Need some advice for the Crown Vic

M

maxmk8

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Today I changed out the power steering fluid in the vic. And even after 93k miles it looked almost like the brand new Mercon III that I put in, smelled different though. Surprisingly enough the Mercury cougar that has only 10k more miles on it than the vic, its power steering fluid looked horribly black. But thats besides the point.
::roll::
I got the car at 65k miles, and I’ve used 5w30 Mobil one ever since. I put in 5.5 and I get 4 out after 5k miles. Now I’m pretty sure the previous owners ran 10w30 for the life of the car but the manual calls for 5w30 so that’s what I’ve been doing. Today at about 4200 miles after the last oil change, the oil was really low. I had to add about .7 quarts to bring it up to 70% full. This usually hasn't happened the dipstick usually showed it at 1/2 to 1/3 full right before each oil change. What should I do. As I see it I have three options which ones will yield the highest possible engine life.

1. Switch back to 10w30 Motor Oil and change it every 3k
2. Switch to 10w30 Mobil One see if that helps the oil consumption
3. Not worry about it and add about .5-1 quart at 3k after the oil change
As we all know Mobil one is expensive as hell so this will cost me approx 3x more than using just regular motor oil even with the extended service intervals but i do want to keep this car running for as long as I can. I am just very surprised that it started burning oil so early on.
 
RE: Need some advice for the Crown Vic

3. Not worry about it and add about .5-1 quart at 3k after the oil change.

I presume you mean when it's low, it takes 1 qt. to bring it up to the full mark.
 
RE: Need some advice for the Crown Vic

I tell you from everyday experience, 1 to 1.5 quarts lost between oil changes is not that unusual for a 4.6L 2V. This is not necessarily a sign of terrible things in the future.

Here's the copy-and-paste from the '98 Crown Vic/Grand Marquis service manual. I want you to see this, because you won't believe what Ford considers acceptable:

"NOTE: Oil use is normally greater during the first 16,100 km (10,000 miles) of service. As mileage increases, oil usage generally decreases. The average vehicle should get at least 1450 km (900 miles) per liter (per quart) after 16,100 km (10,000 miles) of service. High speed driving, towing, high ambient temperature and similar factors may result in greater oil use."
 
RE: Need some advice for the Crown Vic

Well damn... 900 miles per quart :eek: I think I get about 2500 miles per quart so i guess it is not that unreasonable. It just sucks having to pour in that $5 dollar/quart mobil one when it would cost me $5 dollars for all 5 quarts of regular oil change. I guess i am being a little cheap ::roll:: .
 
RE: Need some advice for the Crown Vic

well, published capacity for the 4.6 4v is 6 quarts, not 5.5. It usually takes about 6.5 to get mine to the top of the full mark I rarely check it between changes but when i have, it's never been low.

When the car is at operating temperature, there is no appreciable difference between 5w30 and 10w30. 5w30 is just thinner and cold temperatures. I'd continue to use 5w30, unless you live someplace where it is warm year round, then 10w30 won't hurt.
 
RE: Need some advice for the Crown Vic

Well we don't get below 40 degrees out here in cali. And the Vic and the mark are similar where I need half a quart more to make it full. That brings the VIC to 5.5 and the mark to 6.5.
 
RE: Need some advice for the Crown Vic

[div class="dcquote"][strong]Quote[/strong]
Well we don't get below 40 degrees out here in cali. And the Vic has the same thing as the mark capacity is at 5 quarts 5.5 makes it full.
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The Mark is 6 quarts and more with the filter cahge.
 
RE: Need some advice for the Crown Vic


Max,

My '92 Crown Vic has almost 250,000 miles on it now. We bought it new in Jan. '92. At about 70 - 75,000 miles it started using oil. My friend, who is a master Ford tech, said to put 15w-40 in it. He also said that the 4.6 would last for 250,000 miles. I did that and the consumption decreased by about half. I cannot be more specific than that other than to say I had the car serviced every 3,000 miles. I don't know how many quarts it was using between oil changes. We checked it frequently and added a quart when the level was at or below the add line. I noticed some time later, a year maybe, that if I let it idle for more than three minutes that it would pump blue smoke when I blipped the throttle. Thats the only time it would smoke. I learned to ignore the smoking as time passed. Some time after 230,000 miles I heard a noise in the right bank. My friend listened and said it was probably a cam tensioner or cam chain and that they are rather spendy to repair. He said"ship it" which means sell it! We don't owe it anything after almost 250k. I will probably drive it until it dies and have it hauled away.
The problems mentioned after oil consumption began may or may not be directly related to oil use. The miles driven increased steadily along with normal wear. We really like the car. It rides well, it is quiet, and it handles reasonably well. My wife has gotten two excessive speed tickets while driving it so it goes fast enough for her. The few cases of 15w-40 that we have bought over the last few years has been much cheaper than a car payment!!
 
RE: Need some advice for the Crown Vic

Thanks for the post Mike. I'm not sure if i'm ready to put in 15w40 in the car although i do see how it would reduce oil consumption. I think I will stick with the current schedule of maintanace and current oil (mobil 1). And if the engine craps out before 200k I will be sure to never use mobil one again, because I would waste about $500 on the Mobil one over the life of the car.
 
RE: Need some advice for the Crown Vic

Just don't forget that there are other maintainance items besides oil changes...... Nothing wrong with 15w-40, esp if you have a high milage engine. Better than "Motor Honey"!! It's standard to increase viscosity on high milage engines, and not a thing wrong with that..

Bud Pytko
'97 LSC Silver Frost
'92 F250 Banks TurboDiesel Bimini Blue
'92 Prowler 5th Wheel
http://myfilelocker.comcast.net/charlespytko/Lincoln/BudPytko97LSC.JPG
 
RE: Need some advice for the Crown Vic

Yup the big 100k is comming up..
So that means fresh mercon V
New PCV Valves
New Fuel Filter
New Coolant
New Plugs
New Air Filter
and replacing the rear end gear oil. That should do it for a while. Then I'm going to flush the brake fluid.
 
RE: Need some advice for the Crown Vic

my 99 Crown Vic has used oil from day one, one quart low at 3000 miles (it now has 110,000 mi.)using 5w30 none of my other Ford's use oil at all
 
RE: Need some advice for the Crown Vic

mine is at 98.7k miles now, it has been a little while since this post. But consumption is still constant at around 1 quart every 3k miles.
 
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