oil question

My 1994 Mustang with the 3.8 engine seems to be going through a bit more oil
than normal. It's not leaking out anywhere and there is no smoke of any type
when I start it or run it. No smell either. My guess is it's getting past
the rings. The engine was built about 40 000 miles ago and I don't know who
did it or if they actually knew what they were doing. Otherwise it works
great.

But my question is about oil. A few people have told me to use synthetic oil
because when the motor starts to do this the synthetic oil will help. But at
the price of the synthetic oil I'd rather not experiment if it won't help.
Has anyone had any experience if this will help the minor oil loss or if
it'll make a difference?

Someone told me to try a different oil other than 5W30 but I don't want to
mess anything up. I could use 10W30 because it doesn't get too cold where I
live. Not too often it goes below freezing and the summers are not too hot.

Thanks!

wowzer wrote:
> My 1994 Mustang with the 3.8 engine seems to be going through a bit more oil
> than normal. It's not leaking out anywhere and there is no smoke of any type
> when I start it or run it. No smell either. My guess is it's getting past
> the rings. The engine was built about 40 000 miles ago and I don't know who
> did it or if they actually knew what they were doing. Otherwise it works
> great.
>
> But my question is about oil. A few people have told me to use synthetic oil
> because when the motor starts to do this the synthetic oil will help. But at
> the price of the synthetic oil I'd rather not experiment if it won't help.
> Has anyone had any experience if this will help the minor oil loss or if
> it'll make a difference?
>
> Someone told me to try a different oil other than 5W30 but I don't want to
> mess anything up. I could use 10W30 because it doesn't get too cold where I
> live. Not too often it goes below freezing and the summers are not too hot.

Even though you were told the engine was rebuilt it doesn't mean they
replaced the rings. The 3.8L engines had a head gasket problem and many
had to be replaced as they had a propensity to leak. What someone might
call an engine rebuild may have just been a head gasket replacement.
Usually a remanufactured engine will be installed before the existing
one is rebuilt as this is typically less expensive. My guess is the
"rebuild" was really a head gasket replacement if it is consuming oil now.

If it is burning oil then it might be seeping through the valve guides
and/or getting past the rings. If it is going past the rings then using
a thicker viscosity oil will slow the rate down some. You should be
able to use 10W-30 without any problems. Personally, I wouldn't worry
too much about it unless it is burning more than a quart between oil
changes. My 1989 LX 5.0L burned between 1/2 to a full quart between
3,000 mile changes ever since it came from the factory.


As for synthetic oil, don't waste your money. It doesn't provide that
much more protection than regular oil that is changed every 3,000 miles.
You can buy regular oil blended for high mileage engines and that
might help to reduce the consumption and keep the gaskets in better
working condition. The best advice I can give you is to change the oil
and filter every 3,000 miles and this will maximize your engine's
lifespan, whatever there is left of it.