what a PITA!!! I have big hands and dont want to do that again. Thanks for the input guys, anything pointing me in the right direction is appreciated.

First of all going to a thicker oil to reduce consumption is not going to affect the fuel economy noticably(that's just silly)......maybe 1/10 of a mpg.
Stick your finger inside the tailpipe and if it's greasy, there's where it's going.
The rear main oil seal is another likely area, you made no mention of checking that out. Since you are going to need a clutch this would be a perfect time to do that assuming the rear main seal is fubar.
Valve cover gasket....that would be easy to see especially if the leak is bad as you say. You should be smelling cooking oil as soon as you open the hood.

 

[scotts90ranger]

most likely blowby or valve stem seals, take a look at the breather hose and where it goes into the intake, see if it's totally wet with oil, I'm betting that's where it's going... combine that with leaking valve stem seals and the oil will just go away...

 

[suprapsu]

There is this bottle called something like csr engine compression i buy at walmart. They have it for 4 cylinder, 6 and 8. It works pretty good and I think really does restore some life back in your engine.

Anyone know the name of that bottle? I tried to look it up on walmarts website but can't find it.

 

[jmeineck]

motomastr,

bryan22 had the best Idea. Start with the PCV, when they get dirty it causes trouble.

you replaced the plugs. What did they look like? Were they light brown like they were burning fuel ok or were they greasy black like they were burning oil?

There are 4 ways oil can get into your cylinders. 1-- some put oil in the gas tank 2-- valve guide seals leak 3-- Head gasket leak 4 -- Rings leak or blow by. Two of these can be found with a compression test, rings and head gasket, but it is not conclusive because bad valves can cause poor compression as well. but you are lossing oil. If the compression is good then I would guess your valve guide seals are leaking.

Here is what you have to decide:
1. if the compression test fails you need to determine if it is rings or valves causing the problem. if it is rings you might as well rebuild the engine if it has 145k to 245k miles (that is if you plan on keeping the truck).
2. if it is just the head gasket or valve guide seals then rebuild the head, replace the water pump, timing chain, exhaust manifold gaskets, fuel filter. Again I recommend this because of the number of mile you have on the truck.

And of course it totally depends on your future plans for the truck if you do any of this or not.

Just my 2 cent good luck!

 

[LowStandard]

well, if you don't find out first, i'll let you know when i solve mine...i have a 93 with 156k that's doing the same exact thing...drives me nuts...

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

i bet its a clogged PCV valve.

 

[LowStandard]

ok, i'm left rather baffled. i ran my finger in the tail pipe...not greasy/oily...not losing it out there...but i didn't think i was. i pulled the air intake...DAMMIT...oil in the tb...but wait...from what i've read, even healthy Limas do this...and it's not really in the air INTAKE...just in the throttle body. i checked the PCV valve...it's fine...rattling and all...i cleaned it anyhow. so i started pulling plugs...all clean...WHAT THE DEUCE?!? so, where is this oil going? could bad valve guides cause this?

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

ok, i'm left rather baffled. i ran my finger in the tail pipe...not greasy/oily...not losing it out there...but i didn't think i was. i pulled the air intake...DAMMIT...oil in the tb...but wait...from what i've read, even healthy Limas do this...and it's not really in the air INTAKE...just in the throttle body. i checked the PCV valve...it's fine...rattling and all...i cleaned it anyhow. so i started pulling plugs...all clean...WHAT THE DEUCE?!? so, where is this oil going? could bad valve guides cause this?

i have 125k miles on my lima, there is not a trace of oil in the throttle body.

you've just located one of the possible locations of your disappearing oil. the only way for it to get there is through the PCV breather. this happens when you have a clogged PCV valve. just because the PCV valve rattles doesn't mean its good. does the valve have good engine vacuum to it? the hose could also get clogged.

 

[LowStandard]

i'll check it for proper engine vacuum...and i think i'll replace that PCV valve...it's the original, and yes, it rattles, but i also notice a LOT of side to side movement, when every valve i've seen the rattle is from up/down movement.

ok, i went out and checked it the best way i could at the moment...i started the truck, pulled the PCV valve out of the hose it goes into and felt the bottom of it. when i did, the idle changed (lowered) and there was some vacuum there. enough? i don't know. one thing to note...the purge canister is NOT hooked up to the engine. the big plastic line that should hook up to it is not hooked up and i can't find a place for it to go. if this is unhooked, possibly the other end is open (i can't hear any hissing while it's running but maybe i've tuned it out...i just got the truck not long ago so i don't know how it came unhooked). if the other end is open, it's wasting precious vacuum that PCV system needs to function. thanks for the help BTW, didn't mean to hijack this thread, just figured maybe i could help through being helped...

 

[kimcrwbr1]

There is no way to clean a pcv valve they go bad replace it and do so every tune up or every other oil change you can clean the breather filter tho if it is plugged it will create a negative pressure in the crankcase that is if it has one. If your still getting blow by with a new pcv valve out the breather tube do a compression test and check the engine vacuum will tell you the health of the engine or point you in the right direction. Preventative maint first.

 

[LowStandard]

i fully agree man. even though i sprayed it clean, i am replacing it tomorrow. i did a little test, if you unhook the vacuum hose from the top of the PCV valve, the truck dies because of such a massive vacuum leak...but with the valve in, it doesn't die...and the valve is not opening under the vacuum...which would say to me "it's stuck closed". so yea, i think that's my issue. so to the original poster...check your PCV valve!