I am trying to figure out what or if my car is losing oil. Bought the Vic used at 125,000 miles. It was due for an oil change so 6 QTS motor craft 5w20 synblend went in with a fl820s filter. My oci's are 6k.At 128,100 it was a quart low.No drips on the ground motor is dry.Topped off with motor craft 5w20. At 131,000 changed oil switched to Pennzoil ultra platinum 5w20 6 quarts and a fl820s filter. Today at 134,100 I aim a quart low again. Put the car ion the rack at work no leakage under the car pan and rear seal are dry. Valve covers and intake are dry. Now I drive 500 miles a week. 80% of it is freeway.70 to 75 mph for 50 miles one way. Is this the cause bof my oil loss or use? Any help please. Should I switch to a thicker oil
Quart low after 3100 miles 4.6 ltr modular
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Have you checked the PCV ?
I'd check for leaks and replace the PCV valve and check the hose. Use only an OEM PCV valve. If that doesn't work I'd try 5W30 oil. Either way a quart of oil in 3,100 miles is nothing to worry about.
I'd replace the pcv valve just to be safe and top off with some High Mileage oil. I did this on a 1999 Accord that was burning a quart over a few thousand miles and no more measurable consumption. I was running MC syn-blend and topped off with a quart of MaxLife. Catch it early and it may work.
My 4.6L used continually more oil until it got to a bit over 1 qt per 4K miles on Formula Shell Synthetic 5w-20 (4 OCI's). It's first 40K miles was probably on conventional. I then went to conventional VWB 5w-20 and had at most 4-8 oz of oil use for a 4K OCI. Now I'm running PP 5w-30 and so far at 500 miles with no usage noted.
What year? Some Crown Vics develop valve guide leaks....does a puff of blue smoke come out when you start from a stoplight? That's where your oil "leak" is coming from.
In any case, 1 quart per 3000 miles isn't bad at all, at least it's consistent and you know just when to top off.
There have been several vehicles on here that burn oil on the highway, but burn none in town. Higher load, higher rpms = a bit of oil getting out.
You could try a HM oil, or 5w30, or both but if they don't work ... in your position I'd carry a quart in the trunk.
In any case, 1 quart per 3000 miles isn't bad at all, at least it's consistent and you know just when to top off.
There have been several vehicles on here that burn oil on the highway, but burn none in town. Higher load, higher rpms = a bit of oil getting out.
You could try a HM oil, or 5w30, or both but if they don't work ... in your position I'd carry a quart in the trunk.
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As stated replace the pcv and also 1 qt at 3k miles is nothing to be concerned about. That being said I would either continue running Pennzoil Platinum to see if after the initial interval consumption is reduced or switch to a quality conventional or high mileage oil. In my personal experience with no scientific data to back it up whatsoever my vehicles that have consumed oil have done so more with Motorcraft than any other brand.
My 99 K1500 used 2 qts of MC in 3k mile intervals. Reduced to one when switched to Valvoline Maxlife. My 04 F150 used 2 qts in 5k miles on MC. Reduced to 0-1 qt(depending on amount of towing during OCI) with PYB.
My 99 K1500 used 2 qts of MC in 3k mile intervals. Reduced to one when switched to Valvoline Maxlife. My 04 F150 used 2 qts in 5k miles on MC. Reduced to 0-1 qt(depending on amount of towing during OCI) with PYB.
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Originally Posted By: A1O
I am trying to figure out what or if my car is losing oil. Bought the Vic used at 125,000 miles. It was due for an oil change so 6 QTS motor craft 5w20 synblend went in with a fl820s filter. My oci's are 6k.At 128,100 it was a quart low.No drips on the ground motor is dry.Topped off with motor craft 5w20. At 131,000 changed oil switched to Pennzoil ultra platinum 5w20 6 quarts and a fl820s filter. Today at 134,100 I aim a quart low again. Put the car ion the rack at work no leakage under the car pan and rear seal are dry. Valve covers and intake are dry. Now I drive 500 miles a week. 80% of it is freeway.70 to 75 mph for 50 miles one way. Is this the cause bof my oil loss or use? Any help please. Should I switch to a thicker oil
Our Crown Vic has 305,xxx miles and it's burned a small amount of oil since day one.They are reliable motors,it's just the nature of the beast,nothing to worry about.
