Questions and Answers

Ford F150 Using A Lot Of Oil? Q. I have a 1976 Ford F150 Ford Ranger Trailer Special. I am the third owner and have had the truck for about 7 months. Engine size is 390, automatic transmission, mileage is 153,000, carburetted and A/C. When I first purchased the truck it seemed to run well. I took it in for a tune up and to have engine looked over. It was found that the A/C needed replacing as well as a new heater core.

Also I needed to replace the radial arm bushings and I bought new tires. All done, all what I consider part of maintenance on an over 25 year old truck. I had the oil and filter changed less than 500 miles ago. I only drive the truck once or twice a week for round trips of less than 30 miles.

Lately I have noticed white smoke from the exhaust and signs on the grass around the tailpipe that a black residue is being left. My neighbor told me he could see black smoke from the tail pipe when I took off down the drive way the other day.

I checked my oil and it was three quarts low! The engine does not leak oil if parked. Could you help with possible problems? Seems I may be blowing most of this oil out the tail pipe in smoke or black residue????

Thanks for any suggestions.

A. Three quarts of oil in 500 miles is a LOT of oil. At that rate you would be leaving a trail of blue smoke that would kill every mosquito in the state.

You may have the beginnings of a blown head gasket which would explain the white smoke, but the black smoke is too much fuel going down the carburetor.

You need to start with checking the possible blown head gasket. A good start is a wet/dry compression test and checking for combustion gases in the cooling system.

If that checks out, a look at the spark plugs will tell you a lot (Spark Plugs Tell A Story). If they have a black, wet, oily looking buildup, they are burning oil. If they have a dry, sooty look, the mixture is too rich or fuel is being dumped in.

There's only two ways oil leaves an engine, it is burnt out or it leaks out. In either case, with three quarts of oil in 500 miles, it will be very obvious where it is going.

Are you sure they put the right amount of oil in at the place you had the oil changed?