Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Duratec Maintenance Oil burning in the 2.5L - Y or N... anyone?

ive got 100k on my 97 and about 10k ago i was 1/2 to 1/3 down for a few oil changes (every 2500-3000 miles) turns out i must have not been getting the level right. the last few changes i have not lost a drop. maybe that is the problem with yours. i would also use the cardboard like one of the other guys said. my lil bros developed a leak at the pan.

if your car is only loosing 1 quart over 5,000 miles it may not necessarily indicate that the engine is burning the oil. There are several factors that dictate the ammount of oil an engine consumes, the 2 biggest are the volitility (tendency to evaporate when heated) and your driving habbits.

There's other things as well, such as the oil may not start to get consumed until it gets to, say, 3,000 miles, after that some of the oil's physical properties start to degrade due to thermal breakdown and contamination from combustion by-products. As the oil degrades it becomes more volitile or more likely to evaporate. So, in most cases the engine isn't burning the oil, the oil is just evaproating.

So to combat this try either changing the oil more often, or switch brands.

I never noticed any oil loss at all until about 75K mi. Now it's a little less than 1/2 quart every 5K mi. or so.

133k miles and never low between or at changes with Mobil 1.

Scott

I lose about 5.5qts every 4 months.



It just pours out of the oil pan.

It's so bad I have to refill the entire engine with 6 more fresh qts of Mobil 1.


I figure I might as well change the filter too; So I do...

Yes, I have that problem too!! Intermittent massive leak from the pan. Every 5000 km (like clockwork). Luckily I always seem to be close by when it happens.

In the case of my 1998 Duratec, it's a "Yes".

From the time I bought the car from CarMax at 17K mi, the engine always has been prone to use (as opposed to visibly burn) oil. Although CarMax gussied-up the car before putting it in the showroom, one thing they didn't do was replace the OEM rubber (apparently using a micrometer, CarMax determined the tires met inspection requirements ... Those bad boys came off pronto).

The sorry condition of the tires clued me the previous owner must have been your garden-variety, automotive know-nothing who gets on the throttle from Mile One. Based on the tire "forensics", the engine and MTX underwent an immediate conversion to Amsoil 100% synth oil and ATF.

Now, at 55K, based on small top-offs every 3-4 refuelings, I'd guesstimate it's using a quart of oil every 4000-4200 miles. No smoke out the pipes or anything scary -- yet. But even with the Amsoil, I'm only hoping it buys me more time -- like another 40K mi -- before whatever latent damage the original owner may have done becomes a maintenence issue.

Yep I use about 1 quart every 3000 to 5000 miles. Nothing to be concerned about...