Monitoring Oil Consumption methodology for my engine

[Digitalwiz]

This post isn’t a retread of causes and effects, but of methodology. This is how I’ll be monitoring my car and the results.

Since I picked up my 350 3 weeks ago, I haven’t thought about the oil consumption. I bought the 350 at a dodge dealer, who changed the oil at 7068. I bought it with about 7150 Miles. It has 7641 miles now. A ford dealer had changed it at 57xx. Miles. It was also first changed at 500m.

Car is perfect and I have no concerns about how it runs or handles, and based on the average gas consumption over 7200miles from the trip meter of 18.1, it wasn’t tracked.

Car has 7641 miles on it. So just under 600k miles since last reported change. I may be burning just under a qt in the first 600 miles, similar to what the supplement says I can expect, but I don’t consider myself to be driving the car hard at all.

I should proceed carefully with these assumptions.
Assumption a. Dodge dealer put in a full 10q.
Assumption b. Dodge dealer had 5w-50 and didn’t substitute another oil weight.
Assumption c. Dodge dealers Ford dealer properly serviced the car.

Dodge dealer owner also owns a close by Ford dealer. Ideally, the ford dealer serviced the car, but I’m not sure.

I cold checked it today and it showed just below the lower hole. I went for a drive and let the engine cool, it read in the same approximate place.

I read the possible issues and understand that:

1. I have no reason to be concerned that the oil is at the bottom hole because I know that may just be where 10q shows on my engine dipstick.

2. But just in case, I went to autozone to grab a qt. Of 5w-50. Just a heads up, they don’t carry it. (Update, Pepboys has it, Castrol)

3. Out of an abundance of caution, I decided to add 1/2 qt. Just in case below the hole is actually low for my car. I’m now just under half way up the hash marks which is probably a full 10q from what i’ve read.

4. I don’t track the car, so i’m Not pushing the car to its extremes. I drive it normally and shift 95% of the time by 4K rpms.

So, I could be using 1qt every 600 or 1/2qt every 600, or none at all since i don’t know where it started.

Once i see the results of the next 500 miles, I’ll have my ford dealer service the car and see where 10q sits on the dipstick as a comparison.

This thread will be my log.


So, anything I’m missing anything I should consider?

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[Digitalwiz]

Just one addition I just remembered. I did have my local ford dealer check the oil canister because there was some oil moisture around the nut at the bottom of then engine. They told be me everything looked good and that it looked like the last oil changer didn’t clean up the mess like they should have.

 

[lightrules]

So, anything I’m missing anything I should consider?

i didnt read your entire post. it just seems over-done to me. i check my oil and psgr catch can once every 1k miles or so.

 

[rick81721]

If oil level is below the lower hole, it's low. Add 1 qt - should take you just below top hole. Check oil level every 200 miles at least. If your motor is consuming oil excessively, there's enough miles on it where you will see very quickly. Good luck - worst case, you get a new motor!

 

[Digitalwiz]

Thanks man,

I’m not worried about it because I dont really have enough data to judge one way or the other. Except to say, that if it was full, then its burned 1qt in about 600 miles. If full for my car is the middle of the hash marks, it burned 1/2 qt. In 600 miles. I’m not sure it started out full, so the next time I get it changed, i’ll be monitoring. That’s the methodology part I referred to in my post.

I decided to add a bit less than 1/2 qt and see the results on the dipstick. I then drove the car 15miles home from pep boys, and let it sit for about 20min and checked. It’s about middle of the hash marks now. I will monitor the consumption from here, every 500 miles and make a determination.

I agree, there’s no real downside, it’ll either be fine, or I get a new block. I’m not worried.

 

[Digitalwiz]

March 2017 Shelby Supplement pg. 48

i didnt read your entire post. it just seems over-done to me.

Yup, agreed, that’s why i’m Making this a methodology and log post. I know the causes and the supplement and what a dealer and ford will do. This thread isn’t about that stuff, its about how i’m proceeding with my analysis, which may be helpful to someone else.

