Oil burners

[greasemonkey1]

Hello all,
First post, I do the repair and maintenance on a small fleet of vehicles and I've "picked up on something" I wanted to share. I've got 18 E150s with the 5.4 engines of which 16 burn a lot of oil. I found a service bulletin that brand F released to the dealers regarding the issue and the repair (They all have under 35k) But the issue I want to share is regarding the oil consumption test the dealer will have to perform prior to telling you its normal.
ALL dealers regardless of "brand" will overfill the oil to skew the results of the test. Always check the level with the service manager present!!! BTW TSB 13-6-9

 

[supton]

I don't know about "all" but it seems a worthwhile heads-up.

Similarly, I'd think that waiting more than 15 minutes to check oil level would be good. Another shady trick could be count on slow drainback to "hide" an extra quart of oil.

 

[greasemonkey1]

Probably shouldn't accuse all dealers. Just all I've dealt with in the last 25 years

 

[Ethan1]

I love a good conspiracy theory, but I still can't figure out why so many people think dealers are actively avoiding the chance to make their customers happy

 

[Kira]

What causes the oil consumption?

 

[UltrafanUK]

Originally Posted By: Kira
What causes the oil consumption?


Thin oil ??

PS: If you have an oil burner try the following:
1/ Make sure the crank case vent is clean (Google balloon test).
2/ Get a UOA done to see what the final viscosity figure is and to check for fuel contamination of the oil.
If it's thin, move up a grade or reduce the OCI. If the oil has more than about 2% fuel, try a direct feed injection system cleaner or fuel additive to get rid of any gum in the injectors. If that does not work, reduce the OCI.
3/ Switch to a high mileage oil or in a bad case, try using a major brand stop leak additive.
4/ If it's still burning oil try moving up a grade, although that will not help if the rings are worn, only if the oil seals are bad.

 

[artificialist]

Were they bought all at the same time? Maybe Ford built a bad batch of cars over a short period of time and that is why you are having such bad experiences.

 

[greasemonkey1]

Bad valve guides. They pull the engine and replace the valve stem seals (13.0 hrs.) Most of ours have been run without oil and had to have the engines replaced. They were bought at the same time and have consecutive VINs. We've got maybe a dozen 2014 models with no issues whatsoever

 

[greasemonkey1]

Wish I knew. I don't think they're trying to disappoint customers but I suspect it has to do with reimbursement from the manufacturers. Good question I wish I had the answer to. Definitely not brand specific BTW the problem year that I have was the 2011. 2014s are good