Has any one had any problem with their 5.4 motor using oil. I
have a 2001 SuperCrew. Had to add 2qt. between oil changes.

 

Take it into the dealer while it's still under warranty!!! Let us 5.4L owner's know what you find out.

 

No--none--check your PCV?

Dan

 

Check with your dealer to see what the spec on oil consumption is. I believe it is something on the order of 1qt in 900 miles before Ford will authorize warranty work. However, please verify this with your dealer.

My 5.4 burns about 1 qt in 3000 miles, which seems to be pretty typical.

 

mine doesn't use any oil,and i have 45,000 very hard driven miles on it.they should do somethin before you start usin a quart every 900 miles.

 

A really basic questions.

Are you sure you're reading the dipstick correctly?

Reason I ask this question is because our engines take 6 qts of oil and that only brings the level up to about half way on the dipstick. In other words, with the proper amount of oil in the engine, it should not come close to the max fill line. Some owners add another qt or so which brings it up to the max line, but this is not necessary.

The best way I've found to check the oil level is to check it right after an oil/filter change where 6 qts of oil is added. Check it twice. Once soon after the engine is shut off, such as would be the case when you go to the service station and once again in the morning after the truck has been sitting overnight.

 

PR6 --

That's awesome trhat yours isn't using any oil! I wish I coud say the same for mine, but the fact is the the 5.4s have a pretty wide spread on oil consumption. Some are great, and some are not so hot.

Going on with Dennis' comment, I ran into a fella at a dealership a few months ago who was complaing about his SuperDuty 5.4 was burning 1 qt in 900 miles. After talking with him, I found out that his 1qt in 900 mi came from him having to add 2 qts 1800 miles after a dealer low-filled the engine during an oil change. If the dealer would have filled it to the top of the line (taking 6.5 qts with a filter change), he would have only noticed a TRUE oil consumption of 1 qt in 1685 miles.

If you drive your truck in mostly low-speed or city driving, you'll have pretty good oil consumption (Mine hardly burns any during city driving), but as soon as you get it on the expressway or put a load in it, the engine tends to suck a little more oil because of the higher engine speeds and loads.

 

My 5.4 will use a quart in 3,000 miles. When 80% of that is highway miles to and from work. In the summer while I was pulling my boat it wasn't uncommon to use 1.5 qts in 3000 miles.
I haven't had any ill affects that I have noticed and I have 31,000 miles on mine. In a month I am pulling the plugs out and doing a compression check on mine before I hit the magic 36,000 miles just to make sure the internals are still happy......

 

Hey venom,

I used to work right across 94 from you. I worked for Connie Kalitta there at the Ypsilanti airport for 7 years...

 

ECM --

What a coincidence! I'm just down the road from the airport, in the Southport apartment complex on the North Service Dr. I just graduated from school, and moved up here in July for my job.

 

Interesting observation about the oil consumption. I thought it was strange that my truck did not use a drop in the first 8500 miles. I took 1 road trip for about 1200 miles and it used 1/2 qt. I thought that was a bunch of crap and went back do dino oil at 10k miles on the outside chance that the rings had to seat in a little more. Maybe due to the long stroke, short skirt. This is the first vehicle in years that I've had that uses any oil. And as for changing oil, 7 qts brings mine right to the top hole on the dip stick with a new 820s filter. I always top it right to the max. Long as it's not whipping to a froth, it can only be good.

 

it's always a disappointment when your engine uses oil. i tend to forget the mileage since the last time i checked the oil and then it always nags on me. i don't like to have to constantly think about it. i realize that you are discussing 5.4s here but my 4.2 consumes virtually nothing in a 5M oil change interval. i've only had one engine in 35 years of driving that used oil (quart/2,000) and it drove me nuts. but sometimes that's what you get through no fault of your own. in my mind, any consumption greater than quart/2M miles is excessive. i would certainly fight with ford on a quart per thousand.