I have a 2006 Jeep Liberty with 3.7L engine and 42k miles. It is
out of factory warranty, bought used from a trusted Jeep dealer at 26k miles while under warranty. During the warranty period it used from 600 to 700 miles per quart during a dealer oil consumption test(s) using recommended conventional 5w30 oil. Chrysler said 600 miles per quart is acceptable. I did not get any warranty resolution from this, but discovered during last winter’s cold weather that the oil consumption went to closer to 1000 a quart of 5w30. I changed over to 10w30 Valvoline High Mileage conventional 10w30 oil. My son's 2002 Liberty with the same engine recommends 10w30 for warmer weather. I have used that grade in Valvoline High Mileage for the last three 3K mile oil changes. I'm convinced that the newer 5w30 Chrysler (year round) recommendation is only for EPA mileage considerations, not engine longevity. I can't believe the factory clearances have changed that much since 2002, but the factory tolerances may have improved.
There are no OBVIOUS puffs of smoke at or funny noises at start-up.
I have found black, sooty, non-oily residue in the cold tail pipe. It looks like old fashioned carbon black from a kerosene lamp. This must be from burning oil, although I can’t easily tell from following my Liberty that any smoke is coming out.
This car may have sat for a while on the dealer’s lot and moved to and fro while not warmed up during the spring of 2008. I understand such treatment can cause difficulties with oil ring fouling, but I am not certain now how that could have been detected at the time. I can’t (wishful thinking) believe that the upper end drain-back channels are already clogged shut.
I bought two bottles of ARX and did a oil/filter change with
10w-30 Supertech. I added a full bottle of ARX. I will probably need to add at least a quart of oil, diluting the ARX concentration during the cleaning phase. The engine takes 5 quarts with a filter change.
1. Should I add two ounces of ARX with each new quart during the
cleaning phase? The ARX instructions appear silent about this.
2. I am using 10w30 Supertech and a Supertech filter during the
rinse phase. Is the additive formulation of Rotella 10w30 also OK for the rinse phase?
3. I looked on the Shell and Valvoline web sites. I haven’t been able to tell where Group II and Group III designations come into play. Is this something that I have to interpret from the specs and MSDS?
This is a semi-last gasp of sorts for this car. Any advice will be greatly appreciated! I do not look forward to having the tightly placed valve covers removed for inspection. Likewise with an OHC configuration, changing out the valve stem seals will be quite a chore. Piston rings? Oh no ! My other car, a 1999 Jeep Cherokee 4.0L, has over 105K miles (96K of them mine) and runs like a champ burning no oil at all between changes.
Visiting this site is like going to school again in a most pleasant way. Thank you for reading this far!
out of factory warranty, bought used from a trusted Jeep dealer at 26k miles while under warranty. During the warranty period it used from 600 to 700 miles per quart during a dealer oil consumption test(s) using recommended conventional 5w30 oil. Chrysler said 600 miles per quart is acceptable. I did not get any warranty resolution from this, but discovered during last winter’s cold weather that the oil consumption went to closer to 1000 a quart of 5w30. I changed over to 10w30 Valvoline High Mileage conventional 10w30 oil. My son's 2002 Liberty with the same engine recommends 10w30 for warmer weather. I have used that grade in Valvoline High Mileage for the last three 3K mile oil changes. I'm convinced that the newer 5w30 Chrysler (year round) recommendation is only for EPA mileage considerations, not engine longevity. I can't believe the factory clearances have changed that much since 2002, but the factory tolerances may have improved.
There are no OBVIOUS puffs of smoke at or funny noises at start-up.
I have found black, sooty, non-oily residue in the cold tail pipe. It looks like old fashioned carbon black from a kerosene lamp. This must be from burning oil, although I can’t easily tell from following my Liberty that any smoke is coming out.
This car may have sat for a while on the dealer’s lot and moved to and fro while not warmed up during the spring of 2008. I understand such treatment can cause difficulties with oil ring fouling, but I am not certain now how that could have been detected at the time. I can’t (wishful thinking) believe that the upper end drain-back channels are already clogged shut.
I bought two bottles of ARX and did a oil/filter change with
10w-30 Supertech. I added a full bottle of ARX. I will probably need to add at least a quart of oil, diluting the ARX concentration during the cleaning phase. The engine takes 5 quarts with a filter change.
1. Should I add two ounces of ARX with each new quart during the
cleaning phase? The ARX instructions appear silent about this.
2. I am using 10w30 Supertech and a Supertech filter during the
rinse phase. Is the additive formulation of Rotella 10w30 also OK for the rinse phase?
3. I looked on the Shell and Valvoline web sites. I haven’t been able to tell where Group II and Group III designations come into play. Is this something that I have to interpret from the specs and MSDS?
This is a semi-last gasp of sorts for this car. Any advice will be greatly appreciated! I do not look forward to having the tightly placed valve covers removed for inspection. Likewise with an OHC configuration, changing out the valve stem seals will be quite a chore. Piston rings? Oh no ! My other car, a 1999 Jeep Cherokee 4.0L, has over 105K miles (96K of them mine) and runs like a champ burning no oil at all between changes.
Visiting this site is like going to school again in a most pleasant way. Thank you for reading this far!
