Oil Consumption1999 Triton V10 35ft Class A

[Quincybear]

I crawled under there yesterday and followed the hosed but couldn't identify any leaks. Will take the dog house off this week and check up there. I did get a new dipstick with the round handle before this trip. I am going to change it with Castrol semi synthetic hi mileage (even though I am at 61k) later this week and see exactly where it is on the dipstick with the 6 quarts. One question is that I have been checking it after it has sat for a few hours at least at the campsite, it seemed easier to read because I would get a really distinct line since all the oil had drained down. Figured that would be a max reading since it had all drained into the pan (other than the filter) so I wouldn't overfill. Is that ok? thanks, tom My next trip is end of September back down to florida so will have to wait till then for the real test.

[Peter27C]

I will throw some more heresy into this forum.

Oil consumption is "normal" in an engine. Nothing in a good engine runs steel on steel. There is always a thin oil film between the hard bits. A slight film is left on the bore every time the piston goes up and down. What the top ring pushes to the top of the bore on the firing stroke gets burnt. The valve stems are the same. What gets carried to the bottom of the intake valve gets sucked into the cylinder and burnt. What ends up on the bottom of the exhaust valve gets burnt when the exhaust valve opens.

Manufacturers have been moving to thinner and thinner oils as all of the easy ways of increasing mpg have been explored. The thinner the oil the less friction. Pretty simple. But the thinner the oil the easier it gets past the rings and down the valve guides.

The often quote view that you have to rev the V10 to make it go up hills is nonsense. The more you make the Pistons and valves go up and down, everything else being equal, the more oil you will burn. The thinner the oil you run in an engine, everything else being equal, the more oil you will burn.

Now I am not saying to go in the face of the manufactures and dump 90# in your engine, but as your engine wears and the clearances get bigger going up a viscosity grade or two will not do any harm. I see no problem in putting 15w 40 in a V10 that is using significant oil.

Also reduce the piston speed. Driving at 60mph will have a significant effect on oil use over driving at 70mph. Don't believe the nonsense about what rpm peak horse power is and that's where you need to be to get up a steep hill. Torque is what gets you up the hill and 3000/3500 is plenty to do the job. If you are doing the cannon ball rally sell your motorhome and get a Ferrari.


When you are running over 4000/4500 you are in wear it out city. What for?

Pete


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2014 Vista 30T

[GBRG07]

A big part of the thinner oil for the overhead cam and roller lifters. Lots of very close tolerances that thick oil does not get into well.
My 99 F350 V-10 would use a couple of quarts between oil changes.
Every 800 miles is a lot of oil burning but not sure if that would be enough for me to do something about it.