High mileage and oil consumption

[willxfs]

Just curious what ya'lls trucks were doing in terms of oil consumption over the course of an oil change interval.

My 2 door, 1998, 4wd has about 230k on the original engine. I have to add a whole quart inbetween 3000 mile oil change intervals.

I know I have a small leak somewhere but am unable to pinpoint it but really doubt that accounts for the quart that I have to add. I never see oil stains in the drive way, just a little oil near the starter, rear of oil pan and filter adaptor. Rear main seal has been changed recently when I replaced the tranny.

I'm thinking the high mileage engine just consumes alot of oil. No black/gray smoke out the tail pipe so I'm just wondering.

 

[noJeepshere]

When my engine doesn't leak oil physically, I have to put about a quart in it over the course of a 5,000 mile period. This last interval, I put 6,740 miles on the oil (Mobil1 full synthetic, still had some color) and used a whole quart. That kind of mileage isn't recommended for sure, but it was nice knowing that the oil kept doing its job that whole time. Mine has 194k on it now btw. For yours to lose a quart at that rate sounds perfectly normal, engines consume a little bit of oil naturally from the cylinder walls.

As for your leak, look closely in the V on the driver side where the intake manifold meets the cylinder head, you might see some oil there. If so, your valve cover gasket is leaking, but it's enough work to justify just leaving it until it gets worse, which may be never. If not, I suspect your oil cooler lines. They're not the most well-engineered part by any means, and start to crack and leak with age, especially if it gets cold (below 0 cold) where you live.

 

[willxfs]

Thanks for the reply nojeeps. I've looked around alot trying to find the oil leak but no luck. I replaced the oil cooler lines a couple of years ago and will double check them next time I'm under the rig. I've also changed the valve cover gaskets a year ago when I redid the lower intake manifold gaskets. The mechanic that installed my tranny said it looked like it was coming from around the distributor. He said maybe an O ring was lost when I had it out doing the lower intake gaskets. I dunno. The leak cant be that bad if I dont see oil in the driveway or at work where the truck lives during the work week.

I'm really just curious about how other high mileage 350's are using oil. A quart over 3000 miles sounds pretty normal for 230k miles-I guess. Thanks again.

 

[Donnie Yukonie]

i use about a quart in a 3000 mile interval but i do have a small leak/sweat at the oil filler neck

 

[SunlitComet]

13,000 no oil added and run synthetic.

---------- Post added at 04:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:59 PM ----------

i do see residue around the valve cover on left tho. no biggie

 

[willxfs]

13,000 no oil added and run synthetic.

---------- Post added at 04:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:59 PM ----------

i do see residue around the valve cover on left tho. no biggie

Must be running AmsOil. I have a friend that swears by that oil. He goes something like 25k miles without changing the oil in his Tacoma.

Its pretty impressive that your truck doesn't burn any oil at all. That rocks!

 

[_Dylan_]

mine burns/leaks 1-1.5 quarts every 3000.

 

[99Yukon4x4]

My 1999 Yukon has 204K on the odometer, but was told it had a "newer" engine put in it, prior to previous owner buying it. I put about 2 quarts every 3K in it. It doesnt smoke, and cant find any spots on my driveway. Still runns great.

 

[SunlitComet]

i use Mobil 1 synthetic and am very late for an oil change actually. the dirtiest oil spot i had was the rear seal and had that replaced while tranny was fixed. at 245K miles now. i have been using either a kn filter, mobil 1 extended performance filter or fram xg filter. all have synthetic filtering material needed for extended oil changes.

 

[Fishintahoe]

i add about half a quart every 3k miles