So it's been a while since i've posted on here, mainly because all my cash and time has been going to school but I might have a problem? Anyways 99 GT with original 2v 4.6 @ 164k miles, just rolled over. I change the oil every 3k miles with castrol gtx 5w30 high mileage, but at about 2k miles I check the oil and she's a quart low (I put another quart in after I see this everytime). I buy the 5+ jug from autozone so im not sure why im losing a quart just like that. Absolutely no leaks, I park in a garage and no spots on floor ever. Car is averaging 23mpg, 300 miles when I use 13 gallons. The manager at the autostore who attended a 2 year tech school advised I use the same oil just go up to 10w30. Yes or no? Changing oil in 1k more miles so any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks guys
Older motor burning oil
35thredproject
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So it's been a while since i've posted on here, mainly because all my cash and time has been going to school but I might have a problem? Anyways 99 GT with original 2v 4.6 @ 164k miles, just rolled over. I change the oil every 3k miles with castrol gtx 5w30 high mileage, but at about 2k miles I check the oil and she's a quart low (I put another quart in after I see this everytime). I buy the 5+ jug from autozone so im not sure why im losing a quart just like that. Absolutely no leaks, I park in a garage and no spots on floor ever. Car is averaging 23mpg, 300 miles when I use 13 gallons. The manager at the autostore who attended a 2 year tech school advised I use the same oil just go up to 10w30. Yes or no? Changing oil in 1k more miles so any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks guys
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Unless smoke is coming out your tailpipes don't worry about it. You have a higher mileage car. I would never run 10w30. Especially in Kansas. It has less cold start protection than the 5w30 oil that you are currently using. I have 167,000 miles on my car. I've always used full synthetic oil. I'm currently running 0w30 Mobile 1. I change oil every 5,000 miles and recently I've had to add a quart around the 3,000 mile mark. If I ever have to step up to a thicker oil it will be 0w40, not 10w30. You want to increase the viscosity on the hot side, not the cold side. Ideally, you run the lowest viscosity oil possible while maintaining 10 psi for every 1000 rpm.
If you want to learn about oil, go to the oil university. Here's the link"
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/motor-oil-101/
If you want to learn about oil, go to the oil university. Here's the link"
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/motor-oil-101/
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check oil pan? sometimes it'll blow back the oil... might not be a major leak either, so it could be hard to tell if the gaskets going
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Nah, no smoke or anything Eagle. Thanks for the info on the oil though, and nah nothing out the oil pan. I change the oil myself and the past 3 times I have a haven't seen any oil leakage anywhere and I check throughouly, so this might be normal and nothing to worry about?
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Change oil brands. That stuff your using is ****.
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I consider it normal and I'm not worried about it. But, I come from a era where a motor was still considered tight if it only used 1 quart of oil per 1,000 miles. If smoke isn't coming from the tail pipes then I wouldn't worry about it. Just don't let your motor get low on oil. In mid-2001 Ford changed the amount of oil recommended for our cars. The mid-2001 to 2004 owners manuals say to use six quarts of 5w20 intead of the previously recommended five quarts of 5w30. I was told they went to 5w20 to get an increase in fleet mileage. They went to six quarts because during some high rpm conditions it is possible to pump the oil pan dry. The return passages in our motors are somewhat small. I know of at least one person who has reported blowing up his motor due to pumping the pan dry. He said he knew he was a quart low.
I run six quarts of 0w30 oil. Yes, the dipstick shows a quart too much but it doesn't matter. Our oil pans are big enought that we could actually put in eight quarts without interfering with the crank. A lot of members on this forum run seven quarts of oil. I know that your owners manual says five quarts, same as mine, but I do recommend that you run six instead.
I run six quarts of 0w30 oil. Yes, the dipstick shows a quart too much but it doesn't matter. Our oil pans are big enought that we could actually put in eight quarts without interfering with the crank. A lot of members on this forum run seven quarts of oil. I know that your owners manual says five quarts, same as mine, but I do recommend that you run six instead.
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Castrol is a ok brand. But i recommend OP that you switch to mobil 1 or motorcraft with a motorcraft oil filter. Walmart usually has the best prices too
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I only use motocraft oil filters but okay, I think from what i've read this next oil change i'll go 6 qts motocraft oil with a motocraft oil filter
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My car takes 7 qrts for some reason....
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I would advise against over filling and synthetic at your mileage. Synth has a lot more detergents and is molecularly perfect compared to conventional oil. This means it will find leaks much faster, especially on a high mileage engine. Its best to start synth early on. But there is always big arguments about oils and such, so consider this my $.02 as to not start one. Check your pcv system for collapsed hoses and a sticky valve. I wouldn't be surprised if your valve seals are starting to get all a little tired.
Beamed from my Nexus
Beamed from my Nexus
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Start by cleaning your pcv with acetone or alcohol. Then if that doesn't help try a different oil.
