End Results, my oil consumption is solved

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gto78

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I bought a Ford Expedition about 7 months ago and it had 137,750 miles on it with an unknown maintenance history. The first time I checked the oil it was not showing at all on the dipstick and it took 2 1/2 qts to fill. A few weeks later it wasn't showing on the dipstick again...I was thinking what the [censored], the truck runs perfect and never smokes, and has no leaks.

I replaced the PCV valve with a factory Motorcraft valve. I also installed an oil separator in line with the PCV valve. I very quickly realized that all my oil consumption was through the PCV valve apparently from blow by in the crankcase. The oil separator would fill up every few days. I still continued adding new oil instead of dumping the separated oil back in. I went through an oil change with Mobil clean 5000 and it still consumed the same amount of oil.

So now to my "Solved" status: I changed my oil again and added Zmax in hopes of slowing down the consumption. I know what it does on aircraft engines since that's what I do for a living, but I didn't know what to expect on my truck. I used Valvoline Max Life 5w20 as it was suggested to me by the majority here on BITOG.

I still had to keep adding oil for the next month, every week I'd check it and add at least 1/2 quart. Then during the second month the oil was reading slightly low and I'd top it with just a small amount of oil. And now it's been probably 6 weeks and its actually over filled a little bit. Apparently I put too much oil in last time I checked it.

Now the oil separator still continues to catch oil, but it's not enough for the level to show any change. It's just an ounce at the most every few weeks. My other vehicles with oil separators catch the same amount of oil.

I'm considering this oil issue solved, and the truck now has 143,000 miles on it. I can drive on road trips now and not worry about bringing a ton of spare oil with me. I'm sure the spark plugs and catalytic converters are happy too.
 
You got me, all I know is I was expecting the Zmax to do it. As far as the Max life, I had to put some kind of oil in it so I chose that kind.

All I can say is this thing used to go through a TON of oil and now it's completely full for a few thousand miles.
 
Originally Posted By: Spyder7
Which one solved the consumption - MaxLife or zMAX.

-Spyder
thats what i was thinking,,,Im saying the 5w20 did it. many of my expediter friends use only 5w20 in their fords,,some of the nitwits were using 20w50 and wondered why their mileage went to the pits, then they ask their ford dealership and they side run only 5w20 or u will have camshaft and head problems very soon, so they now use 5w20 in their vans and mpg is back up and no oil usage, thats their story.
 
I wasn't expecting Max Life to do anything towards solving an oil consumption issue. I thought it was just another motor oil. I only put 5W20 in it since that's the factory recommended stuff. Someone had suggested using 5W30 or 10W30 to lower the consumption but I didn't try that.

I was told that Max Life is fully synthetic, but the store I bought it from only carried semi-synthetic, so that's what I used.

I had also done an oil change previously with Mobil Clean 5000, and it did nothing to help the oil consumption. So since I'm an Avblend believer as far as using it on aircraft piston engines, I thought it would do it's thing and slowly work it's way around the oil ring lands and cause the carbon to separate.

I guess no matter what type of oil I used, most people here are going to say it was the oil that fixed the problem, not the Zmax.

Either way, I don't really care how it's fixed. The bottom line is that it stopped using oil and the combustion chambers will definitely be burning much cleaner- along with the spark plugs, O2 sensors, and converters.

Basically that's my story and I shared it to help anyone who might be looking for a way to stop their oil consumption problem. This is just what worked for me, maybe it'll work for someone else too.
 
Originally Posted By: gto78
I wasn't expecting Max Life to do anything towards solving an oil consumption issue. I thought it was just another motor oil. I only put 5W20 in it since that's the factory recommended stuff. Someone had suggested using 5W30 or 10W30 to lower the consumption but I didn't try that.

I was told that Max Life is fully synthetic, but the store I bought it from only carried semi-synthetic, so that's what I used.

I had also done an oil change previously with Mobil Clean 5000, and it did nothing to help the oil consumption. So since I'm an Avblend believer as far as using it on aircraft piston engines, I thought it would do it's thing and slowly work it's way around the oil ring lands and cause the carbon to separate.

I guess no matter what type of oil I used, most people here are going to say it was the oil that fixed the problem, not the Zmax.

