I just bought a 97 F-150 with a 137K miles on it. I love the truck. I do wonder if this is an issue or not. Right when you start the truck up for a few seconds it smokes out the exhaust. The owner told me that it would be about a quart of oil low on 3000 miles. Does anyone have any idea what may be wrong with it?

 

Most likely the valve guide seals have shrunk over time allowing oil to enter the combustion chamber. Could be worn rings. Let the truck idle for several minutes and have some one hit the gas, look for a tell-tale puff of blue smoke. If you see smoke, its the valve guide seals. Having them replaced is expensive and may not be worth it on a 10 year old truck. Some people report less oil consumption with a dual rated 15w-40 oil. You may want to experiment. But hey, oil's cheap and a quart every 3K is isn't that much.