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Unusual Oil Consumption

5K views 9 replies 4 participants last post by  R.S.LOGAN 
#1 ·
Hello. I'm writing today with an unusual case of oil consumption. My 2006 5.4 3V burns about 1 quart of oil every 2400 miles or so. A family member has the same vehicle with the same engine, and it burns about 1 quart every 8 thousand miles of the same synthetic oil. My first guess was piston rings. However, my vehicle seems to have more torque than their's, which leads me to believe that my engine has better compression.

Then, I thought about valve seals. I see a very faint, vapor like discharge from the exhaust on the first start of the day. But it doesn't appear to be of any significance, and it's certainly not blue. My vehicle has an odometer reading of 120,000 miles.

Also, I have verified that no oil is leaking from the car. If I can provide any additional information, please let me know. I think the Ford limit of "1 quart per 1000 miles" is a bunch of hoo-ha.

What do you all think about this? What should I do next? Thanks.
 
#2 ·
Check the pcv lines and behind the throttle body. Oil consumption is a common problem with the 3v's. Its very common for people to run catch cans because of this but that does seem a little excessive. Have you put a vacuum gauge on a vac line while running or done a compression test?
 
#3 ·
Thank you for the reply. I checked the PCV line from the PCV valve to the intake manifold, and it was dry. There was some carbon buildup in the line. I have not used a vacuum gauge or done a compression test. I have recorded a video of the exhaust haze I have noticed, if that would be of any help. The video can be found at https://youtu.be/4aPjp1Q0OR8. The haze is obviously very faint, but I wanted to mention it. I would imagine that if low compression were causing that amount of oil consumption, there would be other symptoms. Although, I am certainly no expert. Does the video look normal to you?
 
#4 ·
Thank you for the reply. I checked the PCV line from the PCV valve to the intake manifold, and it was dry. There was some carbon buildup in the line. I have not used a vacuum gauge or done a compression test. I have recorded a video of the exhaust haze I have noticed, if that would be of any help. The video can be found at https://youtu.be/4aPjp1Q0OR8. The haze is obviously very faint, but I wanted to mention it. I would imagine that if low compression were causing that amount of oil consumption, there would be other symptoms. Although, I am certainly no expert. Does the video look normal to you?
Hmm I wouldnt worry too much about that but if it happens every time you idle then it could be your problem. Which pcv line did you check? The passengers side on my mustang is always dry its the drivers side thats bad for me. I deleted the charge motion plates in that car and when I pulled the intake it was caked in oil residue.

If you do have low compression it wouldnt necessarily have any other noticeible side effects other than burning oil. Now if its low enough then you would be noticing other symptoms like bad gas milage, no power, spark knock, upper end tick.. Have you checked your spark plugs? What does your coolant look like?
 
#5 ·
I didn't know there were two PCV lines, so thank you for telling me. They are both fairly clear. There is also no oil residue in the intake, thanks for letting me know to look. I haven't checked spark plugs. I had them changed a couple of months ago at the dealer, but this was a problem before that. I will check them this weekend. I changed the coolant recently, despite having 120,000 miles of use, the old coolant was crystal clear. I plan to check compression this weekend, and I will report back. Don't you hate the feeling when your mind starts to wander? When the hood is open, I can see slight movement of the engine, like a vibration. I am beginning fret about poor compression in one cylinder. I would imagine that if compression were low in one cylinder, then the engine would run "asymmetrically" (please forgive my incorrect terminology), and perhaps that would cause the slight vibration I am seeing.
 
#6 ·
Yep theres a line going from the passenger side valve cover to the intake tube and one from the drivers side valve cover to the intake.

Since you have the early 3v heads Id advise you to only do the spark plugs if you feel confident in doing so and have the carlisle tool. I borrowed one from a member of ModdedMustangs and boy it was handy. I only had 1 break but the tool is the only thing that can extract the broken plug. Its not a hard job its just nerve racking when you do it for the first time. I used a 30" breaker bar and no penatrating oil and still got 7 out of 8 plugs out without breaking. Thats good that the coolant was good, it could be a failing head gasket between 2 cylinders or lifting under load. A compression test will tell the whole story.

About a vibration in the motor, thats normal especially for a v8. Our motors are not even fire, meaning that the firing order is not even. For example, look at our firing order 1-3-7-2-6-5-4-8, look at the motor and youll see that 1 and 3 and 6 and 5 are sequential yet are on the same bank so two cylinders will fire one after another on the same bank. An even fire would be like the 3.8 v6, 1-4-2-5-3-6. Look at the motor and youll see that there are no 2 sequential cylinders on the same bank so its like bank 1, bank 2. Have I lost you yet? Lol. I would check the oil for color and the coolant for color.
 
#7 ·
I would like to apologize to anyone that has been following this thread. I have had to take a break from my car for a while, so I haven't checked the compression. I changed my oil today, and decided to look into the oil fill hole via an endoscope. The results were unexpected. I have attached images. There appears to be some sort of black deposit inside the valve cover, and I can pull some out with my finger (as pictured). I suspect this is the result of extended OCIs. I can thank the previous owner for that.

I've never understood how some people can go through life with a bare minimum dedication to anything. Not only cars, but jobs, relationships, and everything else. "I'm not going to let the dealership scam me! I'm not stupid! I'm going to get my oil changed every 15,000 miles!" "I know the owner's manual specifies that the use of a high octane fuel is required, but I think I'll just use regular. I don't know why." "I'd love to go to lunch with you, but I'd much rather watch TV at home."

I don't mean to go on about it, but I truly dedicate 100% to everything. Anyway, here are the images. I wonder if this deposit formation is somehow related to the oil consumption.
 

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#9 ·
Hello everyone. I'm sorry it has taken me so long to give some closure on this issue. A compression test revealed normal levels. The way I understand it, a compression test doesn't indicate much about the condition of the oil control rings, so I assumed mine were worn. I was reading about an oil additive called Kreen, which is made here in Nashville. The theory is that a lot of oil consumption issues are caused by carbon buildup on piston rings, which Kreen is designed to remove. After my third Kreen treatment, the oil consumption issue seems to be resolved. It would stand to my layman's reasoning that carbon buildup on piston rings was causing the oil consumption.

I'm not affiliated with Kreen in any way, but I am impressed with what it seemingly has done for my engine. I probably wouldn't have considered it if it weren't made about 30 minutes away.

Thanks very much to you guys for the helpful insight while I was dealing with the issue. All the best.
 
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