Either way, I don't really care how it's fixed. The bottom line is that it stopped using oil and the combustion chambers will definitely be burning much cleaner- along with the spark plugs, O2 sensors, and converters.

Basically that's my story and I shared it to help anyone who might be looking for a way to stop their oil consumption problem. This is just what worked for me, maybe it'll work for someone else too.


This is a confused post. MaxLife is not only marketed as an HM oil and one designed to reduce oil consumption, its also likely to be the most common recommendation you'll find concerning choosing a particular HM oil to address consumption with.

Meantime in the zMAX thread, we have our member with the longest history of using zMAX and who is the one providing the bulk of the data on it from its manufacturer, stating emphatically that its is a micro-lubricant, and not intended to address oil consumption issues - yet in using both at the same time you chalk it up to zMAX dismissing MaxLife out of hand as "just another oil."

Your post is not adding up - it doesn't make sense.

-Spyder
 
Originally Posted By: TurboJim
Has MaxLife alone solved oil consumption problems that quickly in any other application?



It has. I've read enough posts of it doing so elsewhere, so it does work for at least some, and sometimes rapidly. Look on any well known burner owner forum and you'll find such accounts for yourself. Far from an every occurrence thing, but not without precedence.

-Spyder
 
Originally Posted By: rshaw125
Sounds like the max life may have cleaned the oil control rings some.Use some MMO 500 miles before the next oil change.


That's my bet. Plugged rings cause all kinds of problems.
 
Originally Posted By: Spyder7

This is a confused post. MaxLife is not only marketed as an HM oil and one designed to reduce oil consumption, its also likely to be the most common recommendation you'll find concerning choosing a particular HM oil to address consumption with.

Meantime in the zMAX thread, we have our member with the longest history of using zMAX and who is the one providing the bulk of the data on it from its manufacturer, stating emphatically that its is a micro-lubricant, and not intended to address oil consumption issues - yet in using both at the same time you chalk it up to zMAX dismissing MaxLife out of hand as "just another oil."

Your post is not adding up - it doesn't make sense.

-Spyder


Hi, our member here.
grin2.gif


Two things:

1. Yes, Valvoline HM oils are highly recommended on here as well as many other sites as are other HM engine oils. And yes, in some cases it has stopped an oil consumption problem fairly rapidly. Even though the given viscosity of most HM oils are thicker than their conventional counterpart, the main reason it stops oil consumption rapidly is because of the ester content which swells the seals. Not all but most older cars with oil consumption problems have some kind of seal issues, whether it be crank seals or valve stem seals.

2. I think emphatically is a little strong to describe what I have said. Correct it is a micro-lubricant, which is its main function, but, as a side benefit it will help with some consumption issues if the problem is not to severe. Unlike HM oils, zMAX will do absolutely nothing for the seals.
 
I didn't realize Max Life was marketed to fix sticky oil control rings. I know nothing about it other than other members on this forum recommended it to me.

I had always thought that motor oils marketed to fix oil leaks really just swelled up rubber seals and eventually ruin the rubber seals because they're not supposed to swell- and swelling is a bad reaction or side effect of being exposed to a chemical that it's not compatible with.

Basically in my engines classes we were taught if something is leaking you fix it by replacing the seal, not putting a band-aid on it like swelling the seal with chemicals. With that in mind, I was not having a leak problem and didn't purposely use Max Life to cure any leaks.

I obviously can't claim that I know what fixed my consumption problem, but can at least say this is what I did and now it's fixed.
 
Hi.

I do think that zMax can do some good about oilconsumption, but having it in your engine only 1500-2000 miles, is simply not long enough to do its work.
I think that you should at least try to do a 4-5000 mile run with it, before you can see what it does.
I know, most people are impatient, and want instant satisfaction, but in real life it simply isn't so easy.

I will not say that zMax is the best additive I have tried, but it is very clear to me after some 2000 miles, that it does something positive, when added to the oil and fuel in a diesel car.

I will see what has happened, when I have driven 6000 miles
with it.
 
Last edited:
Is zMax is available in Norway? Reason I ask is people in Canada have a hard time getting certain automotive parts and additives in Canada. They use mules from the US to bring it to them. LOL
 
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