Losing a quart of oil (that's all the dipstick shows anyway) every 1000 miles is considered acceptable for many European car engines (old VW mechanics used to call that normal!). Some cars may lose a quart every 500 miles, although I would not keep a car like that. At 85mph, you can potentially drive 600-1000 miles in a day! Running low on oil can destroy the engine.

Check and make sure you are using oil with sufficient weight; should be ??W40 oil in summer for the engine. If your engine is losing a quart every 500-1000 miles and needs topping off, synthetic vs. conventional would not make much difference as the oil doesn't stay in your car for long . . . except if you drive very few miles in Chicagoland in a year, then go by the time (4-6months) between oil changes instead of miles. More than a decade ago, I had BMW that had a slightly leaky engine, but because I drove only 2000miles or so a year, it would "gain oil" between oil changes: the dipstick reading would climb (instead of decline) due to moisture absorbed from short distance driving! However if I took it on drives longer than an hour, it was definitely a good idea to check oil levels every 3hrs or so of highway driving, especially at the beginning of a trip because all the moisture was boiled off, then the leak reduced crankcase oil level further. I had add half a quart to a quart of oil after 40min of highway driving when I took the car on rare highway trips; then check every 3hrs or continuous highway driving. Eventually, I noticed white gels at the tip of the dipstick in winter (evidence of water moisture) and ran like that for a couple years before the sacrificed itself in a severe car accident; I was knocked unconscience, waking up to the EMT attending to me, but no evidence of lasting injury, only a small cut at the corner of my forehead; the cumple zone worked. City driving is hard on cars, so I had elected to run the clock out, and the car aquited itself well.

Also, make sure the oil filter is mounted correctly, not over-tightened.




posted by 96.233.42...

• Just purchased 2001 Viggen, need help, thunderbolt2, Thu, 9 Sep 2010 21:01:55
  • Oil Pressure Sender?, drake, Fri, 10 Sep 2010 11:14:20
    • Re: Oil Pressure Sender?, Paul Forsyth, Fri, 10 Sep 2010 17:00:22
    • Also, just for reference..., Drake, Fri, 10 Sep 2010 11:26:29
  • Some leaks only show up under running conditions, Noel, Fri, 10 Sep 2010 10:44:36
    • Re: Some leaks only show up under running conditions, Paul Forsyth, Fri, 10 Sep 2010 16:49:53
  • Check oil level every 300-500 miles, Tim, Fri, 10 Sep 2010 09:11:49 <-- Viewing This Message
    • Re: Check oil level every 300-500 miles, Paul Forsyth, Fri, 10 Sep 2010 16:32:47
  • More info, walt , Fri, 10 Sep 2010 08:39:16
  • Re: Just purchased 2001 Viggen, need help, No Snaab, Fri, 10 Sep 2010 07:38:42
  • Re: Just purchased 2001 Viggen, need help, eric, Fri, 10 Sep 2010 04:58:38
    • Re: Just purchased 2001 Viggen, need help, Paul Forsyth, Fri, 10 Sep 2010 07:47:41
  • Re: Just purchased 2001 Viggen, need help, Seth, Fri, 10 Sep 2010 03:48:17
    • Re: Just purchased 2001 Viggen, need help, Paul Forsyth, Fri, 10 Sep 2010 07:38:46
    • Re: Just purchased 2001 Viggen, need help, lms, Fri, 10 Sep 2010 04:33:11
      • Re: Just purchased 2001 Viggen, need help, Paul Forsyth, Fri, 10 Sep 2010 08:05:27
        • Re: Just purchased 2001 Viggen, need help, lms, Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:06:26

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