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Hey all - so I have a high mileage grand cherokee 2006 with 200k miles. engine sounds healthy; no dings, dongs, knocks, cracks, etc.
after every oil change, I noticed when I drain the old oil, I only get about 3QTs of oil back. Just wondering where the heck the other 2QTs are going? the other weird part is, the dip stick continues to show below the full line. No leaks that I am aware of neither
I just added a full 5 QTs so I am going to monitor closely again when I drain her again. One thing I do notice is that the oil is very thick and black after I drain. I use synthetic oil @ 5w-30 and change it every 3000 miles (even with synthetic)
is this something to be worried? should I look into an engine rebuild soon?
Have you checked the engine's oil capacity in your Owner's Manual? Many state Five Quarts plus ONE additional Quart for the Oil Filter.
That may explain some of the "missing oil" but I have a feeling there may be more reasons for concern since running low and/or out of oil is never a good thing.
Hey all - so I have a high mileage grand cherokee 2006 with 200k miles. engine sounds healthy; no dings, dongs, knocks, cracks, etc.
after every oil change, I noticed when I drain the old oil, I only get about 3QTs of oil back. Just wondering where the heck the other 2QTs are going? the other weird part is, the dip stick continues to show below the full line. No leaks that I am aware of neither
I just added a full 5 QTs so I am going to monitor closely again when I drain her again. One thing I do notice is that the oil is very thick and black after I drain. I use synthetic oil @ 5w-30 and change it every 3000 miles (even with synthetic)
is this something to be worried? should I look into an engine rebuild soon?
Is it smoking out the tail pipe? If not its leaking somewhere. But, do you not check it between changes? I mean, your saying its 2 quarts low, because you only got 3 out of it sounds to me like you don't.
Hey all - so I have a high mileage grand cherokee 2006 with 200k miles. engine sounds healthy; no dings, dongs, knocks, cracks, etc.
after every oil change, I noticed when I drain the old oil, I only get about 3QTs of oil back. Just wondering where the heck the other 2QTs are going? the other weird part is, the dip stick continues to show below the full line. No leaks that I am aware of neither
I just added a full 5 QTs so I am going to monitor closely again when I drain her again. One thing I do notice is that the oil is very thick and black after I drain. I use synthetic oil @ 5w-30 and change it every 3000 miles (even with synthetic)
is this something to be worried? should I look into an engine rebuild soon?
Maybe.
My thinking is that the oil is thick and black because it is contaminated. The most likely source for that would be worn rings, which let combustion gas into the crankcase.
But before you get too carried away......... Check the PCV valve. If the crankcase is not ventilating properly things will get dirty fast.
So with the engine idling, pull the PCV valve out and see if you can hear it sucking air. If you do, put your finger over the end of it and make sure you can feel it sucking air.
When you replace it, repeat the test to make sure the air lines themselves are not clogged up. On my GMC I found that to be the case, so I had to take things apart and unclog the lines.
If you are truly missing oil, the clogged PCV vavle could be the culprit there, too. Pressure builds up in the crankcase and forces the oil out - sometimes through the valve cover gaskets where it makes a mess, but sometimes other places, too.
Research NOACK. That's part of a motor oils characteristics. The ASTM D-5800 test is about the oils evaporation rate while under extreme heat. The test is one hour long at 250C or 482F. The number you will see as the results of the test is the actual percentage of the oil by weight that has evaporated off. You take Mobil One 5w-30. It's tests results will be 10.1. That over 10% of the oil cooked off in an hour. There are many oils out there that will do far better and they are not a high dollar synthetic. If you have cold startups over -25C, you can easily use the Pennzoil yellow bottle 10w-30. The NOACK is 4.2 for it which will cut down the oil usage.
Don't know what your oil is rated at? Surprise! I'd be willing to bet that maybe as many as one person on the forum even knows what NOACK is. You can usually find your oil on the PQIA website. Find you oil on the list, look at the characteristics and find the ASTM D5800 test results.
Now down to the why you have the issue. When an engine wears, the wear is worse at the ring packs than anywhere else. The reason is when the crankshaft bearings start to wear, the amount of oil delivered to the rings starts to fail. The crank bearings are what sprays the cylinder walls and bottoms of the pistons. The rings will be living in an oil starvation environment. As the rings wear, blowby starts to happen, combustion gases start getting around the rings. These are extremely hot gases and the internal temps of the engine can get crazy. You won't see it on the temp gauge as the temp gauge only reads the coolant temp. The oil is also a coolant and it's rare to see an engine with an oil temp gauge. This is why the oil is being cooked off at a far faster rate than when the engine was new. That's why some engine builders are now recommending that you step up one viscosity rating at about 100-125,000 miles, to restore the lost oil being delivered to the rings. You can add miles to an engine doing that. Prime example of it would be the Million Mile Ford Van which hit 1.3 million miles before it gave up. The driver used whatever was cheapest the oil in 10w-40, most of it Valvoline.
First of all, your filter probably retains close to a quart. So if you put five quarts in, you're only going to get four quarts out.
How do you know that you're only getting three quarts? Are you draining it into a container with measuring marks on it, or transferring the oil from the drain pan to such a container? Or are you just looking in the pan and guesstimating that it's only three quarts?
And are you checking the dipstick immediately before you drain it?
Something here just doesn't add up. If the oil on your dipstick is at the full line immediately before you drain it and after you refill it, you have to be putting in the same amount that you took out.
It's a Jeep. Did you expect anything otherwise? I use the vehicle that people drive to make an assessment of what they consider worthwhile, and quality is one of those criteria...
A better question would be "Why would anyone buy a Jeep" (Other than the old Willys)
First off, don't be a smart@ss. He asked a valid question. The only "crap" Jeeps out there are the Patriot and current gen Compass. The Grand Cherokee is one of the best selling midsize SUV's on the market - for price, performance and capability, you can't beat it.
That being said - if it's the 3.7L in there, it was never one of the better engines. I'd be looking around long and hard to find out if it's leaking. Might have to clean up in the bay a bit to find out if you've got a leak somewhere.
If it's the 4.7 or the 5.7L, they're fairly bulletproof if you take care of them. Start looking around at your gaskets. Again, if it's dirty, you're going to have to clean and then look afterwards to find a leak. The only time the 4.0L in my Cherokee ever leaked was at the valve cover gasket. Couple hours worth of work on a Saturday and it was fixed. I think the gasket was 50 bucks, plus I changed the oil while I was at it.
Failing an actual leak, others have given you other possibilities. Contamination is one, PCV is another.
Hey all - so I have a high mileage grand cherokee 2006 with 200k miles. engine sounds healthy; no dings, dongs, knocks, cracks, etc.
after every oil change, I noticed when I drain the old oil, I only get about 3QTs of oil back. Just wondering where the heck the other 2QTs are going? the other weird part is, the dip stick continues to show below the full line. No leaks that I am aware of neither
I just added a full 5 QTs so I am going to monitor closely again when I drain her again. One thing I do notice is that the oil is very thick and black after I drain. I use synthetic oil @ 5w-30 and change it every 3000 miles (even with synthetic)
is this something to be worried? should I look into an engine rebuild soon?
You might want to check the oil level on the dipstick and add when it's a quart low, rather than just wait till you do an oil change. As Trapper said, you might want to go up to say a 10W-30 viscosity.
Did you check the antifreeze to see if it's milky white?
If so....blown head gasket.
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