High mileage 3FE oil consumption check-in

[jonnyd42]

My FJ62 has 308k on the clock. I'm using about 1 quart every 3000 miles with 15W-40 and get 15mpg highway, which for an engine with such high miles is pretty reasonable IMO.

Very curious what kind of consumption are other folks seeing over the 300k mark?

 

[HemiAlex]

That’s completely normal and fine.

My 2F uses more than that at 357k.

My 3FE is at 293k and I haven’t driven it enough to know how much it uses, but good oil checking habits are cheaper than a rebuild.

I don’t worry about burning oil; and I don’t worry about leaks that don’t stain the driveway.

 

[jonnyd42]

That’s completely normal and fine.

My 2F uses more than that at 357k.

My 3FE is at 293k and I haven’t driven it enough to know how much it uses, but good oil checking habits are cheaper than a rebuild.

I don’t worry about burning oil; and I don’t worry about leaks that don’t stain the driveway.

I see a puff of blue / white smoke on startup, and then just steam as it warms up then it goes away. So the blueish puff I'm assuming is oil blowing by the worn rings. Do you see anything similar on your rigs?

 

[HemiAlex]

I would say valve seals. My 60 had the head done 70k ago. No smoke visible but it consumes.

The 62 puffs on startup and the head is all original.

 

[OSS]

My 2F with 290K odo burned about the same amount. 1 qt every 3-5 k

 

[HemiAlex]

Mine burns and I have zero hesitation to rev it to the moon and drive it like I stole it.

Also, I really need stock in Mobil. I use m1 15w50 with a German or Japanese filter.

 

[jonnyd42]

lol I just did an oil change and went with 5W-40 instead of 15W-40 since I'll be in cold weather (UT mountains) for a while. Cleaned it off after the change. Saw a drip on the driveway for the first time, and looks like I have a leak at the oil cooler. I guess the much thinner oil just seeped right past whatever seal is there. I'm wondering how much of my oil loss actually was coming from this. It's non-zero but probably the bulk of it is still engine wear & consumption.

 

[HemiAlex]

I’ve had my 15w40 to almost 0* F with no issues.