Expedition using oil

[nsr]

My wifes 2001 Exped. is using some oil now.
I noticed not long ago that when I cranked the truck up in the morning it would smoke but then go away. It uses roughly (depending on driving) about 1 1/2- 2 quarts every 3000 miles.
In y'alls opinion, what's happened and what's the fix?
Thanks
ps- It just topped 100,000

[sarah]

trade it in....its toast... LOL

[Fomoco8]

Rob find the PCV on that thing and clean it out!!! Usually that will cure it unless the wife has beat it to death and its toast as Sarah said, But really find the PCV and either replace it or clean it, seems that late models like to clog the damn things after high mileage, I;m not sure where its located on an Expedition, try behind the throttle body plenum in back of the motor first, Good Luck

[ March 08, 2007, 05:41 PM: Message edited by: Fomoco8 ]

[nsr]

Thanks y'all. Changing the oil this weekend. I'll do PCV too.
And I ain't trading till it dies! smile.gif

[rohojo1]

Rob:
What color is the smoke on start up. If white it probably needs the top of the motor gone through, if dark the fuel system needs adjusted or cleaned out.
I second the PVC. I've cleaned several of 'em by filling 'em with carb cleaner and sloshing 'em around a bit then blowing a bit of lp air through 'em. That's when I just couldn't afford to buy a new one. You might also want to check the lines from the PVC to the manifold to see if it is clogged.
Good Luck
Bob J.

[Clark]

I thought they'd blow oil out the engine seals if the PCV was stuck. Seems like my 460 did that once. I'd bet the valve seals are gone - from my experience.

[nsr]

Bob- it's white smoke.
72GTVA,Clark- I'm not any way a mechanic, but I kinda thought that might be the what's going on. Basically the oil drips by the seals and then is burned off, right?
The truck is in fantastic shape inside (no kids :D ) and out. We don't want to get rid of it because of that. I figure to replace the engine when it dies and go another 100,000.

[Fomoco8]

I'm not any way a mechanic Rob try the easy things that we've suggested , you don't even want to know what it takes to replace valve seals on the car, But as something else to look at, check the coolant level and see if its going down, also does that smoke stop after getting warmed up? And look at it this way 1 quart in 3000 miles is not excessive consumption, for a lot of engines thats normal, And as Bob Jones suggested check the lines going into the PCV , the plenum etc: also look for anything cracked , broken or leaking or blocked

[ March 09, 2007, 06:14 AM: Message edited by: Fomoco8 ]

[HuevosRanchero]

hey guys..correct me if I'm wrong but I thought white smoke meant water in the oil system... ??? as in a head gasket or some such?? although i've never heard of that causing oil consumption...oil burning is usually very blue... with black being overly fuel rich...

[burninbush]

Uhmmm... take it to a mechanic you trust and get a compression check run. He'll know how to interpret the results to tell you if it's rings or valves. Smoke that goes away when warm suggests rings to me.

You can buy a whole lot of oil before even approaching the likely cost of any repairs. At 20k miles per year, 20 qts of even $4 oil is a cheap way to go forward, even while it's a PITA. But I wouldn't consider that a big problem if the car works well otherwise.

A replacement pcv valve is cheap, the sort of part that ought to be replaced just on the basis of old age. But that would not be my first guess as the cause of your smoking.

[nsr]

There's no water on the dip stick. The smoke goes away after warming up. The truck runs like there's nothing wrong at all. If it weren't for the oil usage, and smoke at first start, I wouldn't be able to tell anything is wrong. MPG is the same (sucks) but still the same. I don't want to start replacing stuff on a 100k motor, so I would just replace it. Wife wants to keep it as a backup or rotate vehicles when she gets another one, which will be soon.
I'm changing oil tomorrow in all 3 vehicles (26 quarts in all :rolleyes: ) and I'll replace the PCV valve and check all the other bs too.
Thanks for all the posts.
I'll let y'all know what happens.
Rob

[larryb346]

rwitt
White smoke usually indicates condensation in the engine or exhaust system. This sometimes happens and fords in that era are known to be bad about it. When the temps vary up and down over a short period of time like in the spring and fall and if the engine is not run long enough to come to full temp and evaporate the moisture they will spit some water or smoke when first started and as the engine warms up a few minutes they will condense the moisture in the muffler and exhaust and stop. Your oil consumption is not excessive for a 100000+ mile engine depending on how it is driven and used. I would bet some of your oil is being leaked and some burned. I can't remember exactly but when I was in school a instructor said a drop of oil every 200 feet would cause a loss of a qt of oil in a think was 1000 miles so a very small leak will add up. I would bet your PVC valve is yellowish brown inside and kinda yucky with moisture.
Good luck with your engine, hope nothing serious.
Larry

[nsr]

PCV valve was toast. Nasty,oily mess. Changed it out and so far so good. Now to just keep an eye on the oil usage.
Thanks for all the info guys.
Rob

[351driver]

Keep us informed on how it turns out, Robert. While that much oil use is not that bad, it's unusual. Most vehicles that we drive these days will use less than a quart in 5000 miles. We drive them until they have 150-200k miles on them. If you find out that it's still using that much oil, I would consider trading it while it's still running good.

[rohojo1]

Rob:
Something Larry said jogged the memory. Are you leaking oil around the valve covers? A new set of valve cover gaskets are cheap. It doesn't take much oil on top of the headers/exhaust system to smoke and stink like crazy. Is the smoke coming out of the engine bay or the tail pipe?
Also, a quart every couple thousand miles isn't much consumption for that many miles on the motor. You might want to replace the oil pan gasket, valve cover gaskets or just tighten up all those bolts, then take it to a car wash to clean the engine bay real good to see if you are leaking anywhere. Oil is cheap, repairs add up quickly when redoing a motor.
Good Luck
Bob J.

[Petey]

Ya'll know that those 4.6 - 5.4- and the V10's have form fitted O-rings instead of gaskets like our older engines. They also have built in spacers to keep the overzealous from tightning the parts down enough to distort the O-ring. Heat eventually get's the best of these seals. The main culprit causing oil consumption on the Mod motors IS the valve stem seals. Replacing them is a pain and requires another set of special tools. Ask me how I know this. It only took once to convince me that the $400 my buddy charges to replace the stem seals is a bargain. Once this job is done, you're good for another 100k miles. I got my lesson on a 4 valve per cylinder 4.6 Cobra engine that I put in a Town Car. Tear into any Mod motor, it'll change your perception on engines. "Tiny" is all I can say without spoiling the surprise.
Hillbilly

[nsr]

Bob- No leaks. Very clean except for the usual dirt and dust.
I believe the seals are probably toast.
Our plan is (I think I just heard God chuckle smile.gif )to buy kim a new vehicle then get the Expedition fixed. I'd rather pay ?$1,500? and keep the truck as a backup then trade it for a new one and end up putting a ton of miles on that one.
Kim won't drive the chero and can't drive the F350.

[ForistellFord]

For the record the 4.6 and 5.4 also have plastic intake manifolds. Plastic. They tend to crack over time, so I've read. Not that it's a problem in your case, but who knows.