Oil Consumption question

[DieselMan]

So I have heard it is common to add a quart of oil in between oil changes for older vehicles. How many quarts would be of concern in between oil changes to add?

Topic

[Billy]

Depends on make, model, year, mileage, and of course other symptoms.

[DieselMan]

99 Mitsubishi Eclipse RS 265K miles

1 quart is reasonable in between oil changes, but how many would be of concern?

Very slight oil coloring from sitting overnight on concrete.

Also would it be a time to do a leak down test to get a reading of the health of the engine?

[Richard Kirshy]

Leaking oil and burning oil are two different matters entirely.
If there are no oil leaks …
Oil consumption varies….
Many manufacturers consider oil consumption of one quart, or less, per 1000 miles to be “normal”.

According to Audi, BMW and Subaru, oil consumption is normal; Audi and BMW claim a quart burned every 600 miles is “reasonable,” while Subaru considers a quart every 1000-1,200 miles OK.

Using a quart of oil every 1,000 to 1,500 miles is not unusual for a high mileage engine. The amount of oil used is still acceptable, but by the time it reaches a quart of more in 500 miles it’s using a LOT of oil. Blue smoke in the exhaust is a classic sign that an engine is burning too much oil.

But that all changes when you have an oil leak..
As you stated:
“Very slight oil coloring from sitting overnight on concrete.”
That is with the car sitting at rest.
How much does this change while driving with the car at operating temperature and the oil is under pressure?
Considering you claim of 1 quart between oil changes (assuming that is 3 – 5000 miles or 3 months ) I do not believe you have too much to concern yourself with.

[Author]

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