Twisted

Thanks for the reply, 92. So does yours actually drip? Does your car appear to be consuming oil? Mine doesn't ever drip, that's why it's hard for me to imagine it accounting for a quart per 1k--or even a half a quart for that matter.

5.0carlo

What does it mean if ur car is consuming oil and u have a smoke coming from ur exhaust. Not a whole bunch but when i punch it i can tell and also when i have been sitting with the car running for a lil while.

Twisted

It means either the rings are bad, or your valve seals are bad. Does it smoke at startup?

Twisted

Incidentally, I just realized that an oil leak I thought I'd fixed is actually still leaking. My oil drain plug insists on leaking, even though I just replaced the washer with a nylon/plastic one from Ford. Hopefully when I get this leak stopped, I will notice less oil consumption.

g2_5point0

my drain plugs leaked for a bit. i went back under and tightened them like hell (not too crazy though) and now they're good to go

Twisted

Thanks. It seems like I can tighten the plug like crazy, and then a week or two later, it's loose and leaking again. I think I need to get rid of these plastic washers. It sucks though, cuz I just changed my oil.

5.0stanger

If you were losing 1 quart per 1000 miles due to a leak, it would be noticable. If you have ever spilled or dumped a quart of oil on the floor, you will amazed at the area it will cover. I am in about the same boat as far as using oil and no leaks. My motor area is basically dry...no drips...but I still use about a quart every 1000 to 1500 miles and my plugs look good too. I don't notice a ton of smoke either, but I am sure that a worn motor is the culpret in my case. I have about 120,000 miles, probably half of them the tires were spinning I replaced my valve seals last winter with hope of fixing it, but no luck...still have good compression, but I feel a rebuild in my future, just not sure on how soon

Twisted

Thanks, 5.0stanger. Actually, the leak is noticeable (the one I thought I'd fixed). The car has been in the garage for a day or two, and there is an oil spot almost the size of my palm under the drain plug. It's just so hard to visualize amounts like that though. I read something on the net that said that if you dripped a drop of oil every 20 feet, you would leak a quart in 100 miles. Seems like there are some variables missing in that equation, but it sort of helps me to visualize the effect of a leak on oil level. But I still can't quite wrap my head around it. What I was most confused about was the rear main seal leak, as it never drips. I'll be interested to see what happens when I get this drain bolt issue squared away. Thanks again.

Twisted

By the way, does anyone know why I can't find my old post on nylon/plastic drain plug washers from a couple of weeks ago? I've tried a bunch of searches, but nothing comes up.