I recently bought my 03 Expedition with 137,000 miles on it. It was going through a ton of oil. Every week I had to add about 1/2 a quart and I only drive locally most of the time, not a lot of highway or long distance. The first two times I checked the oil it wasn't showing anything on the dipstick and it took 2 1/2 quarts to reach full.
I had installed an oil separator in line with my PCV valve and replaced the PCV valve with a Motorcraft dealership bought valve. When I did that the consumption still didn't change but I now knew my oil was all coming from the PCV valve and all getting sucked through the intake system. Knowing that, we know that the oil is getting on the spark plugs, O2 sensors and catalytic converters.
I also changed the oil with Mobil Clean 5000 hoping it would free up the rings, but no luck and no change in oil consumption. I don't have any oil leaks either.
The last time I changed the oil I added Zmax in hopes of it releasing carbon deposits from the piston oil control rings. I also used Valvoline Max Life 5W20 oil. It continued going through the usual amount of oil for about 3 or 4 weeks then suddenly the consumption took a huge nose dive. For the second month it barely used any oil. Now it's been around 6 weeks since I last topped it and it actually over full by maybe 1/4 of a quart.
The guys at BITOG had recommended the Valvoline Max Life because it's a good oil for high mileage vehicles. They also claim it helps with consumption problems.
I chose Zmax because I know what it does on aircraft engines (under the name Avblend). Personally I think Zmax fixed the sticky piston rings but maybe a combination of Valvoline helped.
The good news is that I don't have to check my oil every 300 miles and keep spare quarts with me, the consumption problem is solved.
I had installed an oil separator in line with my PCV valve and replaced the PCV valve with a Motorcraft dealership bought valve. When I did that the consumption still didn't change but I now knew my oil was all coming from the PCV valve and all getting sucked through the intake system. Knowing that, we know that the oil is getting on the spark plugs, O2 sensors and catalytic converters.
I also changed the oil with Mobil Clean 5000 hoping it would free up the rings, but no luck and no change in oil consumption. I don't have any oil leaks either.
The last time I changed the oil I added Zmax in hopes of it releasing carbon deposits from the piston oil control rings. I also used Valvoline Max Life 5W20 oil. It continued going through the usual amount of oil for about 3 or 4 weeks then suddenly the consumption took a huge nose dive. For the second month it barely used any oil. Now it's been around 6 weeks since I last topped it and it actually over full by maybe 1/4 of a quart.
The guys at BITOG had recommended the Valvoline Max Life because it's a good oil for high mileage vehicles. They also claim it helps with consumption problems.
I chose Zmax because I know what it does on aircraft engines (under the name Avblend). Personally I think Zmax fixed the sticky piston rings but maybe a combination of Valvoline helped.
The good news is that I don't have to check my oil every 300 miles and keep spare quarts with me, the consumption problem is solved.
