Well I went camping this weekend and towed a 19ft travel trailer with some decent uphill grades approximately 75 miles one way. I checked my oil before leaving the house and it was about a quart low since my last oil change about 500 miles ago or so? A little concerning! So I put a quart in and off we went. Well before we left camp to come home I checked the oil and once again it was a quart low. It is not blowing smoke out the tail pipe and seems to me that it is running fine but I bought this truck used about 6 months ago so I wouldn't really know if it is better or worse than before? Any ideas? This is really concerning me

Edit: The truck has 82k and one more note it has a ticking noise when I first start it cold but mellows dramatically after approx. 1 minute and also ticks very lightly under load.

 

blown plenum perhaps?

 

Check at the top of the forum for the "End al be all Plenum Thread"

That will most likely be the problem if you are not leaking oil anywhere to be found.

Another problem that this will create will be clogging your cat and possibly cracked head on pass side. Look down TB for signs of oil inside intake manifold.

 

had the same thing happen on thurday,burned a litre of oil in 6 hours.turned out to be the pcv valve,ball was stuck.went right to the dealership and got a proper one.did another 5 hour drive on saturday and never lost a drop of oil.

hope this helps.

 

+1.......

 

If all that fails, do a leak down test or at least check for compression. When the rings start to go, it is gradual, so you wont notice massive smoke at the tail pipe when it all starts to head south. If you have low compression, that get expensive. Remember, they sold it for a reason.

 

I don't think it is the rings. I have 80k miles on it and just pulled 7k lbs. of trailer and dirt bikes up the Cajon pass in California which is a long steep grade. I would think I would have had a hard time getting up that pass if the rings were bad and I had low compression? Also the previous owner took exceptional care of this truck. He had all oil changes and service records for it.That's actually the reason I bought this Dodge. I was not in the market for any particular manufacturer just someone who took care of their stuff. So maybe he just sold it because he wanted a new truck.

 

Check plenum and PCV.

 

Plenum parts are on the way. I believe it is the plenum but regardless I am going to get rid of the old "tin-pan" and go aluminum for my own peace of mind.
Any reason I see guys saying they bought the "right" PCV from the dealer?
Is there something special or better with the dealer PCV vs. say a NAPA PCV?

 

On a different subject gdstock what does it mean in your sig
"hardend transmission"