Burning 1 qt every 600 miles,

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Hello all,

I drive a 98 Isuzu Trooper that burns a quart of oil every 600 miles or so. No drips or noticeable smoke, just a sooty tailpipe. Much has been written about this motor and I'm not trying to rehash all that.

I'm wondering what you guys thing of OCIs since the motor is contantly getting fresh oil added to the tune of 8 qts between oil changes in a 5 qt sump? Should I just change filters more often and dump the oil less often?

FWIW - I am currently changing the oil every 5K or less.
 
I would think switching to a thicker grade can help the problem.

As far as changes the oil seems to not need a change but the filter does. I wouldnt exceed 7.5K. JMO
 
Currently I'm running Delo 15w40.

I've tried Rotella 15w40, 5w40; Mobil 1 15w50, 10w30; Castrol GTX 5w20, 5w30, 10w30, RX 15w40; Chevron Supreme 10w30.

Suprising little variation in consumption.
 
change the filter every 5000 miles and keep adding oil as needed- no need to ever "drain" the oil with that much addition---ride it out til you junk it or rebuild the motor
 
Delo 15w-40 is an extended drain capable oil. I'd have no problem keeping it topped off and then doing a full drain and refill with a filter change at fairly long intervals. 10,000 miles maybe? With a quality filter. Any shorter and you're wasting a lot of money since the engine's getting an oil change at 5,000 miles essentially from top offs!
 
I wouldn't run a HDEO in a burner if you need to keep the catalyst operational. Run a weak addpack oil like MC 5-30 if little diff in the oil comsumption. Sounds like you have valve guide/seal wear.
 
ARCOgraphite,

I'm not inclined to believe valve guide/seal wear since high vaccuum (down hill coasting) does not display any noticable smoke and there's no puff of blue on startup.
 
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ARCOgraphite,

No piston slap that I could notice using 5w20. It was a one time experiment. Might be worth condsidering another try in the future.
 
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Hounddog,

Isuzu had a TSB regarding insufficient drainback and changed the piston design adding more holes. I bought it second hand and was not aware of the warranty issue until well past the milage deadline...
 
I'd try Maxlife 10W-40 or 20W-50. Can't hurt at this point.

If nothing works, as others have said, put a high-quality filter on it (M1, RP, etc...), top it off regularly, and maybe change the filter once a year, or even two.
 
Originally Posted By: MERWIN
Hello all,

I drive a 98 Isuzu Trooper that burns a quart of oil every 600 miles or so. No drips or noticeable smoke, just a sooty tailpipe. Much has been written about this motor and I'm not trying to rehash all that.

I'm wondering what you guys thing of OCIs since the motor is contantly getting fresh oil added to the tune of 8 qts between oil changes in a 5 qt sump? Should I just change filters more often and dump the oil less often?

FWIW - I am currently changing the oil every 5K or less.


I remember seeing some new car specs a while back saying a quart down every 500 miles was "normal". Seriously. I had a Plymouth 225 that ate a quart every 300. It means the rings are not sealing well. On Saturns, some of them had valve guide seals so loose they would burn a quart about every 400 miles. My wife's Saturn did and the dealer fixed it under "silent recall", which means they fix it if you complain but don't tell anybody about it if they don't.
 
"I remember seeing some new car specs a while back saying a quart down every 500 miles was "normal"."

I'm not aware of any manufacturer that says an oil consumption rate like that is normal. Last I checked, Chrysler, Ford and G.M. specifications are in the 1 quart per 1,000 to 1,300 mile range (which is still excessive for a new engine).
 
With that much consumption, 10k intervals should be easy.

Also, use 1 quart of Rislone or Marvel as a top up oil for those 10k intervals.

Stick with the cheapest newest spec 10w40, 15w40, or 20w50 that you can find.
 
Originally Posted By: ryansride2017
"I remember seeing some new car specs a while back saying a quart down every 500 miles was "normal"."

I'm not aware of any manufacturer that says an oil consumption rate like that is normal. Last I checked, Chrysler, Ford and G.M. specifications are in the 1 quart per 1,000 to 1,300 mile range (which is still excessive for a new engine).


I have seen car makers refuse to fix engines under warranty when the oil consumption was as much as a quart for 500 miles. Saturn was one of them. They claimed that amount was in the "normal" range.
 
Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
I wouldn't run a HDEO in a burner if you need to keep the catalyst operational. Run a weak addpack oil like MC 5-30 if little diff in the oil comsumption. Sounds like you have valve guide/seal wear.


If his cat was poisonable, it would already be toast. This is a "true myth".

You're asserting that 2/3 the amount of too much poison will kill the cat.
 
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
Delo 15w-40 is an extended drain capable oil. I'd have no problem keeping it topped off and then doing a full drain and refill with a filter change at fairly long intervals. 10,000 miles maybe? With a quality filter. Any shorter and you're wasting a lot of money since the engine's getting an oil change at 5,000 miles essentially from top offs!
+1.

Even if your engine wasn't consuming oil, Delo 15W-40 could probably run 6-7k miles quite easily. With so much top off oil being added, I would extend to at least 7-8k miles.
 
I would consider an A-Rx treatment or perhaps some MMO and see if that helps any. It could be the rings are sticking and not seating properly, it could be a lot of things. I bought a bunch of Schaeffers #132 sort of a group buy thing, and a buddy is currently using it in an oil burner GMC product and reports that it as cut oil use down. Schaeffers makes some great stuff, it is certainly not snake oil and worth giving it a try. I found a source that sells it online in small quantities too. HTH
 
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