Where did all my oil go?

[therockjdb1]

I was driving along and i got home and while it was sitting there idleing the check oil light came on. So i shut it off immediatly and let it sit there for a couple of mins, pulled the dipstick and theres not a drop of oil on it...ok..where did all my oil go, i just changed it 2weeks ago. Im running castrol 20-50. Its not leaking from the pan or anywhere else that i can see, and there are no oil puddles on the ground. Somewhere i heard if you run them hard everynow and then it will burn alot of oil? Is that true/normal or is something really wrong?

 

[Camarok]

ya that happend to me too the other day.... after driving for about an hr stopped at my buddys house for a while, started the car and my check oil light came on then i got ***'d off and turned the car off....

The only thing i can think of is that you're burning it... and i really beleive that is my problem too, or i'm just leaking it and it hits somthing hot and burns away

 

[therockjdb1]

How many quarts did you have to put in, i had to put 2 full quarts in. What kind of oil do you use, is there a different brand of oil that would not burn off as fast as castrol?

 

[SHOZ123]

Use the Castrol GTX Hi Mileage oil. It will just about stop your oil burning.

 

[HopefulSHO]

Damn, 20w-50? Why such a heavy oil? And GTX isn't an oil known to burn off quickly.

 

[MelectroK]

What weight is the Castrol GTX Higher Milage? Is it synthetic? How does it compare to Mobil 1 Syn? Just never used Castrol Before

 

[HopefulSHO]

The GTX HM I used was a 10w-30 flavor..but it's a high 30w..straight GTX 10w-30 is a little thinner. It's not a synthetic. It will protect just as good as Mobil 1...except you'll only have to change the Mobil once where you'd want to change the GTX twice in the same milage (say, 8,000).

 

[SonicRiot]

Uh, 20w-50 is a TERRIBLE choice for this engine...

Tolerances require a 5w-30 or 10w-30 depending on the conditions you run the car in. 20w-50 is going to **** your engine about as well as hand cream.

Check your oil filter for a leak at the gasket. Did you **** the gasket and not overtighten it? Did you remember to scrape off the old gasket (if it was stuck)?

If you put the proper 4.5 QTS. of oil in 2 weeks ago and you are down 2 QTS, something is wrong. Very wrong. You must have a leak or you miscalculated while filling. If you were burning THAT much oil in two weeks, you must be seeing A LOT of BLUE smoke from the tailpipes and a loss in performance. Either that or you've driven 5000 miles in the past two weeks, in which case you need to change your oil again anyway!!!

Drain that thick-as-molasses-oil, check the filter o-ring gasket, get a new filter and go and buy yourself some Mobil1 5w-30 or 10w-30. Buy six quarts, put 4.5 in. Keep the other two, and check your oil everyday for the next two weeks.

EDIT: HOPEFULSHO: I sure hope NO ONE on this forum waits 8000 miles to change their oil!!! 5000 miles, MAX. Even that is pushing it.

 

[AutoSHO]

If you're only putting 4.5 quarts in your sump, you're underfilling your engine by at least 1 qt. The sho holds a little over 5.5 quarts with teh regular filter and 6 quarts with the FL1A.

I would recommend against Mobil 1. It leaks faster than regular dino and doesn't really have many benefits to sway me that way. I'd recommend Castrol High Mileage 5w30 in the winter and 10w30 in the summer.

With the 20w50 you've got in the car now, you're beating the crap out of your rod bearings on a cold start because the cold flow characteristics of Molasses.

 

[HopefulSHO]

EDIT: HOPEFULSHO: I sure hope NO ONE on this forum waits 8000 miles to change their oil!!! 5000 miles, MAX. Even that is pushing it.

If you pound on these engines, perhaps a 6k interval with Mobil 1 is more appropriate. But for a nice daily driver 8k on Mobil 1 shouldn't be a problem.
Good synthetic oils do last a long time.

 

[Camarok]

Well I've been using the Castrol Synth blend, and i've noticed that I only need to put in an extra quart between oil changes instead of 2 everytime....

I had highmilage in it, then I switched to the blend, and i really don't know where i'm going with this....

 

[Chris Benvie]

FYI the manufacturer reccomends oil changes evry 7500 miles. I have always wondered where 3000 miles came from. But I do it every 2500 cause I am a freak.

 

[advocate]

I read this post first thing this morning... I just closed it thinking I read it wrong due to being too tired... but guess I didn't. I would drain that oil asap and use a good oil. I prefer dino's for my SHO (had a ton of leaks after using Mobil 1). Just recently I used Castrol GTX high mileage 5w-30 and it seems great so far. I would not want to leave that oil in there for long...

Can you say rod bearing failure?

 

[thumpida]

i dont know if this is your probelm but my sho leaks oil continuously onto the cat.this causes it to burn up at a decent rate with no blue smoke and very little on the ground. jus somehting youmight want to check.

 

[SonicRiot]

Switching from Synthetic to Dino or visaversa can be annoying...stick with whatever you normally use...just use 5w-30 or 10w-30.

AUTOSHO: according to the owner's manual and service manual, this car (3.0L MTX) holds 4.5 QTS. I usually put 5 in it (depending on my filter) and add 1 QT every 700-1000 miles. 6 QTS is most definately overfilling my car... it would be up to the cap!!!

Chris Benvie: it's in the owner's manual. There are two scheduals, I believe, one which recomends oil changes every 5k, the other every 3k. It depends on your driving conditions.

Thumpida: good hint. But most likely, there would be a small amount of smoke and the smell of burning oil while the car is idling at a stop light.

 

[thumpida]

not arguing but mine does not noticably smoke unless you get under the car and look. i odnt know if maybe the fan is providing enough airflow to dissapate it to the point of being unnoticable. in any case it never hurts to check. as much of a pita as it is i personally would try to degrease my engine(attack it with simple green) then any oil leaks will be much easier to spot.

 

[SonicRiot]

Degrease engine?? With Simple Green? :ruhroh: I do hope you mean externally!!

Just grab some oil-absorbing rags and get under the car and clean it all off. After driving it for a few days, see where the oil washes or splashes the car. Work from there.

OR...there is a UV dye availible for engines that will not negatively affect the oil or engine. Drive with it for a few days, then get under there with a blacklight and look for leaks. I think MAC tools and Snap-On both sell the kit. I would assume Craftsman or AutoZone would also make cheaper versions of the kit.

 

[NotSoSlowSHO]

Within the '89 Taurus Owners Guide, on the capacities page, ford calls for 4.5 qts with a filter change.

HOWEVER, Every time I change my oil, I dump an even 5 qts in, let it run and cool one cycle, then check it in the morning. I always wind up dumping another .5 qt in in order to get the oil up to the top line on the dip stick.

That tells me that this engine takes 5.5 qts. with a stock size filter.

 

[therockjdb1]

Well..looks like ill be changing my oil really soon. The reason why I put 20-50 in it, is because i remember some one telling me that if you ran a thinner weight oil it would mess up the engine due to not enough protection. I will try Castrol GTX HM 10-30 when i change it. When i changed it, she drank 5.5 quarts of oil, if i put any less the dip stick reads real low. I dont see any oil coming out from under the engine, and there is nothing at all on the ground.

 

[SonicRiot]

Don't wait...change that stuff out now!! Running a thicker oil does not provide more protection...in fact in an engine with such close tolerances, it provides LESS protection because the oil will not flow nicely through those tight little squeezes. You are ruining your rod bearings!

Thick oils seem to be a thing of the past... Ford's new F-150 takes something riduculously thin...like 5W-20...