Ford 4.6L oil consumption

[semaj281]

So I have a 4.6L 3V that seems to be a bit thirsty for its age (7600 miles). This OC has about 2500 miles on it and it used 1/2 quart so far. Does this sound normal?

I've read that Ford's "acceptable" tolerance for consumption is up to 1 quart per 800 miles. Is this true?

 

[Bryanccfshr]

My 4.6 3v with 64k miles uses about 8 oz per 5k miles. (Half a quart in 10k.) I add 8-12 oz at 5k and continue to 7500 to 10k with no additional top ups.

 

[semaj281]

So basically I'm using 4x the amount you are..

 

[Nick R]

Maybe you should bring it to the dealer to see if they will look into it. 1/800 may be acceptable, but I think that 1qt/5k miles on a brand new car, something isn't right there.

 

[calvinnnnnnnnn]

Over in the honda forums, i've been reading that VTEC engines tend to burn oil during break-in and after that they consume less and less.

maybe this is the case with your car.

 

[tig1]

For a new engine that's not bad. Most likely will improve as mileage increases.

 

[Scienceman]

My 4.6 is no where close to the break-in point. It has 140,000 miles on it. When I used 5w30, she would burn. I switched to 10w30 and no oil useage whatsoever.

 

[Kaboomba]

Do a few runs at the drag strip. That'll tighten it riiiight up.

 

[OVERKILL]

Have you beat on it yet? If not, get on 'er

 

[Scienceman]

+1

 

[kkreit01]

Mine uses 0. I have 15k mi on my 4.6 3V. I've ran MC 5w20, Pennzoil Platinum 5w20, and now Mobil 1 0w20. I've never had to add. Last OCI was 6K/6months.

Why not use w20?

 

[Kaboomba]

I wish I had an engine that needed to be given its groove.

VAROOOOOOOOOOOOM! again, this time with even more "OOOOOMMM"


K

 

[DieselTech]

It's time to feed some speed into your ride. Thois will help seat the rings. I would jump on the Full Synthetic wagon until 10k with this going on and stick to the 5-20 Ford rated oil for warranty pupose

 

[semaj281]

Originally Posted By: Troy_Built
My 4.6 is no where close to the break-in point. It has 140,000 miles on it. When I used 5w30, she would burn. I switched to 10w30 and no oil useage whatsoever.

The only thing holding me back from the 10w30 is the fact that my engine has VCT which supposedly doesn't like anything thicker than a 5w30. Has anyone tried the thicker oils in their 05-10 Mustangs?

Originally Posted By: Kaboomba
Do a few runs at the drag strip. That'll tighten it riiiight up.

I've done some of those - a total of 19 passes at the 1/4 mile.
Other than that it stays under 2500rpm though.

MPG hasn't changed at all during the course of the ownership. (7600 miles now)

If it matters, here's the OC history:
1) Factory fill changed with Motorcraft full synthetic 5w-20 at 2k.
2) The above changed with Mobil 1 5w30 at 5200 miles.
Since then I've decided to do 5k OCIs until I do a used oil analysis.

I guess I could start a new thread about this but I'll just ask here..As far as engine break in, I bought the car with 855 miles (demo vehicle) and I'm sure it was flogged a few times on the test drives. I've read articles that say flogging it within reason will help seat the rings, but the owner's manual says to take it easy and keep it under 4000rpm. Which method would you choose?
edit: From the previous posts, I guess the former is the way to go. Thanks everyone for the insight.

 

[mercuryblues]

I have to agree with the guys here. Even though I don't usually push my car that hard, I feel that (at least once a week) flooring it from the on-ramp, until I hit about 70 or so, is a great help to the motor. Not only will it help seat the rings, I love how it also clears out the carbon and other garbage from the cylinders.

 

[RF Overlord]

Originally Posted By: semaj281
I've read that Ford's "acceptable" tolerance for consumption is up to 1 quart per 800 miles. Is this true?
Unless they've changed it recently, the factory service manual for the '03s says 1 quart in 900 miles is acceptable, meaning that they won't even talk to you if your oil consumption is less than that.

Here's another thought...sometimes when switching brands, a motor will consume a little more. You changed from MC 5W-20 to Mobil 1 5w30...stick with that for another couple of OCIs and see if the trend continues.

 

[Jim Allen]

I wouldn't sweat it. Yet. Give it a little more time and be absolutely certain of the way you check the oil. Are you always checking it cold. Or hot. On level ground., etc. If you want to go to the dealer, they have a whole oil consumption checklist that can focus you on consistency. My "gut" says that it will lessen over time. You have plenty of time for the warranty route later, but if you go "on the record" now with an oil consumption complaint, it adds fuel to any further issue you might make of it later.

 

[semaj281]

Originally Posted By: Jim Allen
I wouldn't sweat it. Yet. Give it a little more time and be absolutely certain of the way you check the oil. Are you always checking it cold. Or hot. On level ground., etc. If you want to go to the dealer, they have a whole oil consumption checklist that can focus you on consistency. My "gut" says that it will lessen over time. You have plenty of time for the warranty route later, but if you go "on the record" now with an oil consumption complaint, it adds fuel to any further issue you might make of it later.

I check it on level ground on a cold engine.
That's a good point, about going on the record. Thanks.

 

[cobos06GT]

I have an 06 GT with 15,500 miles. I recently switched to Mobil 1 5w-20 and before that I used Castrol GTX 5w-20. Currently about 2,300 miles on the fill of Mobil 1. No oil consumption here. I stay under 4k rpm most of the time but there is a WOT blast a couple times a week. I check the oil level at least once every couple days cold on a level surface.

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

On my [99] Grand Marquis 4.6 [bought that one brand new] it used 1 quart of 5w30 conventional Motorcraft every 4K miles...I changed it every 5K miles...It stopped using the quart at around 12K miles...The car did go down about a half a quart in 5K miles after that.

Then I switched the [99] 4.6 to 5w20 Blend Motorcraft after about 75K miles...All consumption stopped and the car stayed full for the full 5K miles...That is even in Miami jungle heat with the a/c never ever off.

I got my [05] C.V. 4.6 a year old with 20K miles it and that one loves the 5w20 Motorcraft Blend and the 5w20 Full Synthetic.