High Mileage Jeep-Oil Drinker

[DanL13]

The last thing a person who is about to retire should do is spend money to repair/replace a vehicle they are no longer going to need in retirement. Start collecting old or used oil anywhere you can and try to limp it along. Reach out to family, friends, neighbors, shops or whoever asking if they have old or used oil they’ll left you have or purchase. Or if you have to find something dirt cheap to replace it. Your mother’s pending retirement and subsequent financial health thereafter is the most important thing here in my opinion.

Oil isn’t so expensive that I’d consider using someone else’s used oil. The jeep is destined for the junkyard though when she’s done so you’re absolutely correct about not spending much on it.

 

[willbur]

If there was ever a candidate for 20w-50 this is it.

or STP oil additive if they still sell it. Changes oil visc from 30 into 70? Kept my very old '65 Ford Falcon van alive from Colo to Ohio when the no. 1 cylinder gave up on a road trip during college days. I wish I still had that van

 

[ensoniqman]

Check the oil filter/cooler seal on top of your engine. It may be leaking small amounts of oil there.

My son had that same issue with his Jeep 3.6 engine...it's a common minor leak problem that can be an easy fix with a modified seal part available for purchase.

 

[gfh77665]

or STP oil additive if they still sell it. Changes oil visc from 30 into 70? Kept my very old '65 Ford Falcon van alive from Colo to Ohio when the no. 1 cylinder gave up on a road trip during college days. I wish I still had that van

Yes I agree. I almost said STP (or Motor Honey, etc.) but I did that a short time ago and some people flipped out, thinking additives are bad for a car on its final miles, LOL.

B

Thread 'is viscosity more important than whether the oil is mineral or fully synth?'

Jan 4, 2026

Does a mineral oil with the correct viscosity offer better protection than a full synthetic but with the incorrect viscosity?im asking because my son left some 0w20 & 5w30 fully synth oils but the owners manual of my 33year old car (with over 300k miles and slight oil consumption) does not list such thin oils..and in winter temps over here never dip below +10celsius with close to +40c in summer...tks

• brinu
• Replies: 60
• Forum: Passenger Car Motor Oil (PCMO) - Gasoline Vehicles

 

[CleanSump]

Get a 5 gallon pail of whatever is the cheapest xW-40 at you local farm type store and just keep her limping until the day it retires with her. The stuff keeps "dead" tractors and farm trucks going for years after the Doctors said bury them.

 

[DanL13]

Check the oil filter/cooler seal on top of your engine. It may be leaking small amounts of oil there.

My son had that same issue with his Jeep 3.6 engine...it's a common minor leak problem that can be an easy fix with a modified seal part available for purchase.

I wouldn’t call better than a half quart a day a “minor leak” that’s a pretty large issue