Do 80s Burn Oil in General? (1 Viewer)

[Nature Calls]

Hi All,

Been looking for an 80 for several months...came across a possible candidate. Looks good in general. It is one of the colors I want - Red - and has lockers. It has about 160K on it. The owner says it burns about 1/2 to a quart of oil between changes. Is this usual?

Also per one of the pics he sent...looks like there is some black shiny stuff on the front axle...perhaps he is leaking it instead of burning it?

Cheers

 

[Nature Calls]

Resubmitting with pic...as the subtitle indicates...I am a rookie.

 

[spdwaver]

Try to get the vehicle service history (not just Car Fax), as there could be many factors that determine "oil loss." Does it lose oil over time or over miles? There is a difference, in that either the engine is burning oil or the engine is leaking oil.

It is a little unclear by the image if the engine is leaking any oil; due to the location of what appears to be an oil leak on the left side of the axle, it could be a leaking power steering pump, like mine.

Bottom line: it is normal for an 80-series engine (whether a 3F-E or a 1FZ-FE) to burn about a quart of oil within 3,000 miles, but the same can be said of almost any other engine in the world.

 

[allmud13]

yeah, i mean my 80 is almost 200k miles and it just eats oil. part of that is cause i havnt gotten around to fixing a cracked hose but from most of the people i kno, 80's r gas and oil eaters, but they are real machines

 

[firetruck41]

It is normal for these to burn oil, in the 2 I have owned, I think they both burned (no drips/leaks) about 1qt per 1-2k miles, I haven't kept close track, just check the oil every few fuel stops and add a little oil if needed. Pic looks like you may also have an oil leaking onto the axle housing, hard to tell exactly what it is.

 

[baxter650]

Mine used over a quart between oil changes, when i did the head gasket i changed the valve seals.
Used to see blue haze at start up and down long grades, the seals were hard as a wedding cock, no oil usage since.

 

[Tools R Us]

It's normal for internal combustion engines to use oil, mine uses about a quart in 10,000mi.

 

[7schulz]

I'm thinking when I changed the oil filter it dropped a fair amount of oil on the left side of the axle. So it may not be leaking at all and just have a "normal" burn and that residue could be from changing the oil filter. I haven't noticed any oil burn, in the tail pipe or on the dip stick, on mine but it has only been 500 miles since I changed the oil filter. I would drive it around, get it nice and hot, then park it on some clean pavement and look around the rest of the truck and see if you can find any oil leaks. Also on cold start ups, like overnight, see if the exhaust looks like its burning oil or smells like it.

 

[BADM]

136k on mine. Burns some oil. No too worried. Gives you a reason to get under the hood and learn a little. I am going to change my PCV valve, hose, and grommet. Heard from some that this helps. We'll see. Even if not, I trust this truck more than any other vehicle I've owned.

 

[CowboyUp]

Resubmitting with pic...as the subtitle indicates...I am a rookie.

The pic don't look to bad and if the pavement is dry don't worry to much. My cruiser burn and lose about 2 to 3 quart of oil every 500 miles on easy drive and thanks God the pavement is dry under cruiser! Look for other serious problem !

Good luck

 

[ShawnTRD]

Burning 1/2 to a quart of oil between changes wouldn't scare me to much. I would get it, and do some maintenance. Make sure your not leaking oil. If so fix that. Make sure the PVC system is good and clean.

 

[CowboyUp]

Resubmitting with pic...as the subtitle indicates...I am a rookie.

Check you axles to! The knuckle is loking like is dry and some grease deposit on the lower part. Not big deal, but just double check.

 

[aclos3]

Totally normal and likely under the true average of what these rigs are consuming. I have owned a few old Nissan's (720 pickup w/2.4L NAPS-Z engine and a Maxima with the 3.0L VQ motor) that burned NO oil. However, both of these engines were quite a bit harder on the oil than my 1Fz. I find myself having to add about one to one and a half quarts between changes (every 8K with mobile 1). I am using 10W-30 though, and will go to a 40 weight next time around.

 

[Silicon 70]

Mine has that same shiny stuff on the front left side of the axle. Ask the owner what kind of fluid he puts into the Power steering. If he's putting in power steering fluid then chances are that leak is coming from the PS pump like someone stated.

Mine started to leak after I put PS fluid instead of ATF.

Now I need to replace my pump as well.

But mine still burns oil, about 1/2 a quart every 3k.

 

[jb1dsl]

Looks just like the under side of the one Im buying and it is leaking a little power steering fluid. Gonna degrease and pressure wash to find where exactly (pump, hoses or box).

 

[96r50]

...My cruiser burn and lose about 2 to 3 quart of oil every 500 miles on easy drive ...

I hope you're missing a zero there!

 

[lndcruz]

My 80s one of the rare ones. Burns no oil in 5000 miles and doesn't leak anything.


But .5 qts in 3000 miles is not anything to worry about. Just change the pvc valve and check hoses.

And that oil on the axel is most likely the oil that runs out of the oil filter when its changed.

 

[Devil's Slide Doug]

My 93 fzj80 with about 160,000 miles burns about 1 quart every 10, 000 miles. Of course that might be from the slight leak at the valve cover and distributor.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Mine doesn't use enough to notice in 5000 miles when I change it.

 

[rgsiii]

I am with Cruiserdrew on this. I have two 80's and have no noticeable oil consumption when I change my oil at 5,000 miles.