I have a 98 4.6L with 166,345 miles. Is it normal to burn a half a quart in 1500 miles? Is my motor worn out?

thanks for the information.


eric

 

I'd be happy if I had that many miles and that's all it burned.

 

A dealer will tell you that a quart every 1,000 miles is acceptable. You're at 1/3 of that. With that many miles and it's age, That is not bad at all.

 

Did the oil consumption suddenly increase? Did you change the brand or weight of oil at your last change?

I have found that oil consumption in my '00 4.6 varies greatly depending on which oil I use. If I use Motorcraft, the engine uses noticeably more oil than if I use Mobil 1. That's not a comment on the quality of one brand vs. another, just what I have observed in my truck. YMMV.

As bluejay said, the oil consumption is well within Ford specs and not in itself something to worry about.

 

I'll bet its leaking, not burning... your oil lines in front will tell the story

 

Besides the brand & weight of the oil, driving conditions can also be a factor in oil consumption and can cause it to vary.

For example, if you are doing a lot of engine braking down hills, you can burn much more oil, as the motor will be under high vacuum and will suck more oil in past the valve guides.

Burning a quart every 3,000 miles under normal driving is not so great, but not unexpected on that high a mileage motor.

If it otherwise runs good, I would just add oil between changes and keep on driving it. You can buy a lot of extra quarts of oil for what a motor rebuild costs, and it might not be financially feasible to rebuild yours or put another motor in (depending on the condition of the rest of the truck).

 

thanks for the info....

 

Running a Fram PCV valve can and most likley WILL cause excessive oil usage.