truck has 160k miles on it. ford 5.4 liter.

never before has it been low on oil when i've gotten it changed, which is every 5k miles.

had it done today and it was 2 quarts low. No oil leaks and it apprears that it isn't burning it out the exhaust.


Any explination of whats going on?

How was it the last time you checked? Full or low?

Son-in-Law has a Suburban that was using oil, though not burning it. High mileage vehicle. Per the mechanic, it was passing oil at the main bearing (I think it was the main bearing) while at highway speed. Check the underside of the engine for oil.

the catalyst will burn
a good bit of oil before
you ever notice it out the
back. you need to check for
any consumption on a regular
basis to see if it's getting
past the rings or valves, or
get a dye leak test done.
it's good practice to check
under the hood regularly anyway.

full, it was the first time this has happend

its not leaking it anywhere, and no signs of it comming out the exchaust

I bought my daughter a 06 F250 with 180,000 miles on it. It is one of our retired service trucks. It burns a quart about every 3000 miles. I use full synthetic and change it every 6000 miles. It doesn't leak a drop and it doesn't smoke. I have no idea where it goes. Truck runs like a top though.

My '05 F250 burns about a quart every 3,000-4,000 miles and has since early on. Always consistent. I will always check my oil when I drive out of the service place ASAP since I never trust them.

i guess i'll just have to keep a eye on it.


Thanks guys

Could be valve seals, it would then only puff at start up which may be very faint and unnoticed.
OR rings/valve seats worn or perhaps a part of the emissions system has strayed off spec allowing release.
If it only burns a quart/5000 miles it is not a biggie.
The GEN I small block Chevy's ALWAYS wanted to be a quart low, never lower but always happiest when a quart low.

very normal....it happens with age....have you been pullin more with it latley?

Lucas makes a oil additive that works pretty well....just put a quart of it in while your changing the oil....make sure its the last quart you put in and the truck is runnin while you do it...i use it in my F350

I suspect this is what my old pickup did. I think the front main seal was leaking. The oil pan and bell housing always had a nice little slick of oil on them and the truck never smoked when you started it. It didn't leave drips in the driveway either.

not really any more or any less.

I have been driving more off road in 4x4 though

How long has it been since you blew your radiator out? Gota be dusty around there

still rolling strong.

Well it is not a mystery.. if you do not see any leaks and it was full before then your engine is burning oil, no other options there… sorry for the bad news..

There is no sign of it burning oil.

Not black on the tailpipes or anything

Did you check to see if the bottom of the engine and further back on the underside of the truck has oil on it? What you are describing is exactly what my son-in-law was experiencing with his Suburban. Oil was disappearing but none was being burned, so he didn't know where the heck it was going. As I said earlier in this thread, at highway speed, oil pressure in the engine was forcing oil out through one or more seals. There were never any drips in the garage, which seemed really odd, but the drips were apparently limited to the highway since the seals were Ok until oil pressure caused them to leak or a hot engine caused tolerances to open slightly. If that's the problem, you can rub money on it to fix it, or you can just add oil (which is what the mechanic suggested to the Son-in-law). It isn't going to cause any catastrophic engine failure, so you don't really have to do anything other than add the oil as required.