 

[JAJ]

...I cold checked it today and it showed just below the lower hole. I went for a drive and let the engine cool, it read in the same approximate place...

There are too many unknowns at this point to be able to guess what's going on, but a couple of things to consider.

First, the manual says to check the oil hot 15 minutes after shutdown. My experience is that it'll read quite a bit higher then than it does cold. For instance, yesterday I checked mine cold and it was just above the lower hole. I decided not to add oil at that point, and I checked it today hot and it was in the middle of the cross-hatches.

Second, you don't know how fast it's going down. It's not uncommon for a full 10 quart oil change to bring the oil level up to the middle of the hatches. So, if you're checking it cold and it was originally full hot at the middle of the hatches, you might not have used much oil, if any.

My advice is to add a half-quart of oil when it's cold and check again when it's hot, then drive it and see how long it takes to get down again. If you add a full quart when it's cold, it might actually be overfilled when it's hot. The half-quart thing is enough to get you into the "it's full enough" range and it makes sure that it's not overfilled.

 

[key01]

So you are running Castrol? Not Motorcraft?

 

[JAJ]

So you are running Castrol? Not Motorcraft?

I read the post to mean that he is using Castrol 5w50 to top it up. It'll be fine.

 

[loco_GT350]

If it was me personally, I would go ahead and do an oil change (I would do it myself). I would do this because then I would know I am are starting out on the correct footing. I would know that the correct oil type (Motorcraft or AMSOil, either one at 5W-50) and proper amount of oil (10qts) was put in the car. I would know I have a good starting point (baseline) to monitor any oil consumption. Doing it any other way you are basically just guessing (and worrying). Worst case, a proper oil change costs you $150, seems like inexpensive insurance to me as well as takes all the guessing out of it.

Also, check the oil while the engine is hot, 15-20 minutes after turning off the car like the manual says.

 

[Digitalwiz]

thanks for the feedback. I’m fine with adding a 1/2 quart of Castrol. I’m not worried about the manufacturer variation in the least.

The methodology part is what’s important to me, it’ll show exactly what’s going on, if anything, as long as I’m consistent. So, I’m consistently checking 15m ish after shutdown, just as you recommend, loco.

Jay, i did decide to add 1/2qt, as you recommended, but did so after engine was fully heated up and then shut off for 15m. Since Heat expands liquids, I added half the amount of oil expecting it to fill 1/2 between the holes. And it did exactly that.

I don't have any worries about the engine suddenly going wrong at 7600 miles, so i’m not going to rush into changing oil that’s got 600 miles on it. If the engine takes dump, its under warranty and has been professionally serviced its whole life. Ford will replace it like the others.

The important thing was to start a baseline and go from there. The engine will tell its story in the next month or so.

Thanks for all the great feedback.

 

[S650D&R]

I think you're on the right track with your plan now. Don't worry about what happened since new (your car still has low miles) and start tracking any oil consumption now.

Personally I'd do an oil change to ensure myself it has the correct 5W-50 weight oil. Otherwise get out there and drive!

 

[Digitalwiz]

So my mileage shows 8102, almost 500 miles from the last time I added oil. I added about a 1/2 quart last time and it read in the middle of the hashed area. Today, the oil line was well below the hashed area, it was just a few mm above the tip of the dipstick.

I added approximately another 1/2 qt to bring it back in the hashed area. SO it looks like i’m going through about a 1/2 qt every 500m.

I have to say, reading the dipstick is not an exact science. I find the oil is spread out along the length, so I’m just trying to find the highest concentration of oil over two or three measurements.

Nothing to worry about here.

 

[Tomster]

Make sure the car is on a level surface and it is in the same spot every time when checking your oil.

I agree with the idea of changing your own oil and making sure 10 quarts is put into the engine so you have a proper baseline.

Good luck

 

[Digitalwiz]

Thanks Tom, I took both readings after 15m cool down, in my garage.

I don’t really run it at high rpm much, and I don’t track the car. I guess the usage is from lifting off the throttle a lot to hear the engine pop and snort.

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