What causes sudden and rapid oil consumption (eg. 1 qt.) after NO consumption for the first 3-4k mi.? Is the oil thinning out? But, why all of a sudden? I once had a neighbor who said he changes the oil when the car starts using it ie. instead of topping off...it's time for an oil change. Is this a good rule-of-thumb? Is the oil spent when consumption increases?
Sudden/Rapid oil consumption???
- Thread starter Dr. T
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That is always a good idea Keith. Simple way to do the dipstick calibration. Just make sure the car is level.
That's actually a good point.. If my car is on a slight incline the dipstick reading is off by as much as a half a litre.
If you look at some of my posts, my car did this with Mobil1 5w and 10w30. For the first 3-4K km I would use a little, no matter how hard I drove the car. After that the consumption increased to about a L every 1.5K km. My engine is the Honda Prelude 2.2L 200HP VTEC engine.
I switched to the M1 0w40 to see if anything changes. So far I burned .5L in the first 2K km and ZERO oil in the next 2K km.
The next 3K km will be the test with a couple of lapping days coming up and maybe an auto-x too.
I switched to the M1 0w40 to see if anything changes. So far I burned .5L in the first 2K km and ZERO oil in the next 2K km.
The next 3K km will be the test with a couple of lapping days coming up and maybe an auto-x too.
Just a thought here from my own experience...
If you fill the oil to the capacity stated in the owner's manual, it may be slightly over full on the dip stick. This happens in all 3 of my GM cars. Then, as the oil is consumed, you think you are not using any until it falls below the full mark on the stick.
Very carefully check the starting point when you are measuring consumption.
Something to consider...
If you fill the oil to the capacity stated in the owner's manual, it may be slightly over full on the dip stick. This happens in all 3 of my GM cars. Then, as the oil is consumed, you think you are not using any until it falls below the full mark on the stick.
Very carefully check the starting point when you are measuring consumption.
Something to consider...
Well in my case I put in 5L and the oil level is right at the top dot. So I know that the dipstick is showing the correct level.
I remember reading, with the Northstar engine, that if you overfill, any excess oil is quickly scavenged by the PCV system and it will appear as if the oil consumption is very high. To complicate matters, the levels marked on the dipstick are not necessarily accurate. The advice I got was to drain all the oil and remove the filter, fit the new filter and drain plug, then refill with the exact amount of oil specified for the engine. This is the real "max" level on the dipstick, and might be different than the marked dipstick position.
Perhaps this is true for other engines also.
Keith.
Perhaps this is true for other engines also.
Keith.
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