2000 Eddie Bauer Expedition using oil

[ltsmas]

We have added 4 quarts of oil in about 2 months. Truck runs fine what is causing oil usage?

 

[Shabadoo]

How many miles do you usually drive before needing another quart? What does the underside of the engine look like? If the underside is covered in oil or you see a lot of oil spots where you park, you most likely have a leak somewhere. In that case, clean as much as you can, drive around some and then re-check the underside to try and pinpoint where it is coming from. If this is not the case, do you tend to put out a lot of blueish smoke when you drive? If that's the case, you're burning oil. This link may help diagnose it: http://www.autoleak.com/Oil/Blue-Smoke-From-Exhaust.php. Also, is this something that suddenly began or did it slowly start using more and more oil?

 

[grantpa]

My '00 EB/4.6L has a similar issue. Truck runs great. Plugs look great. NO smoke in exhaust. NO oil puddles underneath. Guess where MY oil is slowly going??? Out the valve cover gaskets AND plug hole Grommets!!! I've got 3 leaking plug grommets. I have the parts, just need a day to pull her apart and replace the gaskets and grommets. So I'd check those areas very carefully. When you pull a COP, check the boot-to-plug for oily residue. This can also swell the boots and cause them to FAIL causing a misfire/TC.

 

[ltsmas]

We have 238,000 miles on it. We don't drive it much during the week, maybe 100 miles. I try to check the oil every 4-6 weeks. We use more oil when taking a trip 150+ miles. No blue or white smoke. No puddles under truck. Unfortunately, we can't do any work ourselves, no place to do it. Can't afford a big repair bill.

 

[Shabadoo]

I would follow what grantpa said and just thoroughly inspect those areas along with anywhere else oil would have the chance to come out at. With that amount of oil loss in such a short amount of time, I would be surprised if there wasn't a sign of where it was going somewhere on the engine. It also wouldn't be surprising if some of that oil was being burned still. When mine was at about 215,000 miles I was burning 1 quart/1000 miles. If all else fails, it may be worth trying some of the pour in leak repair if you haven't already but that to me is a last resort.

 

[docraymund]

If there are no obvious drips on where you park -at home, at the office or at the supermarket, try scraping the inside of the tailpipe for oily deposits or rev the engine up to 3000 rpm and watch again for blue smoke.

 

[and0r]

You can also smell oil burning. A healthy engine smells like nothing, like hot air mixed with a slight, sort of sweet smelling "chemical-ish" stuff (hard to explain), but the smell is mild. The only time your exaust should smell is when you do a cold start, and the cats have not warmed up yet, your engine is running rich at this time and no emissions are being filtered. It only takes no more than 3 minutes for your engine to warm up and filter the exhaust at the cat, and regulate its fuel/air mixtures. If you are burning oil inside the combustion chamber, even a slight amount, you can definitely notice this once the truck as warmed up after 3 minutes. It will be like a burning rubber or plastic smell if using synthetic oil. I'm not sure what burning conventional oil smells like though, but I am definitely sure even a slight amount should be noticeable. You have to sort of train your nose on how to be a detective. Try it on other healthy vehicles too. Always use caution when inhaling carbon monoxide though, it doesn't take much to make you sick! Hope this helps.

Edit: your engine with 225k miles, will almost certainly not be "healthy" with properly tuned fuel/air ratio. It will smell rich like a cold start for much longer, maybe even always. You can still detect oil through this smell though.

 

[rjdelp7]

After sitting over night, stand by the tailpipe. Have someone start it, watch for smoke. Use 5W30, not 5W20, change the PVC valve.

 

[The Swagonmaster]

Plus 1 on the pcv valve! If the engine can't breath air it will breath oil.

 

[Gumbyalso]

I have had a 2000 with a 5.4 since it was new. It now has 289,000 on it. It has always used a little oil even since new and has only started to leak a little (maybe main seal) in the last 30,000 or so. There is only an occasional drip on the driveway and there is a little oil on the bell housing. It uses/leaks between 1 and 2 ounces per 100 miles depending on the type of driving. About 24,000 miles ago I started using 20% Lucas Engine Oil Stop Leak in my oil changes and that seems to have helped with oil usage, leakage, and somewhat with improved mileage. I've decided to keep using it on every oil change because I think it's worth it. (I get it at wallymart. Much cheaper there than at parts stores.) They originally called for 5w30 in the 2000 5.4s but I started using 10w30 long ago when the oil usage started to increase. I know if you're not doing your own maintenance and that substituting the Lucas for 20% of the oil may not be practical, but if you're adding that much oil maybe you could toss in a quart of the Lucas when it's down that much and see what happens. Mine doesn't smoke at all. For the amount of driving you do, using 4 quarts in 2 months is an awful lot of oil. I agree with changing the PCV valve as well. It's inexpensive and not hard to do. Just google it.

 

[John15016]

Search this forum. I have a 1999 5.4L and have the same problem. My engine does not leak or burn oil. There was a Technician that found that every 900 miles he used 1 quart of oil. When he had his truck in the garage, they told him that Form had a bulletin many years ago regarding usage. It just gets used. Ford does not explain it either.

 

[and0r]

oil does not magically vanish. its either being burnt or leaking. It does not evaporate or just magically disappear. Do a wet/dry compression test, you probably have worn piston rings.