[Squidget Guy]

My knowledge of working on vehicles is very limited except for the old VW beetles. Do older Titans have a known problem of losing oil? The one I bought recently is a 2004 with 136k miles. It is losing oil. There is no puddling beneath the engine, but I see oil on the bottom of the cross member where the sway bar is attached. I can find none leaking from the valve cover or oil cooler. On a trip this week, towing my 5000 lb travel trailer for the first time, it was down nearly a quart after a 100 mile trip. I filled it up and when I got back, it was down about a half quart. Again I topped it off and after a 100 mile trip today, without the trailer, it was down about 1/4 of a quart. So, it loses more when towing than not.

There is no evidence of smoking at the exhaust, bur the inside of the tail pipe is black "smut" and it rubs off on your fingers. Any ideas or suggestions? I plan on a 1400 mile round trip towing the trailer in a few weeks and don't relish the idea of putting in a quart of oil every two hours.

 

[Arachnid]

Check the back (cab side) of your valve covers first.

 

[Squidget Guy]

I'll do that again. I did run my fingers around the edges of the cover and came up with clean fingers. I did more research on the internet (it's amazing what you can find, but can you trust it to be legit?). Black coating inside my tail pipe…possible cause oil burning. I saw on a video that a clogged PCV valve can suck oil out of the crankcase along with the fumes. I checked mine. It was clogged…NOT GOOD. Also, when I removed the hose, there was a piece of electrical tape around it by the hose clamp. I removed the tape and checked the hose…it was cracked. NOT GOOD. I cleaned the valve with carb cleaner and now it works so I'll put it back until I can get a new one. I will also replace the hose. If this doesn't fix my problem, then more drastic measures involving heavier weight oil and Lucas products will be tried.

 

[HRTKD]

I have 96k miles and use 0w-30. I have zero oil usage. At least none that I can measure. If the PCV valve is the culprit then you got off easy. They're inexpensive and easy to change. The cracked hose is a bit concerning though. I haven't heard of any cracked hoses on the forum.

 

[Squidget Guy]

The crack was right at the hose clamp, running around the hose. I also found that there is anothe PCV valve on the other valve cover, so i'll remove and check that one too. due to the mileage, i plan to go ahead and change oil again, putting in 20w-50 synthetic as i live in south florida and don't have winter oil concerns, only heat to deal with. I'm also putting in a quart of Lucas stop leak as a backup measure. Hopefully these measures will reduce or stop the oil usage.

 

[Nick Name]

Don't change the oil weight. It's not a Harley. Heavier oil, if not spec'd for an engine will most certainly create new problems for you that will cost a heck of a lot more than 6 quarts of oil. Oil weight is a function of clearances within the engine given the requirements being placed on the engine. Lucas anything won't stop a leak that isn't happening. Replace your PCV valves, run for 100 miles and check the oil level. If it's still going down, then you have an internal issue....like a broken ring perhaps.

 

[HRTKD]

^^^ That's good advice right there. Well deserving a "Thanks" from the OP.