Burning Engine Oil or bad leak?
 

What's up everyone! Long time no post. Anyone experience excessive oil burning with their X's? As most of you know, I have a 2002 3.0 with 102,900 miles on the odometer. I've experienced some excessive oil consumption when I was running conventional oil and I had a couple leaks from the oil pan gasket and valve cover gasket - I've had those replaced since then. However I do notice an inconsistent small drip under the right passenger side, which is light brown and I'm pretty sure is oil. Where else could it be leaking from? My mechanic said that my A/C compressor is leaking as well and I'm not sure what color an A/C leak would look like.

My last oil change (full synthetic) was at 98,000 miles and I plan to have one done next week when it hits the 103,000 miles. I had to add a quart of oil yesterday bc my oil level was right below the "MIN" line on the dipstick. Is it normal after 5,000 miles to have my oil levels that low or is a leak suspect?

Thanks for your help!

Keith

most manufacturer state that 1qt/1,000 miles is normal. Obviously if any of us had that big of a consumption problem with our cars it would be an issue. The min-max mark represent 1qt of oil, so if you went through 1 qt in 5000 miles i guess that is pretty good.

Thanks JaguarDoc504. I may just be paranoid, given my past experiences with oil with the X. Thanks again.

Yeah between oil changes in my X I might go through 1/2 quart or so.. Mine doesnt leak but I guess like some cars it gets eaten between changes.

was this a first change with synthetic after regular oil? if so you will notice some burning for a change or two.

It's worth it to take a half hour and get the car up on stands and take a look around with a flashlight. Your A/C could be leaking the mineral oil and it could be brownish and would look somewhat similar to motor oil. If your mechanic says it's leaking, perhaps it is. Hopefully your oil pan gasket isn't leaking again!

I'd say your oil consumption might be a little on the high side but nothing to freak out about. Maybe get in the habit of checking bi-weekly instead of monthly or whatever your interval is, bump it up. Good luck and let us know what you find with that drip.....

So I took my car to my mechanic for a synthetic oil change (5W-30 76 Pure Synthetic with a stock filter) this morning and he said he didn't find any leaks. Afterward, I left my car in my garage for about an hour with some cardboard under the engine bay and no drips. My mechanic told me that the drain plug or washer may have come loose. So its all good for now!

So I checked the cardboard this morning and there was a faint drip on it. I'm thinking its the leaking A/C, as I didnt see anything coming from the oil pan. I'll keep everyone posted.