Burning oil - What should I be looking for?
 

Hi all, I'm new here and hoping you can give me a hand.

I have an '01 Edge 4.0 auto with about 130k on it.

I've recently started burning oil - a lot of it. About 2 qts every 500 miles of mostly highway driving.

I've noticed a loss of power and before it warms up completely there is a ton of smoke billowing out the exhaust that has a tan-ish color to it. This seems to go awa once warmed up.

I'm going to take it into the shop but was hoping to get a few opinions in the meantime on what it might be. I was thinking bad piston ring(s). If this is the issue, is it even worth it to have them replaced? What would be a ballpark figure on this type of job.

Re: Burning oil - What should I be looking for?
 

Piston rings may be piston rings since you say the loss of power.

If you didn't say loss of power I would suggest looking for a leak

Re: Burning oil - What should I be looking for?
 

I sure hope for your sake it's not rings as that's bottom end rebuild territory. Open up the motor for that and you might as well just replace the other necessary parts as well. It's not required, but it saves you from having to pull the motor apart again.

Re: Burning oil - What should I be looking for?
 

^^ thats true. if your gonna replace rings, you may as well replace other parts while your at it.

if its not the rings, it could be the valve seals. but thats rare that they cause a loss of power unless so much oil is getting dumped into the cylinder that the fuel isnt getting burned all the way.

but noramally a loss of power like that is caused by bad rings/ scratched cylinder walls i would think

Re: Burning oil - What should I be looking for?
 

On many vehicles a faulty PCV can cause smoking. This engine dunno.

Good news, a lot of these trucks get totaled before the engine/drivetrain wears out. Junkyards should have good replacements.

Re: Burning oil - What should I be looking for?
 

OP do you have the timing chain rattle in your engine? Around 2400-3000 rpm..



GB :)

Re: Burning oil - What should I be looking for?
 

i would say piston rings but i aksed a friend and iam sure i will be told if iam right or wrong but valve seats

Re: Burning oil - What should I be looking for?
 

Worn valve guides will also cause excessive oil consumption. You may want to consider a new motor instead of rebuilding what you have. Call ford, they have great replacement motors with an excellent warranty.

Re: Burning oil - What should I be looking for?
 

Ahh, white smoke.....

Re: Burning oil - What should I be looking for?
 

Faulty PCV valve stuck open?

Re: Burning oil - What should I be looking for?
 

i agree with fairlaneguy. your best bet sounds like it would be swapping engines. call up junk yards. they usually have good deals on engines. usually 300 - 500 bucks

Re: Burning oil - What should I be looking for?
 

im having the same exact problem but i dont think im having any power loss i really need help on how i ccan fix it ive changed the oil like 3 times in one month 5 quarts last me about a week an a hlf then i check it an there is none my truck starts shaking real bad so then i do another oil change what is it that is causing my oil to burn so quick ?
i have a 97 ford ranger 4.0 standard