Mobil 1 isn't any better than castrol's synthetic. And if you did any research you would learn that adding mobil 1 or any synthetic lubricant to any higher mileage vehicle will cause oil loss because of the nature of the oil itself.
Op,forget this guys advice. Stick with a high mileage oil. Valvoline max life and pennzoil high mileage are both great oils at a decent price. I suggest moving up a grade though to an xw-40. If you can a 5w-40 high mileage that would be ideal however it depends on weather. In the summer a 10w-40 is fine,when winter hits though go go a 5w-40 or even a 0w-40 for adequate start up protection.
Or you can just use whatever oil you like and add this additive by liqui-moly called motor oil saver. It will help with any oil consumption issues. While your at it buy their oil additive called MOS2. It eliminates wear. My used oil analysis wear numbers have been reduced by more than half by adding mos2 to the oil. And mileage also improved.
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Try a different brand. What have you got to lose. Also motorcraft oil is good oil. If you run Penzoil you deserve to drive a yugo.
Someone mentioned 7 quarts, Cobra pans take 7. My car is a gt but has the cobra pan for more oil capacity. Someone must have changed yours over too.
edit: I run a salvage yard and get cars off the highway that blow up on a regular basis. Most all have empty quarts of penzoil in the trunk and the motors are horrible inside and stink like none other. Crusty black crap in them. Do what you want but I would not run that crap. Also i would run ford recommended oil weight in your motor as the valve lash adjusters are sensitive to oil viscosity in these mod motors.
Someone mentioned 7 quarts, Cobra pans take 7. My car is a gt but has the cobra pan for more oil capacity. Someone must have changed yours over too.
edit: I run a salvage yard and get cars off the highway that blow up on a regular basis. Most all have empty quarts of penzoil in the trunk and the motors are horrible inside and stink like none other. Crusty black crap in them. Do what you want but I would not run that crap. Also i would run ford recommended oil weight in your motor as the valve lash adjusters are sensitive to oil viscosity in these mod motors.
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Sorry that I don't spend all my time checking my used oil. I'm recommending by experience. I use to only use valvoline which is a great oil. A buddy of mine only used castrol in his miata and blew the original engine. He replaced that engine and used castrol again and blew the New engine in a few months. Just like deathbringer says too, my old auto teacher would show us engines that used penzoil and they were covered in sludge. I would never use that. My car is at 150,xxx+ miles on original everything and switch between Mobil 1 and motorcraft oil with no problems.
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I use 15/40 Rotella in everything I drive. It is about the only oil with zinc in it which is what you add for cam break in. I own a automotive machine shop and use this in every engine I rebuild. I have a 1999 mercury mountianeer GT40 5.0 with 246,000 miles on it. A supercharged 1987 5.0 with 78,000 miles that sees 8 grand regularly, A 1993 mercury grand marquis with 214,000 miles. all of these see triple digit mph daily. I change oil every 6,000 miles. I have also noticed almost every top fuel car uses this in the pits regardless of who sponsors the car. I would not be concerned about oil loss at this rate.
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Same here... 7 quarts of oil is what it takes for my '03 to read full.
I bet it's that stupid PCV that's sucking up your oil into the intake. My car has 66k miles on it, and it would eat about a quart every one thousand miles through the PCV. Doesn't happen now that i've deleted the PCV though. I wouldn't worry about your car eating oil.
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Full synthetic oil will not hurt a high mileage car. I would actually hate trying to cold start a car during the winter with 15w40 oil in it. Assuming, of course, that it would actually crank over. Before multi-grade oil a lot of people would have to have their cars towed to a garage during the first cold snap because they didn't change out their summer oil for winter oil. All the garage would do is charge the battery and change the oil and start the car.
If you want to know about oils, read the articles at the oil university.
If you want to know about oils, read the articles at the oil university.
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Rotella 15w-40 is a bit heavy for these mod motors... Much heavier than I would run. I've got Amsoil signature series 0w-20 in my beast right now, but i'm going back and forth about switching it over to a 30 weight next time.
Switching a high mileage vehicle that's been run on conventional swamp water it's entire life is a gamble. Synthetic oil due to it's slippery nature finds areas to leak from much easier than the regular crap does. Also, the wax that the swamp water has in it kind of forms a protective layer on the seals keeping them conditioned and whatnot that the synthetic oil will take away. Engines today have gotten a lot better and won't leak nearly as much as way back when, but it's always a possibility that has to be taken into account. That being said, the only time you could ever get me to put conventional oil in an engine is during break in.
Switching a high mileage vehicle that's been run on conventional swamp water it's entire life is a gamble. Synthetic oil due to it's slippery nature finds areas to leak from much easier than the regular crap does. Also, the wax that the swamp water has in it kind of forms a protective layer on the seals keeping them conditioned and whatnot that the synthetic oil will take away. Engines today have gotten a lot better and won't leak nearly as much as way back when, but it's always a possibility that has to be taken into account. That being said, the only time you could ever get me to put conventional oil in an engine is during break in.
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