MilesP

All right, so this week wasn't good on me. First problems with the Fury, now this:

1970 Coronet R/T 440 Six Pack.

Took it for a nice 2 hour freeway drive this week-end, and upon stopping at the gas station, I check my oil and there was barely any left. I almost shat myself and went on to pour 6 qts in it. Drove back home nice and smooth.

Now I hope nothing got damaged under load at 80mph, but after another 2 hours driving home, I check the dipstick and looks like during the two hour span, I lost a full quart again!

I'm trying to figure out where the hell my oil is going, since the floor in the garage is spotless and the tail pipes have no oil residues in them.

However, looking down the radiator cap hole, I could not see any oil "dots" or bubbles, just slight streaks and it's not the pure transparent fluo-green color, it looks a bit faded toward the yellow-browns and cloudy. I'm sorry it's a bit hard to describe. The cap is dirty with brown gunk. I've attached some photos if that's any help.

So I wonder if my oil is finding its way to the cooling system?

Mr.4spd

Your radiator situation sounds normal to me, you could pressure test it if you're worried though. I'm thinking a bit of blow-by is the culprit. A quart over a two hour drive at highway rpm wouldn't smoke like a mosquito fogger, but I'll bet it is smoking. Have someone follow you and get their take.

TVLynn

Could be bad valve guides or seals
Bad PVC valve, bad rings

What gear does it have ?

MilesP

Gear? What do you mean?

TVLynn

Rear end gear ratio !!!! also what oil pan do you have ? You may be overfilling it most stock pans use 5 qts

440roadrunner

SIX quarts in TWO hours!!!! ???? That thing should be putting out a blanket of blue that would be attracting every EPA cop in 300 miles

MilesP

8 3/4 Sure Grip.

Oil pan looks stock, but 5 qts isn't enough to reach the line on the dipstick.

MilesP

Sorry I didn't specify correctly, one quart in 2 hours of highway driving. Total round trip from SJ to Napa and Napa back to SJ was 4 hours.
Last time I checked the oil was last weekend (March 16) and it was right at the line. I did drive the car a lot last week, so I might have lost some already. And add the 2 hours from SJ to Napa, I only checked the dipstick on the way back.

My girlfriend followed me for 30 minutes this morning, and there was zero smoke, harsh acceleration, idle or cruising speed. I checked myself and it's the same, emissions out of the tail pipes are not visible.
That's why I was suspecting the oil finding its was in the cooling system.

I'm using 10W40 but I'm going to switch to 20W50 with Zinc, maybe oil thickness is at fault as well?

TVLynn

Gear ratio !!!! Is it a 2.91 4.56 ???? How many miles ? sustained high speed?
Truth or fiction My ex neighbor, a CHP officer once told me they ran them 1 qt low on purpose to keep them from using oil. If you had to put 6 qts of oil in it at one time ? You were very close to blowing the engine

MilesP

Gear ratio is 3.23, my bad.

The ride was 70-80 mph sustained all the way, yes.

Mileage on the car show about 12,000 but that's on the car, not since engine rebuild (which I don't know) and probably rolled over.
Mileage for total trip if that's what you're asking was almost 200 miles.

RacerHog

Are you using a Full Synthetic Oil??

pro-tech

My ??? would be is the dipstick the right one?? My truck said in the owners manual that it takes 7 qts.and thats what I put in for the first year of ownership on one oil change I checked the oil and it was a qt.low so I freaked out as it was a new truck with less than 10,000 miles on it..I change the oil and checked it and found it was an 8 qt system and the book was wrong...I would put 5 qts. 15w40 not 20w50 and mark the stick at the 5 qt. spot drive it and check it to see if it goes down from there...Bill

MilesP

This is the product in question that's in my engine at the moment.

MilesP

I've had a doubt about that, so I started with 5 qts, ran the engine, then checked the dipstick: It was about half an inch below the ADD —>| line. I bought another quart and after the 6th fill, it finally was above the line. (I checked three times plus another a few minutes later down the road, still good).
After the 2 hours drive back, the level lowered again half an inch below the ADD line. I drove the car for 30 minutes again today, and it's still the same.

pro-tech

But if it is over full (is what I am trying to tell you it will push the oil out) and look like it is low when it is not really..Is it a chrome dip-stick or factory?? If it is a factory dipstick get the numer off it an cross reference it to see if it is the one for your specs..If it is Chrome dress up dipstick they are never right and have to be calibrated..In any case if you are using that much oil it should be easy to find where it is going...What about oily residue on the rear of the car???...Bumper,decklid,rear valance,etc...Bill

MilesP

Interesting...
It is indeed a chrome dipstick and not a factory.

But like you said, I still need to figure out where than dang oil is going, good or bad dipstick, when I pulled it, there was barely a drop on it and the pressure light started going on and off. I then pull over immediately.
I checked the rear, all clean, scraped my finger inside the tail pipes and it's just dry soot.

pro-tech

Dipstick Issue: when you change the oil put 5 qts. in start it and then let the oil settle/drain back down (overnight or for 15 min. or so) mark the stick at the oil level spot...That is now your full mark...

Oil consumption: with that much oil loss there has got to be a leak some where...Does it have manual gauges?? Check the lines if it does...Bill

mikerp76

also try using some uv dye for the oil and the uv light .then you can see where the leak my be at.

bigblock

A new engine will use oil,especially if they honed the cylinders rough. Maybe you broke it in on that run and it will use less now. If 6 qts went into the coolant you would see oil and coolant RUNNING out the rad over flow tube. It looks like mayonaise and would be on the rad cap.

MilesP

All right, some updates:

I've meticulously checked every nook and cranny of the engine, the only place where there is a little bit of oil marks is around the oil fill cap, typical.

After looking again at the sump, I realized I was completely wrong. I showed it to mechs more familiar with those engines than me, and it is in fact a 7 quart after-market pan, not stock!

I did a full oil change with 20W50 Kendall with Zinc additive, flushed and replaced the coolant (which was just old looking, not a trace of oil in it) and while at it, the transmission fluid. I will drive the car for a while and constantly check the level and see what's happening.

Protech: I do not have manual gauges in the car.

Bigblock: Wasn't aware of oil being used during early break-in. I'll monitor the level when I take the car out. This still baffles me.

67 GTX

Has the issue been solved, or does the oil level still drop? If you check it after driving, you can get a false reading since the oil can get thrown up the dipstick tube.

Pro-tech is correct about the aftermarket dipstick tube. They are not as accurate as the factory ones.

MilesP

I've driven the car a lot and so far the oil haven't dropped at all and looks very clean. I've checked multiple times on cold and hot engine, and reading isn't dropping.
Also, the coolant looks clean.

I'd like to think that bigblock's mention was right regarding a freshly rebuilt engine using oil?