Neighbor's new turbo-diesel truck requires 1 qt of oil every 215 miles?!?

[Eiron]

Well OK, it's not a brand new truck; he bought it new, five years ago. It's a Dodge dualie with the 6L, 6 cyl turbo-diesel engine, & it takes 14 qts (3.5 gallons!) of oil every time changes it. Since he changes it every 3k miles (it's what he's always done, he's never had an oil-related problem, & it's cheap insurance, right?

), he consumes nearly a qt of oil every 200 miles!!!

The good news? Since he works for our fair city, he just drops it off at the heavy eqpt maintenance yard & has them do it for him "for free."

Whew!! I'm sure glad it's not costing him anything!!

Thanks for listening ...

 

[MikeW]

What is the mfgr recommended OCI?

 

[Eiron]

MikeW,
He didn't know, nor did he care. All he knew was that 3k mi OCIs had always worked for him. And they're "free," so what difference does it really make?

Norm,
You mean "RNC," right? (No mud-slinging now! I think we can agree that no single group holds a monopoly on sensationalizing a story ... ) I agree, it's not "brand new," but I said that, starting with the 4th word of the post.

And yes, as long as he owns it, it requires 1 qt of oil every 215 miles. Because that's the schedule he adheres to. It doesn't matter how you break it down, right? If he owns it for 100k miles, then it will have required over 116 gallons (more than 465 qts) of motor oil to keep in operation. For him. My car used to require 1 qt every 750 miles. But then I learned about better oils, & now it requires only 1 qt every 2,000 miles. And pretty soon I'm going to see if I can get that requirement down to 1qt every 3,500 miles.

As for his oil changes, it's only theft (to him) if someone's told him not to do it. Otherwise, it's simply a perquisite of working for the city. As an example, someone got in trouble for using the city's cherry-pickers to install their Christmas lights & trim their trees. He knows not to do this, 'cuz he's been told not to (& he knows what happened to this other guy). I agree, it's disheartening. But I'm sure the same goes on even in your fair city.

 

[SteveD2]

Sounds like there is something serious wrong to me. I don't think any different oils or additives are going to help. Probably needs to be looked at/fixed by a mechanic...

 

[JohnnyO]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Norm Olt:
The most disturbing part of your post is that the taxpayer (apparantly) gets to pick up this charge, which may be appropriate (if he is somehow authorized to do this), or is theft, plain & simple, if not.

---

Agreed, but it is handy to live on the same street as the guy who drives the plow/salt truck.

Burning 1 qt might be not be a lot out of 14, and I don't know much about diesels, but I think he ought to get it looked at.

 

[jthorner]

I had to read the post several times to get the point, and the headline is very misleading. This vehicle does not have what one normally calls an oil consumption problem. Oil consumption means that the oil level has gone down and more make up oil needs to be added.

As I read this, the five year old "new" truck does not require any makeup oil between oil changes. You are just angry that your neighbor is having the taxpayers foot the bill for 3,000 OCI on his truck which has a large 14 quart sump.

Why don't you turn him in the newspaper or the police if you are so upset? What possible use is it to write a misleading topic here about it?

John

 

[Eiron]

Guys, sorry for the confusion! My intent was not to write a "misleading" topic, but simply to point out that there are other forms of "gross consumption" than just "how much oil my car burns between changes." We all consume; some of us more than others.

The fact that he gets it changed at the taxpayers' expense is less disturbing to me than the frequency with which he changes it.[*] But does he stop to think, "Hmmm, maybe Dodge spec'd 14 qts for a reason ..." No, he thinks, "Gee, this thing sure needs a lot of oil!"

Fourteen quarts of oil every 3,000 miles?! C'mon, use your freakin' brain!

But what started me on this whole thing was the guy I've seen commuting (solo) in his '04 4Runner the past few days. He's darting in & out of traffic like he's riding a crotch-rocket; gunning it & swerving & braking, gunning it & swerving & braking, gunning it & swerving & braking ... What do you suppose his 15mpg "manufacturer's city mpg estimate" is dropping down to? How much of a hazard is he to those around him? And the kicker: his "Columbine / Respect Life" license plate!

Respecting life means you consider every action, every decision, every everything. Don't tell me you respect life, & then flagrantly consume for the sake of owning a machine. Don't say one thing & do another. Don't be a poseur.

[* Edit:]
As a matter of fact, I would gladly support the subsidizing of a single oil change per year for every city employee, based on the verifiable condition that it's the only oil change they ever have done all year. Think about the effect that would have on the resource needs of our country!

[ March 18, 2004, 07:04 PM: Message edited by: Eiron ]

 

[Drstressor]

The recommended OCI is 3,750 miles for "severe" duty, 7,500 miles for "normal" duty, despite the big sump.

All of the Dodge Cummins I know of that use oil were broken in without seeing a load. The rings don't seat properly on a medium heavy duty diesel engine rated for 60K loads unless the user tows or hauls something or else lives in a mountainous area.

 

[Norm Olt]

You oughta' work for the DNC writing headlines for the Press to use...

The truck is not "new", just purchased 5 years ago...

The truck does not REQUIRE 1 qt. of make-up oil each 215 miles, it has a large sump and he changes it @ 3K...

The most disturbing part of your post is that the taxpayer (apparantly) gets to pick up this charge, which may be appropriate (if he is somehow authorized to do this), or is theft, plain & simple, if not.

Why not a little paving, or roof work, or free sewer & water, or some other services at taxpayer expense?

 

[Scooby]

The Cummins is 5.9L. The new Ford Powerstroke is a 6 liter.

 

[tdi-rick]

Well,
over here, both Toyota and Nissan mandate 5 000km/3 000 mile OCI for all their diesels.
Less for severe use !
The Patrol 4.2 litre turbo we have has a 10.5 litre/ 11.1 US qt sump.
It ends up being a h#ll of a lot of oil being dumped, just to maintan warranty.
Oh, I forgot to add that that all the Japanese manufacturers stipulate the use of CD diesel oil only. The use of 'better' quality diesel oils, eg CH-4, CG-4, CI-4, void warranty.

Rick.

 

[Shannow]

Rick, the ZD-30 in my Navara specifies 10,000km oil changes.......thus why I want synthetic.

 

[tdi-rick]

You're right,
it's the same with the Isuzu-Jackeroo/Rodeo 3 litre as well.
I s'pose I was thinking full size.

Rick.