i live in chicago and its been pretty damn cold this past week. Today i checked my oil and it ended up being extremely low. added 2 quarts until i hit adequate level. 2 quarts low!!? Checked my plugs no oil, looked under the car and didnt seem to be leaking anywhere. Wondering if it has anything to do with the weather? Or am i looking at a bigger problem here?

 

10w40 is still 10w in the cold

 

I can't quite remember but i think in colder climates it is better to use 10w 30. I live in texas and it doesn't really get cold enough here to have to choose between 10w40 and 10w30. But you might check your owners manual, it will usually say what oil is good for the cold.

 

i have been using 10w-30. so losing oil in the cold is normal? almost 2 quarts worth?

 

doubt it. if you're 2 quarts low, the level is supposed to be way below lower dot on the dipstick and I wouldn't be suprised if the engine started to knock.

 

that does seem rather strange. Im sure i don't need to say this but keep an eye on it and listen for unusual sounds when you drive. If it goes down again i would take it to a shop cause it could be burning oil or something else.

 

I use 5w30 no matter what the weather is

 

damn i drove about 60-70 miles last night..... checked it this morning and once again looks like i lost about a quart!!!?? ... really stumped here.. car runs fine, checked plugs no oil, and no blue smoke coming out of the exhaust. I checked under the car this morning to see if oil leaked and no oil is on the ground. ill prolly end up taking it to the shop, but hoping u guys can give me some insight on wat might be some possible causes for this? thanks

 

Have u looked all around the block? Look at the valve cover gasket all around the head. Oil cooler gasket. Rear main gasket.

 

Valve cover gasket looks ok... no oil around the edges of the valve cover. oil cooler gasket? rear main gasket? dont really know where those are located? how do i check if those gaskets are bad?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TeGGY_LS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Valve cover gasket looks ok... no oil around the edges of the valve cover. oil cooler gasket? rear main gasket? dont really know where those are located? how do i check if those gaskets are bad?</TD></TR></TABLE>

oil cooler is behind the oil filter, has coolant lines running to it and from it