Bought new 1977 VW Rabbit, valve guides bad at 30,000 miles..it was an embarrassing smoker.
Anyone else never own an oil burning vehicle?
- Thread starter PWMDMD
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I also had a bought new 1977 VW Rabbit with bad valve guides from day 1. On trips it used more oil than gas. Dealer said that was normal. They said that using 1 quart in 350 or less miles was "normal"on a new vehicle
. Finally I was able to get VW to replace the head but I had to pay the dealer for the labor, VW supplied the new head. And this was a dealer I bought 3 new cars from already. Last car I bought from them. I can honestly say over the last 45 years my many Fords have been great at not using any measurable amount of oil between OCI's, whether 4, 6 or 8 cylinders. Our current lot of Ford's, all bought new, 1996 Contour, 2L Zetec, 2005 Explorer 4.6l and the 2017 Explorer 2.3L Ecoboost. I've also had various 6 and 8 cylinder F-150's bought new that did not use any measurable amount of oil between 5,000 mi OCI's.None of our Nissans ever burned any oil and a couple were taken to almost 300k. These were all 4 cylinder powered, BTW.
My only significant oil burner was an Isuzu Rodeo with the 3.2l V6. Another Isuzu pickup we had leaked too much oil to ever be able to tell if it burned oil.
My only significant oil burner was an Isuzu Rodeo with the 3.2l V6. Another Isuzu pickup we had leaked too much oil to ever be able to tell if it burned oil.
Technically any ICE is an oil burning vehicle, since that is what the fuel comes from. Diesel even used to be called "Diesel Oil".
The only thing I ever owned that required regular adds was a Vega.
I removed the head and saw the scores in the bores and the cause was obvious.
I put it back together and continued on, buying cheap 10W-40 to use to top it off.
It got to the point that I added oil every so often without even pulling the dipstick.
Did need to clean the plugs pretty often since they would get oil fouled more often than one would have liked.
I removed the head and saw the scores in the bores and the cause was obvious.
I put it back together and continued on, buying cheap 10W-40 to use to top it off.
It got to the point that I added oil every so often without even pulling the dipstick.
Did need to clean the plugs pretty often since they would get oil fouled more often than one would have liked.
Only vehicle I ever had that started burning oil was my 2003 Tribute V-6. At about 180k miles it started using more and more oil and got up to about a quart in 1500 miles from EGR valve and intake manifold problems that finally broke the crank.
I've had several:
1. A 1993 Chrysler Fifth avenue. Used a quart every 1500 miles from new. Get rid of it at 68K when the transmission went out and apparently could not be repaired properly under 7/70 warranty.
2. My first car, a 1968 Mercury Montego convertible. Used about a quart every 1500 miles. Liked the car, so had the valve seals redone. Was fine after.
3. My college car was a 1979 Ford LTD. It consumed about 2 quarts per tank of gas. Dealt with it by buying cheap oils by the case. Didn't even bother taking them out of the trunk. It made it through college graduation. It had 80K on it at dismissal.
4. I had a 2000 Ford Taurus that started using a quart every 2-3K at about 200K. No big deal. Topped it off with some 10w30 that I had handy in my stash from prior endeavors.
5. Same thing as #4 with the Ranger in my signature. Top it off with whatever is handy and keep motoring.
1. A 1993 Chrysler Fifth avenue. Used a quart every 1500 miles from new. Get rid of it at 68K when the transmission went out and apparently could not be repaired properly under 7/70 warranty.
2. My first car, a 1968 Mercury Montego convertible. Used about a quart every 1500 miles. Liked the car, so had the valve seals redone. Was fine after.
3. My college car was a 1979 Ford LTD. It consumed about 2 quarts per tank of gas. Dealt with it by buying cheap oils by the case. Didn't even bother taking them out of the trunk. It made it through college graduation. It had 80K on it at dismissal.
4. I had a 2000 Ford Taurus that started using a quart every 2-3K at about 200K. No big deal. Topped it off with some 10w30 that I had handy in my stash from prior endeavors.
5. Same thing as #4 with the Ranger in my signature. Top it off with whatever is handy and keep motoring.
SammyChevelleTypeS3
$50 site donor 2023
Lucky as heck here I supposed. I have never owned any motor vehicle at any time that burned oil. Not even the first used beaters I owned.
Guess those were well cared for by the previous owners before me.
Guess those were well cared for by the previous owners before me.
I think we need to first define what constitutes an oil burner.
An engine that is proven to have no external leaks is a starting point. Then, one that doesn't lose more than X amount of oil in Y amount of engine hours? What else?
An engine that is proven to have no external leaks is a starting point. Then, one that doesn't lose more than X amount of oil in Y amount of engine hours? What else?
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Well I wouldn't call any of them trye oil burners but with the number of vehicles I've had north of 300K I have had some that loose oil between changes. I wouldn't really call adding a half quart or so every 5K a real burner. Thats sort of a semantics thing though.
An engine can burn oil and leak oil at the same time.
I would say the amount that clogs up the cats or causes other problems like fowled plugs is the problem. Not sure when that is?
They sure can leak and burn at the same time, but if burn rate is very low while total oil loss is considerable then is it an oil burner?
SammyChevelleTypeS3
$50 site donor 2023
So what will it be called if one does not lose any amount of oil between oci. Meaning never adding oil to the sump before the next oil change.
2000 Cadillac Deville used a shocking amount of oil. Leaked and burned. The Northstar way. Still ran fine with 180k miles but torque converter was on its way out and was having trouble with the smog test so we just got rid of it for $1200. Still looked great. Also had a Saturn SL1. Maybe 1999? It burned quite a bit as it got old.
Well it depends on how we define oil burner - per your question, but there independant measures. Of course the issue is measuring which loss comes from which problem?
Per my post, I would say if it causes no operational problems then its not really a "oil burner" in my book. Although I don't know what you call it. A closet oil burner
. Plenty of OEM's spec an allowable usage, so that would be my definition. But others may have a different definition. 
ls1mike
$50 Site Donor 2025
The only that used any oil was the WS6. Like 1/2 a quart every 3000 to 4000 miles. Never really had an oil burner.
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