Bah

VR3

Im dumb, Im almost 95% positive my truck uses 5 quarts of oil per change - but now Im second guessing and its to late to call the local auto parts store.

No luck finding it online either.

So now Im turning to the infinite knowledge base that is Club Polk.

RuSsMaN

Do you have a dipstick?

5 sounds about right for a 302.

hoosier21

RuSsMaN wrote:

Do you have a dipstick?

he is one

audiobliss

hoosier21 wrote:

he is one

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

Gold!!!

disneyjoe7

Why does a 302 burn that much oil?

Jstas

If you are burning through 5 quarts of oil before you change your oil then no oil would be coming out of the oil pan. Standard for a 302 without a towing package is 5 quarts and a filter. Towing packages can add an oil cooler which increases capacity by .5 to 1 quart.

Also, you should be noticing an extremely bright red light in the shape of an engine block and another one that says OIL (710 if you read it upside down) and both of them should be lit because no only are you low on oil but you have no oil pressure.

You are likely burning through 2 quarts of oil and might either be leaking some or getting blow-by and it's burning up during combustion. Either that or you engine is all clogged up with sludge and it's causing the oil to get trapped in places and get pushed out the PCV valve.

If you clean your engine regularly, you should be noticing leaks pretty easily. Check inside the throttle body for oily residue. Also, take a whiff of the exhaust. It shouldn't smell sweet or like a diesel truck. There should be no smoke save for water vapor which will dissapate quickly, even on a cold day. Oil smoke comes out in a puff and floats away. It doesn't just whisp off and disappear. Anti-freeze (coolant) doesn't just disappear either and it has a very distinct odor.

No matter what, you need to give more info. Just saying you think it's burning 5 quarts of oil between changes is not enough. Why do you think it's doing that?

shack

The capacity of a Ford 5.0 is 5 quarts...but you never get it to drain completely. Put in about 4 1/2, let it run a few, then cool and check again and add more if you need it.

audiobliss

Haha, he just worded it poorly. It's not burning 5 quarts...he was just saying he thinks he puts in 5 quarts every oil change.

However, he does say it goes through about a quart or two of oil...I forgot which. He says it comes up the air intake and messes up his air filter, so at every oil change he changes the oil, oil filter, and air filter and cleans out the air filter box.

That's about all I remember.

However, he also says that it usually runs fine...until it hits 3000 miles...oil change time...then it just runs really poorly. I've been trying to figure out what that could be.

dudeinaroom

put in 4-4.5 quarts check then turn it on run it for a min. turn it off give it another min. for the oil to settle down in the pan, check it again if it needs more add more

dudeinaroom

it's a FORD Truck, They love to drink oil. I think Ford plans it that way. I've heard guy say their brand new trucks will eat 4-7 quarts for the first 5,000 - 10,000 miles, then after the rings have set it'll drop to 2-5 quarts between changes

nadams

dudeinaroom wrote:

it's a FORD Truck, They love to drink oil. I think Ford plans it that way. I've heard guy say their brand new trucks will eat 4-7 quarts for the first 5,000 - 10,000 miles, then after the rings have set it'll drop to 2-5 quarts between changes

Well... it does keep the top end lubed better

My old 4.0 took 5 qts for a change. I usually used 1 quart between changes, unless I was doing a lot of towing or thrashing. Well, I was pretty much always doing one or the other (or both), so I usually put 1 qt in at the 1500mk and it was ready for another by the time I changed it

ben62670

Its called the Ford anti rust program. The engines coat the inside of the exhaust, and the inside of the engine compartment to keep those areas from rusting out. I love my small block Fords, but they all consumed oil, every one of them. Best engine I have every had to opportunity to abuse on a steady basis.

VR3

Im just doing an OIL change.

It consumes about 2 quarts every 3,000 miles.

Thanks for the confirmation of 5 quarts!

If it was burning 5 quarts of oil - jesus christ.

disneyjoe7

Ford small block burn oil, and this is considered normal. Hmmm.....

No wonder Honda and Toyota are regarded as better built vehicles.

Jstas

First off, any engine will burn oil. They all do, even Honduhs and Toyotas. It just happens. You get blow by, you get losses due to eveporation under high stress situations, you get stuff coming out the PCV system and even valve seals. You shouldn't really be burning more than a quart of oil in 2000 miles so it is not unusual in a high mileage motor to be down a quart and a half to two quarts. Newer cars are less likely to burn oil and shouldn't usually be down more than a half quart in most cases.

Ford small-blocks are not known for burning an Exxon Valdez amount of oil like some here would have you believe. At least not any more than any other V8 from Chevy or Dodge. The Windsor 302's have issues with rear-main seals leaking chronically and intake gaskets and head gaskets can bite the big one and leak oil too. There are also the PCV problems caused by sludge build-up but again, these aren't things attributable to Ford V8's only. They do tend not to drain all the oil, especially the dual sump pans. Trust me, I know. I've been running Fords for a long time, both Windsor blocks and mod-motors. I've also run Chevy and Dodge V8's and they all experience similar problems.

