Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General What?s Normal Oil Consumption in a Non-SVT Duratec?

By the time this post gets viewed, I bet there will be lots of SZ?d, partied-out CEGers? who won?t give a !@#$. Anyway I?m still sitting on the fence regarding what abnormal oil consumption is. I believe that my ?96 2.5l uses about a quart every 2,000+ miles. On the one hand, Chris Hightower sez I?m due for a rebuild; on the other hand Dan (147 mph!) Nixon sez slap on a KKM and Bassini and ?let ?er rev!? Click and Clack (yea, they?re clowns, but MIT grads just the same?) have stated repeatedly that you?d have a tough time getting a new car warranty to pay for repair/ rebuild based on excessive oil consumption, if the consumption wasn?t greater than a quart every 1,000 miles.

Making all of this really confusing is the fact that Fred Beans Ford always refilled about 5.2 quarts ? after the filter was changed! This meant that I had to watch the damn thing like a hawk, and add a quart after about 500 miles of driving. Then I pretty much forgot about daily/ weekly oil checks until right before the 3,000 mile oil change (I got a new mechanic!). All in all the oil level?s never been below the add line. I drive the car hard, around 70 miles/ day, much at 65 mph (yea, whatever). The emissions are perfect, and there are no leaks. I guess it?s time to gauge the ?Tour?s oil use extra carefully. Thoughts and observations are welcome!


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M. Man
Midnight [red] Rambler
(stock '96 SE 2.5 MTX with just about everything replaced)

I just changed my oil yesterday...

don't know if this helps or means anything...but i checked the dipstick before changing my oil and it was still at 'full' after 3000 miles. i added 5.8 quarts of mobile 1 synth...

I have no oil consumption on my Cougar,
but I have heard of 1 qt/1000miles as being normal(a dealer told some cougar owner this)

I feel that oil consumption in a newer modern car is unacceptable.

I drove my 97 GL Duratec 69,000 miles - performed all oil changes myself usually at 4000 mile intervals. The oil registered nearly full on the dipstick when ever I would check it between changes - so my Duratec's oil consumption was very minimal.

Almost none between changes at 3,000 miles.Aquart per 1,500 or so is not too drastic though. Maybe time for the 3.0 conversion or a rebuild with a Vortec!!!!

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Andy V.
99 SE Sport
KKM,No Res,Dual exh.
17" Cellos-225/45/17 Sumitomos
vannanthony@hotmail.com
Semper Fidelis

Most car manufacturers still go by the 1qt./1000 mile rule. My 95SE uses about a qt. per 2500 miles. I am from the OF's "6 qts is better" school. I monitor my oil religiously and ALWAYS TOP OFF IMMEDIATELY.DO NOT WAIT TILL YOUR ARE DOWN 1/4 OR 1/2 A QUART TO ADD. Running these engines hard any other way is a crapshoot. BTW, I have 111k on my baby and rev it to at least 4k on most shifts. At 2k per quart I would not worry. Drive and enjoy your car!!!!!

I never used burnt or lost any oil in any of my cars! Except when I had a leaky valve cover gasket! (Tempo)

With 82,000 "hard driven" miles, my car is at the full mark after 3000 miles.

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Clinton
'96 T-Red Contour SE V6 ATX

If you drive mostly highway you should have slightly higher oil consumption. Your's doesnt seem bad so I wouldn't do a rebuild. I've got a '99 cougar with 29k on it drive about 40 highway miles a day and use less than 1 quart every 5000 miles between mobil 1 changes.

I used to think my Contour used about 1 quart every 4K. Until I saw the mess on the backside of the engine. Now I think it's a valve cover gasket leaking.

It doesn't drip when parked, but a valve cover would only leak while running.

Brian