I am trying to figure out what or if my car is losing oil. Bought the Vic used at 125,000 miles. It was due for an oil change so 6 QTS motor craft 5w20 synblend went in with a fl820s filter. My oci's are 6k.At 128,100 it was a quart low.No drips on the ground motor is dry.Topped off with motor craft 5w20. At 131,000 changed oil switched to Pennzoil ultra platinum 5w20 6 quarts and a fl820s filter. Today at 134,100 I aim a quart low again. Put the car ion the rack at work no leakage under the car pan and rear seal are dry. Valve covers and intake are dry. Now I drive 500 miles a week. 80% of it is freeway.70 to 75 mph for 50 miles one way. Is this the cause bof my oil loss or use? Any help please. Should I switch to a thicker oil
Our Crown Vic has 305,xxx miles and it's burned a small amount of oil since day one.They are reliable motors,it's just the nature of the beast,nothing to worry about.
My 4.6L was consuming 1 quart of oil every 1.5k miles for 3 years. Like you, no leaking or burning etc. I recently saw there was oil around the PCV grommet. I went ahead and changed the grommet and put a new one in. Had to go to the lincoln dealership to get it as AAP and Autozone didn't have it. Think I paid $7 for it. I ran a couple of tests to see if the PCV valve needed changing too but no need as it passed with flying colors. So far so good - 1k miles and the oil is still at the max mark. If you like, I can send you the video of how to check to see if your PCV valve is in working order.
Note- my '00 4.6L calls for 5w-30. I know in the later years (around '03-'06) they switched it to 5w-20. It's still the same engine though. If you don't find any leaks I would recommend going to thicker oil such as 10w-30 or 10w-40. In the past I have used both of those with no problems.
Note- my '00 4.6L calls for 5w-30. I know in the later years (around '03-'06) they switched it to 5w-20. It's still the same engine though. If you don't find any leaks I would recommend going to thicker oil such as 10w-30 or 10w-40. In the past I have used both of those with no problems.
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Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
I'd replace the pcv valve just to be safe and top off with some High Mileage oil. I did this on a 1999 Accord that was burning a quart over a few thousand miles and no more measurable consumption. I was running MC syn-blend and topped off with a quart of MaxLife. Catch it early and it may work.
Forgot to mention I was doing a fair amount of hwy driving during this period as well.
I'd replace the pcv valve just to be safe and top off with some High Mileage oil. I did this on a 1999 Accord that was burning a quart over a few thousand miles and no more measurable consumption. I was running MC syn-blend and topped off with a quart of MaxLife. Catch it early and it may work.
Forgot to mention I was doing a fair amount of hwy driving during this period as well.
~80% freeway driving is going to have the engine at higher RPM's/load most of the time, so a little extra oil consumption can be normal. A quart every 3,000 isn't anything to worry about, most manufacturers say a quart every 1k for a brand new car is a-ok.
You're way good for a car with that many miles and oils on the thinner side
Go with the heavier oil. Mine uses no oil at all using synthetic. I have always used a XX-30 or xx-40 wt oil with no issues at all around the oil. I did use a high zinc oil for a while and have heard that can ruin cat converters and mine did go bad.
Ford states that consumption of 1qt/1,000miles is normal.
My Every day driver is a 2006 Ex Police Duty Crown Vic. 100k and (plus)6600 idle hours! I Use 10w-30 Valvoline Syn. with no issues at all purrs like a kitten! No oil use at all.
Yes, modular Ford's will consume a touch more oil with 5W-20.
Here in Florida, I run nothing but 10W-30 M1 in my modulars. I do get better UOA results too.
It's your choice as to whether you think a slightly more viscous synthetic oil will be detrimental during cold starts. I say no, as any quality synthetic will flow well at cold temps.
Here in Florida, I run nothing but 10W-30 M1 in my modulars. I do get better UOA results too.
It's your choice as to whether you think a slightly more viscous synthetic oil will be detrimental during cold starts. I say no, as any quality synthetic will flow well at cold temps.
Check the PVC.
Don't worry yet about the car burning a little oil. Oil level at oil change could have been a little low from the beginning.
Sometimes an engine will burn a little oil when switching brands or from the burn-off of contaminants from short trips.
Don't worry yet about the car burning a little oil. Oil level at oil change could have been a little low from the beginning.
Sometimes an engine will burn a little oil when switching brands or from the burn-off of contaminants from short trips.
Good to hear some decent results with XX-40 and 10w-30. I have some 0W-40 PU/SRT and Valvoline Syn 10w-30 laying around and debating whether they could be used down the road. I wouldn't think twice about that in Florida. But in Indiana, Ohio, Connecticut, etc....the 0/5w-30 are probably a little better. At 8K miles per year my 4.6L will never get past 150K miles while I own it so it probably matters little.
I think 2000 was the last year of Ford's 5w-30 / 4.6L recommendation. I believe the 2001's come with the 5w-20 recommendation.
I think 2000 was the last year of Ford's 5w-30 / 4.6L recommendation. I believe the 2001's come with the 5w-20 recommendation.
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