ringgold

Well I wasnt going to post anything about it, but I decided against that and wanted to see what some of yall thought could have happened.

I dont daily drive my car, so yesterday I went out to the driveway and checked the oil in my car before I started it. It had been sitting for a week or more and I decided it was time to crank it up and let it warm up. I check the oil and its about halfway between the dots on the dipstick. About half a quart low from being completely full. Nothing abnormal since my car does burn a little oil. Weird thing is it doesnt smoke when I mash on it just black smoke. It does smoke occasionaly at idle and it generaly clears up pretty quick once I get going. Now yesterday was nothing any different. So I shut it down and dont think anything of it. I noticed later on that my dad had a very small amount of Lucas Oil Stabalizer left in a bottle so I added that to my engine for no real reason. Well yesterday I go back out and check out my oil level again and somehow there is half a quart of oil missing from my engine!!!! The oil level was on the bottom dot on the dipstick. I couldnt believe it actually. How did my engine burn up half a quart of oil sitting there warming up? I thought that maybe that Lucas Oil Stabalizer had maybe clogged something up and was keeping oil up in the head or somewhere instead of letting it drain back down to the oil pan. Thats the only thing I could think. I start the car move it to be washed and then later on drive it to a gas station and back home. I check the oil later and its still on that bottom dot. Today I check it again and nothing has changed. I add a complete quart of oil and it put it at the full mark or second dot. I start the car let it warm up just like yesterday and it did smoke a little but cleared up with a few revs like always. Only this time when the car cooled down and I checked the oil its still there.

Anyone ever had this problem? My car doesnt smoke profusely, and it doesnt burn oil like that. I do notice that I have a little smoke out of my engine breather at idle sometimes and I realize that I may have a little more blowby than I should but it has been doing that for a little while now. My engine has about 6k on the bottom end since it was rebuilt, and the head is bone stock never touched other than to take it off the block.

Where did that oil go?

PINKS

The first reading you took was probably innacurate, didnt wipe it or caught a drop or something

Oil doesnt disappear, it leaks out or it gets burned. And no you cant burn a 1/2 qt at idle without SMOKING OUT THE HOUSE

ringgold

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PINKS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The first reading you took was probably innacurate, didnt wipe it or caught a drop or something

Oil doesnt disappear, it leaks out or it gets burned. And no you cant burn a 1/2 qt at idle without SMOKING OUT THE HOUSE

</TD></TR></TABLE>

Dude Im **** about checking the oil trust me. I know for a fact that I didnt just check it out once with out wiping the dipstick and rechecking it. I checked it more than once before I started the car. No doubt about that. Im also not a new guy to engines that is why my dad and I are both stumped on as to what happened yesterday.

I pulled the charge piping from the turbo and checked that, it was good to go. I pulled the plugs and checked them they were not soaked in oil, and had they been my car would have been billowing smoke out of it. Only thing my dad and I thought was somehow some oil got caught up in the engine or either the oil pan had an air bubble in it. I think both of those assumptions are a little far fetched. Had either of those been the case then it would have to be the air bubble. Because remember today I added a full quart and its reading good right now.

caputo

if your using good oil, lucas treament is useless,theres a thread about this product somewhere in here, ill try to find this article in here.

ringgold

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by caputo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if your using good oil, lucas treatment is useless,theres a thread about this product somewhere in here, ill try to find this article in here.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well the amount that I put in my car is useless by any means it was only a small bit. I only added it basically so my dad could throw away the container with out any in there. I do use good oil but this thread is not about what type of oil I use or if an oil additive works or not, its about half a quart of oil disappearing.

CRX_1.8T

Stupid question... but is your car parked on an incline or decline?

SOHC_MShue

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CRX_1.8T &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Stupid question... but is your car parked on an incline or decline?</TD></TR></TABLE>
this can make a big difference when checking oil. I always look for a completely flat spot and try to make sure its been sitting long enough to drain all the oil back down.

ringgold

Car was parked on the most level part of my driveway. So that was not an issue either. I drove the car out earlier today after I had added that full quart of oil and mashed on it pretty good a few times while I was driving it. Brought it back home let it sit and cool and checked the oil again. It somehow mysteriously gained a small amount of oil??????? It was parked back in the same spot so the incline or decline was not a variable there either, and the oil level was a little above the full dot on the dipstick. I just got back home from driving it tonight and I mashed on it pretty good a couple times tonight as well. Its parked back in the same spot so Im going to check it again tomorrow. I will let yall know what I find.

PINKS

lol, the most paranoid guy I know

ringgold

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PINKS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">lol, the most paranoid guy I know</TD></TR></TABLE>

Na not the most paranoid, just want to figure out what happened to that oil. I checked my oil level this morning and its still full and good to go? I dont know what happened to that half a quart lol.

tannerLSt

stop trippn

I Have an STD

you said "the car had been sitting for a week" which means that all the oil that was in the head when u parked it a week ago has had time to slowly dribble down from the head and all the oil passages and collect in the pan. once you started the car, you pulled all that oil from the pan and put it in every oil passage and back up into the head. when you turn the car off, MOST of the oil will settle right back down into the pan, but remember, oil coats everything it touchs, and that coating adds up.

long story short, the oil that you are "missing" is in your head and oil passages, it hasnt yet had time to all dribble down into the pan.

ringgold

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by I Have an STD &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you said "the car had been sitting for a week" which means that all the oil that was in the head when u parked it a week ago has had time to slowly dribble down from the head and all the oil passages and collect in the pan. once you started the car, you pulled all that oil from the pan and put it in every oil passage and back up into the head. when you turn the car off, MOST of the oil will settle right back down into the pan, but remember, oil coats everything it touchs, and that coating adds up.

long story short, the oil that you are "missing" is in your head and oil passages, it hasnt yet had time to all dribble down into the pan. </TD></TR></TABLE>

If this was the case then a ton of other people would be asking the same question as me, and it would happen alot more frequently. My car sits for a week at a time quit often. Never before that I know of half a quart mysteriously dissapears not to return in a day.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tannerLSt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">stop trippn</TD></TR></TABLE>

Not trippin just wandering because I have never had a situation where that much oil dissapeared that quickly. If I was trippin I wouldnt take the car out and race it still.


Modified by ringgold at 2:55 PM 9/18/2006