Hey Dodgeforumians!

I have a 99, 5.9L, 1500 4x4 with 250,000KM's on her.

Last summer I changed my oil, and put on a new filter, it took 5.5L of oil, Plenum was fixed prior to this oil change.

Last week, I did another oil change....I let it drip for a good hour on level ground, and I only got 4.5L out of it, this includes what was in the filter.

Oil was not milky or anything, no sludge, etc.

So Im definatly burning about 1L every year...

Heres the kicker though...I check my oil level everytime I fill up with gas (Every 2 weeks)...and all year the level on the dipstick did not move at ALL...

So what gives? I lost a L of oil, but not according to the dipstick reading.

 

Tried a compression test or a leak down test? I'd wager that with 250K miles the rings aren't sealing as good as they used to and your valve seals are letting oil through as well. You're burning oil every so slightly and it's not detectable by looking at the exhaust.

 

Neither test will tell you where oil is going. Compression test will only tell you if the compression rings are good or not, it won't give any information on if the oil control rings are doing their job or not. Same for leakdown test.

A liter in a year isn't that bad. With 250K miles, I would be more surprised if it DIDN'T burn oil.......

Also, keep in mind, that some oil will remain in the engine, no matter what you do. There are various spots where it can pool, and simply pulling the drain plug won't cut the mustard for those spots. Also, oil will "stick" to various surfaces, and there are a lot of them in the engine...

 

Have not tried either of those tests, unsure what a leak down test is.

250km's, not miles thats about 155k Miles for you 'Mericans.

Still think the rings would be bad?

My biggest concern is that the level on the dipstick never dropped at all in a year, yet I am losing oil.

 

It doesn't seem like you are loosing oil. Like HeyYou said you are not going to get all the oil out on an oil change. There will always be some oil left in the engine. A liter (which is a little more than a quart) a year difference is great.

 

Understood!

Thanks.

 

you only change your oil once a year?????

 

Maybe he doesnt drive it that much??

 

I change it every 5000km, which was a years worth of driving for me this year ... As much as I love her...the old dodge is about 5 times as thirsty as my little Ford focus....Luckily gas has gone down a bunch here so hopefully Ill be driving her alot more!