Does your Ford 6.8l V10 use oil?

[86Scotty]

Mine does and I do not like it.

Backstory, I've been screwing around with vans for 15 years or so now and have owned 4 Ford V10s if my count is correct. I've been on lots of forums such as this one where V10 and other Ford engine info is frequently discussed. It's possible, perhaps probable, that I'm just an idiot but I do not recall V10 oil consumption EVER being discussed except perhaps with the occasional damaged engine thread.

But, here we are. My current V10 uses oil. Doesn't smoke EVER, not at startup, not after sitting. It doesn't leak it either but it does in fact 'use' it, which is maybe my in-denial of saying it burns it.

Turns out this is completely normal. That is what's weird. Google it yourself if this comes as a surprise to you. It came as a rather huge surprise to me. Ford even has printed information on it somewhere, supposedly.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...vice-says.html

I bought my current van and only drove it about 3k miles the entire time I was building it, the last 6 months give or take. I changed my oil recently and went on a 5500 mile trip from TN to NW Montana and back. I was surprised after 2 days on the road (approx 1500 miles) to find that my oil was at the low mark. I always travel with a quart so I added it and then started Googling.

Also, I stopped by a dealer in Casper WY and picked up a PCV valve and swapped it just to make sure that wasn't the problem. It wasn't. I added 2-3 more quarts over the course of my trip.

What's weird is that about half the people on the omnipotent internet say their V10 never uses a drop, which is precisely my experience with my previous ones. The other half say yep, completely normal, never gets worse, just put oil in it.

As many folks as we have here with V10 SMB's/vans I figured a thread on this could only help considering I've never read anything on it here before.

[ScrapIron]

Mine did when i first got it. It had 60,000 miles on it. I tried 3 different new PCV valves. When i tried the 3rd PCV valve i also replaced the heater vaccuum canister because my vents werent working right about that time. Then for whatever reason it quit using oil.

I also had no visible smoke from the exhaust but i could always smell hot oil for some reason in the cab, yet i had absolutely zero oil leaks anyplace. That also went away. At one point i had myself convinced i was going to have to yank the engine and rebuild it if i wanted it to stop using oil. Nothing i hate worse than traveling and not being able to trust the vehicle im driving.

I have no idea why it was using oil or why it quit...

[Twoxentrix]

I'm sorry Eric, Can't believe there's anything 'normal' with that. Having to check oil periodically just to assure myself the level is still OK (along with conscientiously inspecting for indications it's not suddenly using more) would drive me nuts! The uncertainty of it all would be grounds for divorce.

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by Twoxentrix

The uncertainty of it all would be Grounds for divorce.

Nah, it isn't that bad. At least not yet. I know I'm not alone, it is literally all over the internet, and oil is cheap. I'd rather be mysteriously losing oil than coolant any day and oil is cheap. If I ever have to put an engine in this van it is what it is but it doesn't seem likely given what Ford says and what I've read.

On the road I check my oil/fluids ever other day and my tires every day.

@Scrapiron, that is indeed weird.

[mikracer]

Mine uses oil. No leaks or anything, but at every oil change, I'm probably about a quarter or two low. I usually go about 5-6k miles between oil changes.

[carringb]

By about 400,000 miles, my van would use about a quart every 8k IF I ran 5w-40. Keep in mind my combined weight was usually in the 22k range. If I ran 5w-30, it would burn a quart every 5k.

Now, on the “new” motor (which has 60k), it burns about a quart every 10k when running 5w-30. That’s my evidence it’s a bit tighter than my old motor, so I don’t have any reason to run anything heavier than 5w-30 in it.

[doublevan2]

Eric -- so if you remember - my current van is 2002 with a V10 Quigley. I went Oregon RT in late May and returned 2nd wek of July - about 3500 miles. Oil was full from GA -- and remains maybe a 1/2 qt below full as we speak. NO smoke - no nothing - and StarCool running pretty much all the way as temps were low 80's into high 80's all the way - never got to "camp" as temps just too high. Currently running synthetic 5W-20 -- I asked for 5W-20 regular oil at last oil change (about 16,000 miles) BUT the garage - thinking "high mileage ancient van as a 2002". (16,000 ??) - put synthetic oil in ! Kinda _issed about not following my directive -- but looking good in spite of that. Now at 23,700 mileage. REMEMBER - I'M JUST DOWN THE ROAD IN CANTON, GA ! Keep us all posted please -- good luck --

[arctictraveller]

My 5.4 (pretty much the same motor) has 230,000 miles and uses about a quart every 3000 miles or so unless I’m pushing hard (in the mountains or higher freeway speeds) and then consumption goes up to around a quart every 1500 miles, but I’m perfectly happy with it. As you said, oil is cheap.

[REDOVAL]

Long story but my original engine lasted 155k before extreme oil usage. After I removed the engine and tore it down the #10 cylinder oil control ring was no longer good and prompted the long block change. The root cause ended up being the K&N air cleaner letting too much dirt through and scoring the cylinder wall. This isn't surprising with as much offroad use the van saw (it was quite a lot of very heavy use). I have since replaced it with a new Ford long block and now only run an OEM air cleaner that is changed after each offroad run. This seems ridiculous but cost is negligible considering what the engine replacement cost. It is acceptable for these engines to burn up to 1 quart per 3k miles but the new engine has zero oil usage issues after 15k miles on the clock.
This is an extreme case but maybe useful for some.

Edit- the oil coolers on these engines are also known for leaking into the cooling system. This doesn't account for a lot of oil but if the coolant reservoir is brown that's the most likely cause.

Scott

[loper]

About a half a quart every oil change, but it leaks a bit. Never leaves spots on the driveway, but it looks oily from somewhere.

186K so far, so unless it gets worse I'll probably ignore it until time for a new engine.