Burning Oil - 94 Crown Vic

[87mefull]

My father drives a 94 Crown Vic that he bought last year (has likely around 46,000 miles on it now) but it's burning oil. I think the problem is the car sat too much and the valve seals dried up, causing the oil consumption issues. It doesn't smoke when you first start it, it only smokes when idling at traffic but is fine upon acceleration. Definitely have to keep an eye on the oil level as it burns a qt every 500-1000 miles IIRC. Engine runs smooth though, no noises or other issues, just age caught up with it.

I know the solution is to either rebuild the heads or replace the engine, neither of which my father is really interested in doing as for the labor cost + parts you can buy a newer crown vic or grand marquis that runs fine. I'm not interested in that type of work either at this time, just went through **** installing new heads and head gaskets on another old ford, it's more work than I can handle at this time (no garage, limited on tools).

Is there any type of oils or additives that may help reduce the oil burning to prolong the life of the car? It's in great condition otherwise.

[Stocker]

Switching from 5W-30 to 10W-40 in my '95 reduced oil consumption by over 50%. However, mine was a 150,000-mile former police cruiser, so I wasn't particularly worried about the thicker oil causing other issues.

[pantera77]

Almost all 91-95 4.6's will eventually burn oil, the valve seals are garbage on them. There not that bad to change though, you can do it in car.

[Bobcat]

All mod motors burn oil through the valve seals eventually.

Though as Zack said,
You've got the one that's the worst at doing it.



If it's not bad, I'd just run it. Lil oil here and there aint too bad work.

[LithiumCobalt]

You don't have to swap engines or heads, just change the valve stem seals. They're only about $20/set. If you are moderately inclined mechanically you can do this yourself. Do one side one day and then do the other side another day. Usually the passenger side burns more than the drivers side for whatever reason.

[pantera77]

Also, you really shouldn't run heavier oil in modulars, to small of passages and to tight of clearances.

And don't feel bad, my old 92 burned a 1qt every ~200 miles. People would honk at me in intersections because of the huge cloud of blue smoke I'd always leave.
My new one doesn't seem nearly as bad, at least I can't see any clouds in the mirror.

[gadget73]

The only thing you can do with these is replace the valve seals, put a different motor in, or turn it into cat food cans. There are no magic potion fixes, and thick oils will do more harm than good.

[93mgm]

Is there any resources to show how to change the valve seals?

[knucklehead0202]

Also, you really shouldn't run heavier oil in modulars, to small of passages and to tight of clearances.

And don't feel bad, my old 92 burned a 1qt every ~200 miles. People would honk at me in intersections because of the huge cloud of blue smoke I'd always leave.
My new one doesn't seem nearly as bad, at least I can't see any clouds in the mirror.

Couldn't agree more. My '98 has always consumed a little oil so I tried thicker stuff. It ran shitty, got worse gas mileage, and still consumed oil. Switched to motorcraft synthetic blend and it's happy, and actually burns less of it. In this case though, I'd do valve guide seals.

[miamibob]

Got Motorcraft 5W20 in my '95 GM and it is a "happy camper". No using or burning oil. DO NOT put heavier oil in to make up for possible seal damage!

[rezwrrd]

Mine seems intermittent, just on acceleration and startup. It's been doing it this week, but almost never when I'm watching for it. Went to look at a house for rent last night and was really hoping to not pull away in a cloud of smoke, but that's what happened.

Bobby, does yours call for 5-20? I always use Citgo/Supergard 5-30 synthetic blend, but one time when it was really low I tried topping it off with 10-30. It seemed to disappear even faster. I'm hoping to do the seals this summer., and probably valve cover gaskets. It's burning and leaking, so I'm fighting on two fronts here.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Does yours call for 5-20? I always use citgo/supergard 5-30 synthetic blend, but one time when it was really low I tried topping it off with 10-30. t seemed to disappear even faster. I'm hoping to do the seals this summer., and probably valve cover gaskets. It's burning and leaking, so I'm fighting on two fronts here.

All the 4.6s got cleared to used 5w-20 in a TSB sometime in the early 2000s, so it's not uncommon for an older one that recommends 5w-30 to be running 5w-20 in it since it's fine.

[rezwrrd]

All the 4.6s got cleared to used 5w-20 in a TSB sometime in the early 2000s, so it's not uncommon for an older one that recommends 5w-30 to be running 5w-20 in it since it's fine.

Huh, good to know. I always wondered why all of the newer ones said 5-20 on the cap. I figured it was probably just a whale thing, or something with newer Ford engines.

You'd think I should know these things, but I'm just an oil change monkey. I do what it sez on the cap.

[miamibob]

Mine seems intermittent, just on acceleration and startup. It's been doing it this week, but almost never when I'm watching for it. Went to look at a house for rent last night and was really hoping to not pull away in a cloud of smoke, but that's what happened.

Bobby, does yours call for 5-20? I always use Citgo/Supergard 5-30 synthetic blend, but one time when it was really low I tried topping it off with 10-30. It seemed to disappear even faster. I'm hoping to do the seals this summer., and probably valve cover gaskets. It's burning and leaking, so I'm fighting on two fronts here.

Mine actually calls for 5W30 but since the dealer probably only carries 5W20 (for the newer cars it mostly services) that is what they put in. Since I can no longer do my own oil changes, I resort to the dealer and with the deals I get, it is actually cheaper than me buying the oil/filter and doing the work myself.

[HiFiMerc]

Someone on one of the forums had an excellent write up on changing valve seals. Complete with pics and part numbers and tool numbers, etc. I don't remember if it was on UPOA or here or CVN. I think it was a downloadable PDF. Might have been last year, or the year before.