So I found out that my '91 xlt is losing ~1.5 quarts of oil every 1,000 miles or so. What I did to fix this issue is just head back to jiffy lube for a "fluids top off".

Is this really bad?

At what point does oil loss become a problem?

How many quarts of oil does the engine hold?

I can see residual oil on the starter, so that's my best guess where the leak is coming from. I figure I'll just:

-wipe off whatever excess oil I can
-top off the fluids whenever the "check oil" light comes on
-and keep an extra quart with me at all times in case I'm too far from a fillup station.

 

Whoa. Ok, first things first, before your engine blows up. DO NOT WAIT FOR THE OIL LIGHT. That stupid light doesn't measure oil level. It is a low pressure switch. By the time that light comes on, you are already in grave danger.

1.5 quarts every thousand miles is pretty bad and must be pretty expensive to keep up with. But it isn't leaking around the starter. The starter is not connected to anything with oil in. The oil probably leaking from either a main engine seal or the oil pan gasket and is running/blowing all over everything down there (including the starter).

If it is something stupid like the pan gasket or a poorly seater filter or something, that is cheap and easy. If it's a main seal....

 

im guessing you have a 2.9 V6 by the symptoms and if so its prob the rear main seal leaking... big bucks to fix

 

mine just started doing the same thing. Mines a '90 xlt 2.9 5spd. Ive been having to put oil in about every time i fill up. I usually drive about 100 miles a day to school and back. I can get close to 270 a tank but i always check the oil when i fill up. I didnt have to start putting oil in until just recently. Check oil light would come on and i would see how much was in it and i would have to add about a 1/2 quart at a time.

 

ha, an engine should not loose any oil.
and 1.5q every 1k is really bad..lol

 

You need to start checking that thing at LEAST twice a week bud. Even half a quart of oil every 1000 miles is realy bad, you're talking major leak here. Likely the rear main seal or oil pan gasket has gone bad. Most times you can just re-torque the bolts on the oil pan to stop a leak there, but the rear main requires dropping the tranny in order to replace it.
Find that leak and fix it ASAP. And stop taking your truck to Jiffy Lube for oil changes. Its cheaper and takes less time if you do it yourself.

 

I lose about half a quart every 750 or so miles...... I think it's half a quart. I'd have to check the dipstick sometime to make sure. It's leakin from the valve covers... how expensive of a fix would that be to have a shop do it?

 

hows losing a full case of oil in under a half a mile?

heh we had that issue with our 1977 E350. fixed the leak, which was the gasket for the oil filter neck, then took it off the road a month later.

 

I've never seen a rusted out oil pan before.

You should have seen my old '84 Ranger's engine. You could almost watch it come out the bottom as you poured it in the top. I had to use 20W-50 so it wouldn't just slide out.

 

he has a 3.0



its porb a main seal., the same thing mine had. Ford supposidly used crappy seals from the factory . i fixed it with a few additives, but that major and i dont know what you can do

 

It happens alot as already mentioned on Fords From mid 80's to mid 90's. Mostly F-150's. When I worked at the Parts Depot of the Ford Dealer we had a whole row of all the different F-150 pans for the 87-94 style trucks. It wasn't an if proposition but a When so we sold a lot of them.

~HJ