As far as new Fords having oil burning issues, you are grossly exaggerating with the 4-7 quarts. Again, your dummy lights should be lit up like a Christmas tree if that were the case. My 5.4L ate a quart and a half until the rings got seated properly. It still eats oil for one reason and one reason alone. Mod-motors have forged pistons. The forged pistons expand and contract to a greater degree than cast or hypereutectic pistons. Consequently, on cold days at start up you get alot of blow by until the engine heats up. Once that happens, no more oil burning. I have 78,000+ miles on my engine and I don't have oil problems. At least none that I wouldn't expect with forged pistons and a supercharger. Then again, it's not really a problem but a property of the material used to make the pistons. I'd trade a little blow-by for that added strength any day.

Lasty, sorry, I read shack's post and didn't seperate Trey's post and shacks post. I didn't really flip out, just came off that way. Sorry.

disneyjoe7

Say what you will but I know since I change my own oil, my Honda Accord burned or leaked less then 1/2 a quart in 6000 miles. It had 194k in it, and driven HARD.

VR3

I would say 80% of my oil comsumption with my truck is ALL blow by.

I have to clean out my intake once a week for the 3,000 mile period.

It has no visible leaks that I can find.

audiobliss

Now wait a minute. How is 'blow by' going to get into the intake? For that matter, how is ANY oil going to get into the intake? I really don't understand that...

[Deleted User]

Blow by will get into the combustion chamber and should be burnt off through the exhaust. If you have oil in the intake, your valve cover vent is leaking back through it. I had this problem with my supercharged B16. I had to get an overflow tank.

Joelsbass

nadams wrote:

Well... it does keep the top end lubed better

Just for the record....

Your mom keeps the top end lubed better!

audiobliss

Josh wrote:

Blow by will get into the combustion chamber and should be burnt off through the exhaust.

Ok, that's what I was thinking.

Josh wrote:

If you have oil in the intake, your valve cover vent is leaking back through it.

Valve cover vent? Gosh, now I'm really showing my ignorance.

disneyjoe7

Desludge that engine. <a href="http://www.auto-rx.com/">Link</a&gt;

Jstas

audiobliss wrote:

Valve cover vent? Gosh, now I'm really showing my ignorance.

Yeah, in Fords we call it the PCV Valve. Although some also have an oil breather cap which is essentially an oil cap with a hose coming out of it that plugs into the air filer housing so that the fumes from the oil get burned up in combustion. If you really are blowing liquid oil through that breather cap then that isn't so good. That is usually the only way oil is getting into an intake unless you have bad intake manifold gaskets. It's not unusual but if it is excessive, you need to do something to fix it.


Also, if you are going to de-sludge an engine with alot of miles, be warned, you run a very good risk of washing your seals and stripping oil out of them. If you do that, you will get leaks and it requires the engine to be removed and pretty much every gasket and seal replaced. That's not fun or cheap.

disneyjoe7

I haven't heard anything bad about Auto-Rx and must commits are it fixed seals. This is coming from people who know engines better then most people. www.bobistheoilguy.com

VR3

The thing about this truck...

I am going to baby it - 100%. I'll keep the fluids changed, Ill keep the intake changed - Ill change the oil every 3,000 miles on the dot. The whole nine yards.

But any major repairs, I am waving good bye to the truck. Its a great truck, but as far as I am concerned I want to drive it until my insurance gets down to a reasonable amount (out of that 3 year inexperienced driver period) - after that point, I will immediately track down a truck that is 3 or so years old at the most.

This truck is just to get me by, so while the fact alot of oil is going into the intake may be a bad thing - I am not nessicarially concerned with it either.

Honestly, the next person that gets this truck will probally have one of the best cared 1991 F150's on the road as far as I am concerned. The engine compartment is spotless, interior is spotless, exterior is waxed bimonthly. Regular fluid monitoring and changes - new radiator.

But Im not going to rebuild the engine or the tranny, to me its not worth it.

And I know Steve likes Honda - I know of several people that have owned Honda and absolutely hate them due to the fact they just seem to fall apart on a physical level more so than mechanical.

I love Toyota and Nissan though. Either one of those companies will most likely be my next truck.

disneyjoe7

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote:

And I know Steve likes Honda

Thanks I'm becoming a fan of Toyota also, since I now own a 4runner. It has a strong V6 engine with 105k I don't think its burning any oil, and I did an Auto-Rx treatment.


BTW I would seriously consider Auto-Rx for that engine. If Ford 302 still burns oil I'll be surprised after that treatment.

ben62670

disneyjoe7 wrote:

Ford small block burn oil, and this is considered normal. Hmmm.....

No wonder Honda and Toyota are regarded as better built vehicles.

I'd love to see a honda or toy do the work of a ford. Not going to happen

disneyjoe7

Ya Right Ben LOL


Oh yes I'm an American parents from America.

ledhed

ben62670 wrote:

I'd love to see a honda or toy do the work of a ford. Not going to happen

Honda barely has a truck so no, it cannot compete with GM or Ford. The Toyota on the other hand comes damn close. The only reason I'm not a fan of Toyota is all the weird glitches/problems I've had with my Avalon and I don't like the idea of Ford and GM falling taking the US economy with it.

Sid- You wax every 2 months?!:eek: Wow, I waxed my car once and I still can't get the wax out from around the door handle lol

VR3

I wax TWICE a month.

I pretty much detail my entire truck twice a month, waxing aside - particularly in the warmer months.