is oil consumption normal?
Thread Starter
1st Gear Member
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 91
From:
is oil consumption normal?
my 99 stang has 30k miles on it. It was garage kept by previously owner (adult) and runs great. Im a maintenance nut and ALWAYS warm up the engine and i use mobil 1 10-30. I change the oil every 2500 miles with filter of course. It seems that by the time its time to change the oil, the oil level on the dipstick goes from the top (where it was originally) to about 1/4 in the OK zone or less at time of oil change. The engine isnt burning any oil visibly nor do i smell it. Is this normal?!?!?
Obviously, theres nothing i can do about it unless it gets really bad and then ill have to look towards expensive solutions.
KEEP IN MIND, THAT I STREET RACE/DRIVE HARD EVERY WEEKEND OF THOSE 2500 MILES...PLUS, ALTHOUGH I DONT BEAT ON MY CAR, I DO HAVE A HEAVY FOOT WHEN IT COMES TO SPEED.
any help would be appreciated.
Obviously, theres nothing i can do about it unless it gets really bad and then ill have to look towards expensive solutions.
KEEP IN MIND, THAT I STREET RACE/DRIVE HARD EVERY WEEKEND OF THOSE 2500 MILES...PLUS, ALTHOUGH I DONT BEAT ON MY CAR, I DO HAVE A HEAVY FOOT WHEN IT COMES TO SPEED.
any help would be appreciated.
5th Gear Member
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 2,055
From: North Cacalaky
RE: is oil consumption normal?
About a 1/2 a quart or so between every oil change is fine,now when it go's to about 2 quarts then start worring.Until then just keep a check on it and maybe try running a little thicker oil and see what happens.
3rd Gear Member
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 542
From:
RE: is oil consumption normal?
You likely don't have any problems. The oil consumption is normal. I have a 5.0 and it has always used about an inch worth of oil as measured on the stick between 3000 mile changes. Ford has a huge "safe zone" marked on the stick so that no gets alarmed about the oil consumption. With the 5L motors Ford used low tension oil rings which allow more oil to pass by and I assume the 4.6 is the same way. I think the technical definition that Ford uses when an engine uses oil is 1 quart in 700 miles. If oil consumption goes below that point and a car is under warrantee they will replace the engine.
. ya, ur fine. you know is tested that adding a supercharger to it will reduce the oil consumption [8D]
Thread Starter
1st Gear Member
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 91
From:
RE: is oil consumption normal?
alright, let me clarify my question. I know that it cant be anything too bad becasue theres no visible oil or smell.
So in that sense, i KNOW it is ACCEPTABLE or not bad enough to cause alarm...yet.
What im trying to determine is if my level of oil consumption was caused by increased wear due to lack of maintenance by previous owner, contamination, or even normal wear and tear for that matter...or do these engines do that from day 1? Basicallly, im asking....if i was to purchase a brand new 04 GT and put 32k miles on it (maintaining it very well) would that engine be consuming the oil the same way mine does?
Can you kinda see what im asking now? Another words, is this consumption a natural and inherant characteristic of the v8 4.6 design from mile 1, or is it a sign of wear? Thanks for any help.
I remember hearing some oil consumption was normal regardless the mileage of an engine, so i want to see how my engine stands in comparison.
So in that sense, i KNOW it is ACCEPTABLE or not bad enough to cause alarm...yet.
What im trying to determine is if my level of oil consumption was caused by increased wear due to lack of maintenance by previous owner, contamination, or even normal wear and tear for that matter...or do these engines do that from day 1? Basicallly, im asking....if i was to purchase a brand new 04 GT and put 32k miles on it (maintaining it very well) would that engine be consuming the oil the same way mine does?
Can you kinda see what im asking now? Another words, is this consumption a natural and inherant characteristic of the v8 4.6 design from mile 1, or is it a sign of wear? Thanks for any help.
I remember hearing some oil consumption was normal regardless the mileage of an engine, so i want to see how my engine stands in comparison.
2nd Gear Member
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 294
From:
RE: is oil consumption normal?
its imposible to have 0 oil consumtion. there will be a thin layer of oil that isnt swept off by the oil ring and burned in the cumbistion process. the harder you drive also affects oil consumtion due to the fact it gets thiner as it gets hotter and alot of extra heat is generated when you are led footed
Gentleman's Relish
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 13,189
From: AZ
RE: is oil consumption normal?
ORIGINAL: aftershock00
alright, let me clarify my question. I know that it cant be anything too bad becasue theres no visible oil or smell.
So in that sense, i KNOW it is ACCEPTABLE or not bad enough to cause alarm...yet.
What im trying to determine is if my level of oil consumption was caused by increased wear due to lack of maintenance by previous owner, contamination, or even normal wear and tear for that matter...or do these engines do that from day 1? Basicallly, im asking....if i was to purchase a brand new 04 GT and put 32k miles on it (maintaining it very well) would that engine be consuming the oil the same way mine does?
Can you kinda see what im asking now? Another words, is this consumption a natural and inherant characteristic of the v8 4.6 design from mile 1, or is it a sign of wear? Thanks for any help.
I remember hearing some oil consumption was normal regardless the mileage of an engine, so i want to see how my engine stands in comparison.
alright, let me clarify my question. I know that it cant be anything too bad becasue theres no visible oil or smell.
So in that sense, i KNOW it is ACCEPTABLE or not bad enough to cause alarm...yet.
What im trying to determine is if my level of oil consumption was caused by increased wear due to lack of maintenance by previous owner, contamination, or even normal wear and tear for that matter...or do these engines do that from day 1? Basicallly, im asking....if i was to purchase a brand new 04 GT and put 32k miles on it (maintaining it very well) would that engine be consuming the oil the same way mine does?
Can you kinda see what im asking now? Another words, is this consumption a natural and inherant characteristic of the v8 4.6 design from mile 1, or is it a sign of wear? Thanks for any help.
I remember hearing some oil consumption was normal regardless the mileage of an engine, so i want to see how my engine stands in comparison.
3rd Gear Member
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 542
From:
RE: is oil consumption normal?
I'll answer it again in a different way...it's totally normal and doesn't necessarily have anything to do with lack of maintenance. My car did it from day one. Look up low tension oil rings on the net and you'll see that using them causes an increase in oil consumption over the standard oil rings. Lot's of vehicles are using them and experience increased oil consumption. Using a little oil is not a bad thing.