Leaking oil fast but cant find where its going???

[Alaskancrabpuffs21]

Hey everybody so I got oil changed in my new to me 96 XLT a week ago and I checked the oil last night and it showed me at the bottom dot a quart low. Now my valve cover gaskets are shot and leaking but I wouldn't think this badly. Also for the life of me i cannot find where the heck it's going. I put cardboard under the oil pan last night and nothing showed up on it. Also the exhaust seems to be normal. I can smell warm oil but not burning oil. I am gonna be putting oil in after work today and closely monitoring it. I know the problem I'm just concerned there might be something else that is at fault. Has anyone else had similar issues? Thanks Here is a photo of underneath, its oily but not dripping.

 

[C420sailor]

Do you know the level they filled it to?

 

[Alaskancrabpuffs21]

Do you know the level they filled it to?

I didn't get to see it for too long but I think that they filled it to the Full Line. They show you for like 10 seconds. I didn't assume that the leak was that bad to warrant closely observing how much it was but I will putting a quart in a monitoring it daily

 

[Alaskancrabpuffs21]

Do you know the level they filled it to?

They put 5 quarts in after changing the filter. It's a new engine to me so I am still not as comfortable as I am with say a 300 I6.

 

[C420sailor]

They may have showed it to you after filling but before they started it and filled the filter.

Note the level and re-check. Bottom of the hatched area is fine. I bet it doesn’t move much, if at all.

 

[Alaskancrabpuffs21]

Checked oil again it hasnt changed

 

[410Fortune]

New engine eh?

Valve stem seals are suspect
More then once I have seen the valve stem seals fail on the v6 engines especially after the heads were re done

Usually this will result in oil loss that gets gradually worse in time (more seals fail, there are twelve of them)
You can typically see a grey puff from exhaust at first start up (after truxk sits)

You can check spark plugs look for any that are oil fouled.
Also the top of the piston in effected cylinders will have bits of carbon buildup

 

[410Fortune]

Google search for ford 4.0 bad valve stem seals will result in much reading

I’ve dealt with this a bunch recently on rebuilt 4.0 heads
I’m starting to wonder if there was a bad batch of mahle valve stem seals… they are
Blue in color. I replace them with felpro heavy duty green units
Oil
Consumption on one engine got so bad it started off a quart per oil change 4 month later it was a quart a day, truck is used for traffic control (pilot car) and runs 8-12 hour shifts

I pulled the heads off and removed the valvetrain and springs, replaced the seals with the upgraded felpro units and so far so good

With the valve covers pulled you can see the valve stem seals walk up the stem no longer sealing

Compression test can also help
If low compression in a cyl you add a cap full of oil if the compression increases it’s a ring issue, if not it’s leaky valve

 

[410Fortune]

You can see the stem seal has walked up off of its mount, 11 of 12 were this way. These heads have 5000 miles on them max

 

[Alaskancrabpuffs21]

Day 3 added a quart and level hasn't changed. I am starting to think that Valvoline didn't fill my oil up to where it needed to be. If it's leaking a quart a week I would be seeing changes by today. I will keep checking but I guess this is what I get for being in a hurry and letting a shop do my oil....

 

[C420sailor]

If you want it done right….

You know the rest of it

 

[Alaskancrabpuffs21]

If you want it done right….

You know the rest of it

Pretty much