Engine oil

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Hoffer1066

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Our new to us 2013 expo is coming up for an oil change. It has been using oil though. Does anyone experience oil consumption with "x" brand of oil, but not "y" brand?

Full synthetic?
Syn blend?
Real oil with all the vitamins and dinosaurs?
 

LokiWolf

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You will generally see MORE consumption with a synthetic vs dino. That being said, there are some high mileage oils specially formulated to help prevent consumption. Look there.
 
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Hoffer1066

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Vehicle will only have 105xxx miles on it when the oil is changed. What's considered high milage? I'd consider that low. I'm not a fan of gimik oils to be vague.
 

Andy Rubalcaba

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How much is it using? If it's less that a quart every oil change that's normal. If you're adding oil every 1000 miles then it's not normal.
what he said, and if it is using higher than normal oil consumption I would start digging around with a good strong light and look for oily areas since this is a very easy and quick task. look around valve covers, timing cover, oil pan and oil filter location.

"Real oil with all the vitamins and dinosaurs?"
lol!!
 

mkbruin

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I run Maxlife in every vehicle I own. Fantastic product.
 
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Hoffer1066

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It uses about two quarts now in 5k miles. It just seems a little excessive to me. I do not see any external oil leaks, and no blue smoke from the exhaust. Inside of air cleaner plumbing is dry, so not any pcv vapor or something of that nature.

Does everyone run the recommended 5w-20 weight? What's the oil change intervals? I can look in the manual, but I'd rather over change it that have to deal with the dreaded clogged up cam phaser passages and such.

No hard use, just hauls my wife and kids.
 

Andy Rubalcaba

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you should be changing it every 3k miles in my opinion, especially if you're trying to keep it a clean engine with no buildup. personally I would run BG EPR cleaner with MOA, or there's other oil additive cleaners out there as well if you want something cheaper. I don't know if this will change the oil consumption, but if you go into it with the mindset of - oh I just want to give my engine a spa cleaning - then it's worth a shot right? about 30$ for the BG EPR and MOA ( cleaner and protective additive that goes in the new oil - don't do the cleaner until you are ready to do an oil change ).


when you say you don't see any external leaks - did you check the mentioned areas? valve covers, oil filter housing, oil pan, timing cover?

2QTs is definitely outside of normal, i'm just a DIY'er so take my advice with a grain of salt, just been doing my own car work since 2017. if it was me, cause I don't like to run straight to shops, i'd do the cleaning, maybe switch it up to 5W-30 ( I started using that since my timing job ) and monitor it during this next oil interval before calling shops around.
 
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Hoffer1066

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It's definitely not leaking oil anywhere that I can tell. It is dry all over, even the undercarriage is spotless. I'll change the oil sooner, thanks for the reply. My grandpa was a trucker, said, "Oil is cheaper than an overhaul." And I do believe that he is correct on that statement.
 

Andy Rubalcaba

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It's definitely not leaking oil anywhere that I can tell. It is dry all over, even the undercarriage is spotless. I'll change the oil sooner, thanks for the reply. My grandpa was a trucker, said, "Oil is cheaper than an overhaul." And I do believe that he is correct on that statement.
I heard something similar from FordBossMe recently, "oil is cheap. oil is cheaper than a new engine" or something to that effect. I believe greatly in maintenance, I don't believe in waiting for problems to occur before inspecting stuff and replacing stuff; but many people do have that mentality, to each their own.

side note: marvel mystery oil is super cheap, i think like 5$ at walmart or something. then there's products from lucas for the oil cleaner. some cheap options there, if you want.

you have the v8 right? iirc v8 was used up until 2014, could be wrong. if it's the ecoboost though, there's other areas for oil to go / contaminate.
 
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