What Oil To Use?

[motorguy222]

Hey guys.I recently came to own a 1993 Dodge D150,5.2,auto tranny with a little over 154K miles on it.The oil was changed recently using Mobil Clean 5000 and a filter made by Affinia(WIX Parent Co.)

I do mostly city,actually very small town driving with a once a week drive that takes about thirty minutes one way at 50-60 mph.,about a 30-35 mile round trip.I can put 1000 miles on in a month of just the small town driving.

I live in an area where it can get 90+ degree in the summer months and down to zero in the winter.

The truck seems to really dislike the Mobil and uses quite a bit.I have already put in 2qts. since it was changed and that has been in less than 1K miles.

What would be a good oil for this truck? I want a good dino oil to use for 3K mile oil changes.

Thanks

 

[daman]

Does it leak it or burn it? wow thats a ton of oil.

 

[motorguy222]

I am not sure,I havent seen any blue smoke and havent seen any oil on the driveway.

This is the first oil change its had since I got it.It may have set for a while before I got it.It seems to run good but the oil use is quite a bit.

 

[daman]

Maybe try a brand of HM oil next. did the former owner state this crazy oil usage?

 

[wallyuwl]

That much oil sounds like a mechanical problem. You could try a heavier weight high mileage (QSHM or MaxLife are pretty thick compared to other HM for a given grade) oil and see if that helps some.

 

[Bill in Utah]

If you are using 2 quarts in under 1,000 miles you'd see a puddle under the outfit or smoke if it was burning it.

Since this is a new vehicle to you, are you SURE that it was full when the last oil change was done?

The Mobil 5000 is a great oil.

Bill

 

[motorguy222]

The former owner never mentioned the oil usage.The truck was at my mechanics garage so the owner could sell it,we have the same mechanic.The mechanic said he thought that it was a good truck,he used to do the work on it but the truck had been in North Carolina for some time with the owners son in law.

The oil that was in it when it was changed looked pretty bad,it may have been in there for some time.

When the oil was changed,at the mechanics garage while I watched,5.5 quarts was added and then it was checked and was full according to the dipstick.

 

[Bill in Utah]

Does the tail pipe have soot or oil on the inside?

 

[daman]

Originally Posted By: Bill in Utah
If you are using 2 quarts in under 1,000 miles you'd see a puddle under the outfit or smoke if it was burning it.

Since this is a new vehicle to you, are you SURE that it was full when the last oil change was done?

The Mobil 5000 is a great oil.

Bill

I agree...that's allot of oil you should be seeing somthing.

 

[motorguy222]

The exhaust pipe does look a little greasy but I havent seen any blue smoke when driving.If it is burning that much,shouldnt I see smoke when driving?

I do have some valve rattle sometimes when in overdrive and maybe 4th gear but thats about it.

I havent had the truck very long,probably about a month.

 

[addyguy]

Give it some time...truck might 'settle down' in a bit if it wasn't used much before.

 

[Scott_Tucker]

You may not see much blue smoke out the tailpipe because the cat might be masking it. However, that is heavy oil consumption. Maybe try a MMO piston soak or something similar?

 

[ARCOgraphite]

If you dont like that try the other #1 oil Pennzoil YB or Havoline DS 10w30. The Mobil should be a good oil - you may have some varnish cleanup going on. Maybe one oil change interval of 3-4K miles run with Mobil 1 10w30 HighMileage or Castrol Syntec 10w-30 would clean it up. OTW you have an engine mechanical issue or poor pcv operation. Good luck on that truck

 

[Bill in Utah]

2 quarts of oil under 1000 miles the cat is not going to last long, esp with short trips. I'd think IF you were using that much that O2 sensors, cat failure and smoke all would be the rule here.

I'm going with lets WATCH it for the next thousand and see how things go.

No need to attack yet in my book.

 

[jazeo]

Since it's the first oil change since you've owned the truck, isn't more likely it's not a new problem due to the brand oil you used? You mentioned the oil looked like it hadn't been changed in a while, you also don't know what weight oil the previous owner was using. He might have been using 50 weight oil and just adding as needed and didn't change the oil at all.

I can't imagine him bringing up an oil consumption issue unless you had specifically asked him about it.

I'm just offering another possibility, that's all...

 

[motorguy222]

The truck had 10W30 5.5 quarts written on the plastic cover under the hood.I dont know if that is what was used but it seems to have been serviced at some point by Wal Mart Tire and Lube,there was a sticker in the window.Probably when it was in North Carolina.

It also had a Super Tech filter,one of the old ones with the metal center tube,that means that it has been some time since the oil was changed.

When I was looking at the truck,I talked to the actual owner and he said that it was a good truck and that he hadnt had any trouble out of it but the son in law may have known something and didnt tell him.

 

[motorguy222]

It seems that I have found the problem,the belly/valley pan gasket is bad and that is where the oil is going.I talked to my mechanic and he said that he didnt think it would be that bad to fix it,cost wise.

It seems that it is pretty common for the plenum gasket to go bad on the 5.2 Magnum engines.