Oil Useage Question

[Ruby]

My 2002 F350 7.3 has 45800 on the odometer and is running great. I had the 45000 mile service at the dealer recently as required. I have always had the dealer change my oil/oil filter and they of course use the MC stuff not a problem. Up until my last service I have added 1-2 quarts of oil between the 5000 mark. The dealer has said in the past 1-2 quarts in some 7.3's are normal between oil changes. Well, as of now I have not added any oil in almost 900 miles, the level is staying right at the top of the hash marks. I'm guessing either up until now the oil filter or oil pan bolt may have been the cause or maybe the engine is finally broken in? Any ideas are appreciated.

Thanks
Ruby

 

[JR]

I can not say what causes the oil usage problem. I would say that the engine has probably been broke-in for some time now. I don't think that a quart or two over the duration of an oci for any engine that is worked hard is bad. I have several diesel equipment and gasoline equipment for that matter that I perform maintence on. And most use a little oil during oci's. I see that the older ones and the ones used hard day in and day out do have higher oil usage then new engines. I would not be worried about the one to two quarts. I am sorry but this is from my experiences if I am wrong as I do not own a 7.3 litre.
KC

 

[Hammer]

quote:

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Originally posted by Ruby:
My 2002 F350 7.3 has 45800 on the odometer and is running great. I had the 45000 mile service at the dealer recently as required. I have always had the dealer change my oil/oil filter and they of course use the MC stuff not a problem. Up until my last service I have added 1-2 quarts of oil between the 5000 mark. The dealer has said in the past 1-2 quarts in some 7.3's are normal between oil changes. Well, as of now I have not added any oil in almost 900 miles, the level is staying right at the top of the hash marks. I'm guessing either up until now the oil filter or oil pan bolt may have been the cause or maybe the engine is finally broken in? Any ideas are appreciated.

Thanks
Ruby

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Some have said that a 7.3 isn't fully broken in until it reaches 100,000 miles. Be happy that oil usage has dropped off.

Hammer

 

[Ruby]

I am not complainaing, just trying to figure out the reason. I'm hoping this trend will continue.

 

[Russ300H]

I do the factory recommended 6K OCI on my Cummins. It is down a quart at 3k and another quart when I go to change it. From what I've gathered, that usage rate is pretty standard for diesels used in pickups.
Complete break in should have occured by 20K max depending on how you use it. One thought comes to mind. Did you check the level right after the dealer did the service? It's possible the tech overfilled it and it's just now reading a correct level.

 

[Ruby]

Yes,I always check the oil before starting the truck, leaving the dealership. I do this because I want to be sure the oil level is where it should be, right on the full mark. I must say the oil level was always where it should be, no complaints with that. Russ300H, your question is a good question thanks for the thought. By the way, what kind of oil are you running in the Cummins? Although I own a Power Stroke, I hear many good things about the Cummins.

Thanks again,
Ruby

 

[reyjay1]

Light usage run 7.3's take a long time to break in fully, yours has just reached that point. As Hammer says , be glad it did.

 

[Ruby]

reyjay1

Thanks for the e-mail. I hope it stays like that, although if I only had to add a quart between changes, I still will not complain.


Ruby

 

[hone eagle]

Iam down about 2 liters in 4 months,my 7.3 has 144000 kilometers

 

[1040 WreckerMan]

I have seen ISB, ISC and 7.3 PSD (T444E's) that are run very easy take a long time to "break" in. Unlike gas engines, diesels are not run up at the factory to seat the rings. Several people have complained about their assigned trucks using oil, these are typically first line supervisor's trucks that don't work very hard. If I do find that they are using oil I'll hook them up to one of our small roll-offs and put a small crawler on it. After about 2 or 3 hours of pulling it's guts out they usually don't burn oil anymore. It usually is never too late to seat the rings (unless they are broken).

The 7.3 and T444E also had a lot of problems with the oil seal in the GTP38 Airesearch that Navistar used on those engines stock. The 7.3's have a "PCV" system that makes checking for a failed turbo oil seal a little more difficult. There will usually be an oil film inside the intake piping, but you shouldn't see oil seepage at any of the silicon hose connections in the intake piping.

Another source of oil consumption on 7.3's is the HEUI fuel system. It is quite common, even on low mileage engines, for injector O-Rings (both the internal and external, 7 total) to leak slightly. The ECM will compensate by matching the good injectors performance to the lowest, so many people never know they have a problem because the truck still runs smooth.

I wouldn't worry about a quart in 5k and sounds reasonable to me. Navistar says a quart in 700 miles is "acceptable" although I don't.

 

[racer12306]

one thing i have learned about breaking in cummins (and i assume other diesels) is to wait the 500 or so miles that they tell you not to tow anything and then stap on a nice big load and go pull it around for a little while. then it should be good and broken in.

have you noticed any increase in fuel consumption? i have heard that peak fuel economy is not achieved until total break in is reached.

 

[Ruby]

1040 WreckerMan,

Thanks for the information. You mentioned things I didn't realize, or thought of.

Ruby

 

[Ruby]

racer12306,

Thanks also for the response. I have not used my truck for any heavy pulling/carring since owning it. My fuel milage has not improved as far as I can tell.


Thanks
Ruby

 

[Vstrom]

quote:

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Originally posted by 1040 WreckerMan:
I have seen ISB, ISC and 7.3 PSD (T444E's) that are run very easy take a long time to "break" in. Unlike gas engines, diesels are not run up at the factory to seat the rings.

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According to people who have visited the 7.3 plant during it's production they most certainly are run up...wide open under load right off the line.

 

[1040 WreckerMan]

When I was at the plant they did not run up every engine. Only the first production run were test fired, after that only a few run. At least that was what I was told and saw when I was in the plant. This is also usually true for Cat, Cummins and Detroit. Obviously they could have changed that, I haven't been to any engine assembly plants in a few years.

I should have written the above statement better. Diesels are usually not run up from the factory, although some are. In fact all the Cats, Cummins, Detroits and Navistars I've ever bought (new, not reman) are shipped dry. A quick inspection will reveal assembly lube on many of the components.

Most truck manufactures do run the trucks after assembly. The Ford Kentucky plant and Kenworth's Renton facility both briefly chassis dyno’s trucks to ensure they are with in spec. None of this constitutes a "break in." A diesel needs quite a load for a lone time to properly and fully seat the rings.

 

[widman]

A point many people do not understand is that the rings are pushed against the cylinder walls (and therfore worn-in) by the presure from the combustion chamber flowing back behind them. If they are really solid and strong, it takes presure to seat them.