I noticed that the engine started to burn oil. It burns about 1qt every 2000 miles. I have 154K on a 4.2L. I was wondering if there is a pcv valve or something that needs to be replaced that would cause me to start using oil. I do not see any leaks.

Thanks for anyones help.

 

Does it burn it so there is blue smoke all the time or just at start up or after idel and aceleration. Do a compression test. If a cylinder is low squirt three pumps of oil and retest. If the compression goes up it a ring if it dont its a valve.

 

No it does not have any blue smoke coming out the tale pipe when you decelerate or accelerate or when you first start the motor. I know on some old motors if you have a clogged pcv valve it will cause you to burn oil. I could not tell if the engine has one or not. I always changed my oil at 3K and I never had to add oil. It would burn about 1/2 quart every 3K miles. I only have 2K miles on this oil change and it needs 1 quart.

Thanks for any additional comments.

 

If the pcv stops up you may experience blowby or vapor come out the crankcase. Does in smoke when you take off the oil filler cap while running of course. Make sure there is good vacume to the pcv if it has one wich I bet there is and remove it shake it if it rattles its good .

 

That is what I was wondering. Does it have a pcv and if it does were is it.

 

What year is it? PVC usually comes out of the valve cover at the left rear.

 

FYI, Anything less than a quart every 900 miles is considered 'normal' for the modular engines. While most on here (including myself) don't agree with that spec, that is, in fact, Ford's official policy.

-Joe

 

1 quart per 1000 miles is absolutely no issue. My truck has been using a quart about every 1200 miles for the last 150,000 miles. Occasionally there will be a light puff of smoke at start up or if it idles for more than 5 minutes. The consumption has not changed in this timeframe. There is no impending engine failure. Power, economy, and emissions are all fine. Don't get caught in the burning oil trap. It's really not a big deal unless you're someone that won't check your oil between changes.

 

I agree dont get traped. How ever I would want to rule out any bad stuff happening first. It would drive me crazy not knowing. My 94 started using oil and got worse. It had two broke rings. My 04 doesent use a drop.

 

dptyscott it is a '98. Thanks for everyones advice. I guess I just won't worry about that small consumption of oil.

 

LOL- yeah a truck should burn oil............just keep telling yourself that.

 

a quart every 900 miles is crap. they say that so they don't have to do as much warranty work. they could make it a quart every 500 miles and get away with it. if i was using exactly 1 quart every 900 miles, that would be expensive and i would look for a problem

 

I agree at 2-3 dollars a quart that woul get old fast. and like I said earlyer I want to know where its going.

 

Do you have a reading comprehension problem or some basic lack of understanding of the internal combustion engine or logic? Over the last 150,000 miles I've put about $150 of oil in the engine. The oil the engine has caused me no issues whatsoever. OBVIOUSLY, it would be tremendously stupid economically to replace the engine for $3000 when all that was necessary was to keep any eye on things and add an occasional quart.

Jim has 150,000+ miles on his truck. The whole truck is probably worth less than the cost of the engine swap. If his oil usage changes drastically or there is consistently visible smoke, maybe he should start to worry. Until then, my suggestion was that he should steer the same course I have for the last 150,000 miles without issue. You don't have to believe me. I would be ticked off if my brand new $30,000 truck was using a quart every 1000 miles, but it does not scare me at all for a 100,000+ mile engine to use that amount of oil.

As for my logic and understanding of the IC engine, I graduated for Wyoming Tech in automotive service and repair and worked for auto repair shops for about 5 years while getting a mechanical engineering degree from Purdue. I'm not the smartest guy in the world, but I do understand the internal combustion engine.

 

Well I don't have the education you have but I don't have a reading comprehension problem either. I'm a deputy sheriff and i write many reports and arrest tickets. I have also been crawling around cars since i was 6 and I know first hand it doesn't cost 3000 to fix an oil burner unless you pay someone to put in a new motor cause your afraid to get dirty. Lose the attitude and try not to sound so condescending.