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Mystery Oil ????

  • Thread starter Thread starter awwyea
  • Start date Start date Jul 6, 2004

awwyea

New Member
Jan 12, 2004
170
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0
Central MA
Jul 6, 2004
#1
  • Jul 6, 2004
  • #1
Alright, I have been scratching my head over this for months now. Where is my oil going??? It's not leaking out on the ground. It's not in the air filter. Tail pipes are clean, no soot. So who keeps stealing the oil???

I switched from 5w/30 to 5w/20 and still the oil goes down about a quart ever 2-3 weeks. What's up with this???
 

stangman

15 Year Member
Jul 10, 2003
2,690
10
69
in a 3 bed, 2 bath
Jul 6, 2004
#2
  • Jul 6, 2004
  • #2
possibly blowby in the cylinders but that is usually a problem mostly with boosted cars. have you noticed any behind you when you get on it, or are idling???
 

awwyea

New Member
Jan 12, 2004
170
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0
Central MA
Jul 6, 2004
#3
  • Jul 6, 2004
  • #3
Not even a puff. The hubby has followed me for long periods of time thru various degrees of traffic and there isn't even a hint that it's consuming the oil.
 

FallenPhoenix

New Member
Nov 22, 2003
911
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0
Odessa Tx
Jul 6, 2004
#4
  • Jul 6, 2004
  • #4
could be leaking inside the engine bay onto an exhaust piece and is burning off. Let the engine run in the driveway with the hood open to see if there's any smoke from the engine bay.
 

stangman

15 Year Member
Jul 10, 2003
2,690
10
69
in a 3 bed, 2 bath
Jul 6, 2004
#5
  • Jul 6, 2004
  • #5
awwyea said:
Not even a puff. The hubby has followed me for long periods of time thru various degrees of traffic and there isn't even a hint that it's consuming the oil.
Click to expand...



the only other thing that i can think of is, i remember hearing people complain about the dipstick being off on some of the newer gt's
 

awwyea

New Member
Jan 12, 2004
170
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0
Central MA
Jul 6, 2004
#6
  • Jul 6, 2004
  • #6
We've tried letting it run in the driveway with the hood up, no smoke. That's what's so weird. There isn't a speck of oil on the undercarriage. We put it up on our lift on a regular basis for oil changes, etc and I check it from stem to stern. The engine has 90k miles on it now.

Could it be old age????
 

FallenPhoenix

New Member
Nov 22, 2003
911
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0
Odessa Tx
Jul 6, 2004
#7
  • Jul 6, 2004
  • #7
awwyea said:
We've tried letting it run in the driveway with the hood up, no smoke. That's what's so weird. There isn't a speck of oil on the undercarriage. We put it up on our lift on a regular basis for oil changes, etc and I check it from stem to stern. The engine has 90k miles on it now.

Could it be old age????
Click to expand...

that's odd... the oil's got to go somewhere
 

nickthegenius

Active Member
Dec 23, 2002
1,631
1
38
Elwood, IN
Jul 6, 2004
#8
  • Jul 6, 2004
  • #8
Oil-plug Gnomes.
 

streetstang03

unModerator
Dec 27, 2003
0
1
0
the dark side of the moon/home of the 1999, 2003,
Jul 6, 2004
#9
  • Jul 6, 2004
  • #9
are you sure you're filling it up enough?? after you fill the car up w/ oil when you're done changing it, make sure you check the oil. Start the car up and let the needle on the oil pressure gauge shoot up. then, turn the engine off. take out the dipstick, wipe it and replace it. then take it out again to check to see if its at the right level.
How many qts. do you put in it each time???
 
A

AcE XBOX

New Member
Mar 26, 2004
144
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0
Jul 7, 2004
#10
  • Jul 7, 2004
  • #10
I have the same problem here.
 

twogts4us

15 Year Member
Apr 1, 2004
4,188
12
79
Dunedin, FL
Jul 7, 2004
#11
  • Jul 7, 2004
  • #11
Two things could be happening here - either the oil level is not being checked properly (lord knows it is nearly impossible to read the dipstick) or oil is simply be burned off without being detected. I'd kinda think it's the former, since we all know the dipstick of these gen2 stangs is a POS. Who freaking thought that making it out of aluminum foil and having 20 twists in it should be taken out back and shot. It is a PITA to ck, especially is the oil is clean. It just hard to tell at exactly what level the oil is at. Are you sure you are really losing oil? And on a separate note, does anyone know of an aftermarket dipstick that is easier to use the the OEM one for the mod 4.6?
 
A

augusta

New Member
Jul 16, 2003
53
0
0
augusta, ga
Jul 7, 2004
#12
  • Jul 7, 2004
  • #12
same thing happened to my thunderbird. eventually took it in for a tune up and when they pulled the plugs out they found oil in the last 1 or 2, cant remember..
 

9COBRA7

Founding Member
Jul 16, 2002
116
0
0
Just outside Detroit MI
Jul 7, 2004
#13
  • Jul 7, 2004
  • #13
I have the same prob, but i found out where mine was goin. My car never leaks just sitting in a driveway. There are times if i drive for a long time it does a quarter size drop, but most the time there is no leak. So I was wondering where could it go. I checked the oil plug, dipstick and found nothing. Then when I gave up I looked at my exhaust pipes and bam.. oil splashed along the sides all the way down to the rear end, Thats when I foound out it was my rear main seal.
 

Dan_Soprano

15 Year Member
May 7, 2003
7,410
53
129
Jacksonville, FL
Jul 7, 2004
#14
  • Jul 7, 2004
  • #14
Bro, how old is your car and how many miles?? I bet your rings are shot!!!
 

awwyea

New Member
Jan 12, 2004
170
0
0
Central MA
Jul 7, 2004
#15
  • Jul 7, 2004
  • #15
It's a 99 w/ 90K miles. The only mods I have are a custom chip, 4.10's and a K&N filter so I don't believe I am overpowering a tired engine.

I am guessing the rings are the culprit myself, but it's my daily driver, slave mule and race horse. It's not an option to tear it down until the winter time when its snowing. I hate having to drive anything else but my Stang. I guess I will continue to add the oil and make plans for working on a rebuild come Xmas.

Streetstang - yes I am filling it up. I add oil to the new filter, then fill it with the remaining 5 qts.

Sorry Dan, I am not a bro... my hubby thought that was funny
 
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