Why am I burning OIL?? Please help

[JoeC5]

I just picked up my truck from getting the braking system fixed and on the way home my Check Oil light came on for the first time ever. So I pulled the dipstick to check the oil and there is practically none in there. The truck always got regular maintainance. Changed oil every 2500-3000 miles. I use mobil 1 fully synthetic 5w-30. It shows no signs what so ever of burning oil. Motor is very quiet, I dont understand. In my garage there are few drops of oil but thats it. I am so ticked off right now.

 

[mrboyle]

When was the last time you checked it. Try refilling it and driving it around for a few hours and then check it again. If its low start looking for leaks or signs of it being consumed. If it isn't low I'd start to think about how trust worthy the employee's are at the shop you took it to. It could be as simple as one of the guys confusing your X for another and started to change the oil, then once it was realized that it was the wrong vehicle he stopped and thought no one would notice.

 

[JoeC5]

Sounds like a good plan. I appreciate the quick response. Hopefully the oil is not being consumed, but lets say it is, what could cause this and is it something I should be worried about?? Thanks again

 

[PLRBEAR]

Oil consumption is caused by worn piston rings most of the time. If you're using synthetics, i would suggest switching to GOOD dynosaur stuff. Synthetics have better cleaning agents, and if used on a high mileage motor, these cleaning agents will clean out the sludge that the dyno oil missed out (i'm assuming that you had dyno oil in there at some point in time?).
The dyno oil should stop the leak, wherever it is. A permanent fix would be to replace piston rings.
It may or may not be piston rings that are causing the loss of oil, so i'd refill it first. If the problem still persists, then try my suggestion. Hope it works out well for you.

 

[JoeC5]

Thanks for the input PLRBEAR. I filled it tonight so I will post again next week to give you guys the results. Thanks again.

 

[RON COX]

Your valve guides could also be the problem. Oil could be passing through the guide seal and into the cylinder.

 

[mikeresin]

use Mobil1 10w-30
thats what is recommended for our trucks.
(Dad owns oil change shops. i tend to take his advice on stuff like that)

 

[JoeC5]

Are you sure. My manual states that I should use 5w-30 and there is a sticker under my hood that says recommended oil 5w-30.

 

[mikeresin]

yeh i know ive seen it in the manual also. im not a mechanic so i cant tell ya why i think 10w-30 is better. im just going on what the guys at the shop tell me.

 

[85Dave]

Some people have reported problems with the intake manifold leaking, and causing oil consumption. Do a search to get more info.
My 92 did something similar. Wifey dropped Jr. off at playground (less than 2 miles). Upon restarting, the oil level light came on. She checked the level, and it was barely on the dipstick. She went home and added 1 qt. When I got home, I checked the level and it was above the full mark. Apparently what happened was that because of the short trip, oil was still cold and had not drained back into the sump. This is why the level was way low. The engine apparently was not quite 1 qt low when she added a quart. It's still odd because this is the first time I've added oil in 140,000 miles.