I own a 2003 f-150 with a 5.4 (43,000 miles) and I have noticed that it eats about a quart oil every three thousand miles. When I bought the truck it had 40,000 miles and I changed the oil right after the purchase using pennzoil 5w-30. When I changed the oil, I checked the dip-stick after filling and it was right under the MAX mark. One thousand miles later @ 41,000 the oil level was just above the half way point between the MIN and MAX marks. Just before I changed the oil @ 43,000 miles the level was at the MIN mark. It appears that the truck is burning the oil because it is not leaking. Just wondering, is this normal? Is it something I should get checked out soon? Has anyone else experienced this? Should I use a different oil? Thanks, Dave K.

 

If you can find a leak, fix it. If not, don't worry. A quart between oil changes is not a lot of oil. My truck has always burned a fair ammount, and so has my dads. My dad bought his new, and it has burned oil ever since. Ya know what though, My truck doesn't burn as much now as it used to. I've got over 160,000 miles on it.

I know this is a little off topic, but, my dad bought a tractor in 1979 (I think) and it would burn a gallon of oil a day. The John Deere place said that if it wasn't over a gallon a day, it was normal. It took several years, but it gradually burned less and less. Now (14,000 tach hours later) it doesn't burn any oil. Just keep an eye on the oil and you'll be ok.

 

Thats not too uncommon...mine burns about 1/2 qt every 3k miles, which is more than acceptable as far as I am concerned.

Ford wont consider oil burning a problem unless you burn 1 qt after 900 miles

 

Which makes sense. If your truck is burning a quart every 900 miles, that's a very small ammount leaking past something at a very slow rate. It would be hard to diagnose and expensive to fix. A couple of quarts of oil are purty cheap compared to major engine work.

 

same here.

 

Thanks guys, looks like it's a normal thing for these motors to burn a little oil. Dave K.