Losing Oil

[RenoF250]

My truck seems to be losing about a quart every 500 miles. I do not see any on the gorund or underneath so I do not think it is a leak. I also do not see any blue smoke. It still runs great and mileage seems to be unaffected or even improved (usually get 16.5 mpg and last tank was 17.2 mpg) Any ideas where it is going? It has ~125,000 miles I change the oil regularly and it rarely tows.

 

[hheynow]

Is your coolant resevoir oil free?

 

[Mike]

Reno,

Pull your fuel filter and see if it is black, if so, your injector o-rings are leaking HPO into the fuel side. Then its time for a set of Beans!!!!!!

 

[RenoF250]

It is hard to say on the coolant reservoir. I have the Evans coolant and it is dark anyway. I sucked some out and mixed it with was, I will see if any oil floats to the top. It did get a little low in the coolant resevoir (just below MIN) so I added more and it went right back to the same place.

The fuel filter is a light tan color. Is it possible the injectors are leaking but the oiled fuel is not coming back to the filter? Also, I have an OilGuard filter so the oil stays pretty clean, perhaps that is why it is not black. I am reaching but I do not like the idea of bad headgaskets or block which is the alternative.

 

[RenoF250]

This really bothers me because if it turns out to be head gaskets I almost have to sell it and that would make me sick. Also, I do not know what else I would buy, this is the vehicle I want. How much would new head gaskets run? How long does it take to do?

 

[Mike]

You wouldnt (shouldnt?) be losing oil with a bad head gasket. And even if that were the case, why would you have to sell it due to bad HG's?

 

[Mike]

Another possibility is turbo seals, though I dont know if you could drink a quart per 500 on bad seals there.

 

[RenoF250]

You wouldnt (shouldnt?) be losing oil with a bad head gasket. And even if that were the case, why would you have to sell it due to bad HG's?

So there is nowhere that the oil passages can get into the cylinder through the HG? If I have to dig into the engine it is going to be big $$$$ and I cannot afford that right now. That is why I owuld have to sell it. I can handle less than $2k but more than that and I think I would have to do something with it.

I just went out and ran it with the coolant cap and oil cap off. I can see very light mist from the oil hole but feel no pressure when I cover it. There is nothing with the coolant hole.

The turbo would be my favorite reason because then I could put a BB turbo on it. Also, I would not be so bothered by the turbo wearing out. If there is something seriously wrong with the engine I could fix it but I would no longer trust it. I have babied it too much to have it poop out on me.

On the turbo line, I cleaned the boots when I redid the pedestal seals awhile back and now they are covered in oil again. I have a homemade filter on the CCV so that should be stopping that. Perhaps I will look into that further this evening. If it is clean going into the turbo and oily coming out we may have our culprit.

 

[Mike]

Check the turbo outlet side also, though it will be harder to detect there as the heat will usually keep the oil burned off of anything, but you can still unclamp the DP and look.

 

[sassyrel]

stroke--a bad bearing in a turbo can drop a whole lot more than 1 qt to 500 miles--more like runaway engine--and empty the crankcase pretty quick--been there--

 

[jharvey]

Reno, I'm not real sure on this but will throw it out for S&G's

Check the HP oil plugs on the heads for leaks and check the back of the motor for leaks on the HP oil rails.

One more thing check the rear main seal area for any signs of leakage, I had to replace mine on the '95.

 

[Mike]

stroke--a bad bearing in a turbo can drop a whole lot more than 1 qt to 500 miles--more like runaway engine--and empty the crankcase pretty quick--been there--

Good to know sassy! This might well be Renos problems. When your turbo began to drink oil did it make the truck smoke bad?

 

[RenoF250]

Well I went out and checked the pipe right after the turbo and it was a bit oily but now real oil in there.

jharvey, there is no oil underneath at all.

 

[Mike]

Well I went out and checked the pipe right after the turbo and it was a bit oily but now real oil in there.

All you should see in there is a dry fine film of soot.

 

[RenoF250]

All you should see in there is a dry fine film of soot.

This was the intake side not the exhaust side. I am to lazy to commit to pulling the downpipe just yet. Do you think I will actually see anything on the exhaust side? I am afraid it will all burn away. If I look over there I think I will get it warmed up and then let it idle for about 10 minutes so any oil that leaks will go into a cool turbo.