Oil on spark plugs

[jasonstang]

PCV working? Could be excessive pressure blowing oil pass the valve cover gasket which can be a sign of ring wear. You are going through a lot of oil.

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[Slow89]

Those are the brisk spark plugs I put in Monday. I put back the stock ones back in. Don't want ford throwing those out lol. At the dealer right now. I basically pushed the issue of wanting a new motor. I'm tired of them trouble shooting and it possibly not be the reason. I honestly think it's the rings not setting correctly. Eating 4-5 quarts every 5k miles isn't normal. So the manager basically said I should have a new motor but I won't hold my breath. And just to clarify this was a 100% stock car outside of muffler deletes. Added the mishimoto intake (fucking awesome product by the way) and catch can this past Monday.

 

[ypena02]

They can confirm if it's the rings by doing a leak down test.

 

[Slow89]

They can confirm if it's the rings by doing a leak down test.

Yea they said they're going to do a compression test but I made sure they also do a leak down.

 

[PRG3k]

Many curous ppl here, including me. Keep us posted.

 

[SYK]

Your spark plug tips are too clean to be burning through that much oil. I think it is leaking elsewhere as well..

Hope you score a new engine. That would be sweet!

 

[TEXAS HEAT]

Those are the brisk spark plugs I put in Monday. I put back the stock ones back in. Don't want ford throwing those out lol. At the dealer right now. I basically pushed the issue of wanting a new motor. I'm tired of them trouble shooting and it possibly not be the reason. I honestly think it's the rings not setting correctly. Eating 4-5 quarts every 5k miles isn't normal. So the manager basically said I should have a new motor but I won't hold my breath. And just to clarify this was a 100% stock car outside of muffler deletes. Added the mishimoto intake (fucking awesome product by the way) and catch can this past Monday.

I would take the catch can and intake off before taking it back in just to be on the safe side. You wouldn't want the dealer to be able to point to any aftermarket parts as being a reason for them to deny your warranty.

 

[Slow89]

I would take the catch can and intake off before taking it back in just to be on the safe side. You wouldn't want the dealer to be able to point to any aftermarket parts as being a reason for them to deny your warranty.

I left them on.... They first looked at the car completely stock so the oil thing has already been documented. Plus I'll lawyer up if ford want to pull any funny business which I don't think they will.

 

[Slow89]

Your spark plug tips are too clean to be burning through that much oil. I think it is leaking elsewhere as well..

Hope you score a new engine. That would be sweet!

I changed the plugs about 100 miles ago. So the new pic of the one plug is basically brand new plugs. The original post has the pic with the plugs drenched in oil

 

[Slow89]

PCV working? Could be excessive pressure blowing oil pass the valve cover gasket which can be a sign of ring wear. You are going through a lot of oil.

In my honest opinion this is what I think it is.... The car was a dealer trade and whoever drove the car the 15 miles over was basically WOT the whole way lol. Yes I know new motors don't need to be broken in anymore per say. But maybe I just got unlucky and the rings didn't set correctly.

 

[TheLion]

In my honest opinion this is what I think it is.... The car was a dealer trade and whoever drove the car the 15 miles over was basically WOT the whole way lol. Yes I know new motors don't need to be broken in anymore per say. But maybe I just got unlucky and the rings didn't set correctly.

Ford Engineering disagrees. The user manual specifically states you should not heavily load the engine for the first 1,000 miles nor rev it up. I made sure to never go past 5500rpm for the first 1,000 and I was light on the throttle as well. The user manual also states to vary the rpm frequently for the first 1,000 miles.

Now, you can argue that it's all a matter of Ford being extra cautious, which they may, but that's simply prudent engineering. On the other hand all moving mechanical systems have some breakin period. While modern engines have a very short break in period compared to 70,80's and even 90's technology, there is still a break in period.

IF what you suggested is true and the car was driven very hard for any extended period of time within the first 1,000 miles, it's entirely possible the rings have been damaged due to excessive pressure / heat prior to seating during the break in process.

The warnings in the user manual are there for a reason. Yes they cover Ford's butt, however there's also a real requirement behind it. We put the same types of warnings in our industrial safety electrical systems, the warnings about proper usage and the consequences of failing to adhere to them are there for both of the above reasons.

I think the general consensus is there's a significant issue due to the oil consumption. It's not just Ford, BMW and a few other higher tier auto maker's have produced several models very recently where customers are seeing excessively high oil consumption (anywhere from 2-5 quarts during the service interval), which is not acceptable.

I have a 2007 Focus ST with 172k miles I drove the piss out of (also maintained well, but run hard none the less). I use maybe 2 quarts of oil over the 15,000 mile service interval of Mobile 1 15k extended service oil and that's over 15000 miles on an engine with 172k miles...I would not rest until Ford either rebuilds the engine (new rings, head gaskets, valve cover gaskets) or replaces the engine entirely (they may replace the entire engine for the reason of needing to determine why this particular engine suffered infant mortality).

I have a 2016 EB 6MT with about 1,600 miles on it. My oil is still at full capacity (top of the hatch and covers the top fill marking hole on the dip stick).

BTW, the service manual suggests no early first oil change. I know a lot of people do that on some fear of undue contamination, however the first 10k is also a critical break in period (rings will seat within the first 1k, but main bearings and cam lobes will take longer as they are well lubricated by the oil), changing the oil earlier than the first interval slows the break in of bearings and other oil lubricated surfaces (cam lobes). I would suggest running the factory oil until the first interval (either oil change lite or you reach 10k). Then switch to your slick willy substance of choice at the first change interval.

Any small metal shavings from bearing / cam break in you could actually see with the naked eye would be caught by the filter which will catch particles as small as just a few microns. 0.001 inches = 25 microns, the width of a human hair is typically 70 to 80 microns. Even back in the 80's filter media was able to catch contaminants between 40 and 15 microns...many single pass filters are 99%+ efficient now (meaning it will filter down to 5~10 microns). Mobile 1 synthetic filters for example are 99.6% efficient multi-pass filters (what I use in conjunction with the 15k Extended service).

Improper break in can result in lower power output, lower fuel mileage and higher heat as the initial tolerances of manufactured parts are taking into account the expected break in / wear in which widens those tolerances. Think initial tolerance vs. realized or worn in tolerance. So, I would suggest following the user manual, run the factory oil and filter for the first 10k, follow the break in procedure for the first 1k. Then switch over to the best oil you can afford to run after the break in, which will insure that little additional wear beyond the break in wear is seen over the life of the engine.

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