Huge variations in Oil consumption....

[2easy]

Hmmm....I have been following my cars oil consumption the past year and it variesdrasticly. It uses 1/2 a litre for a 1000 miles approx. and then in the next it has used 4, and the 3rd thousand it is back to 1/2??? Something is up but Im not sure what. No smoke, knocks, or leaks and I have been under the car with a fine tooth comb. Its an 03 with 52000 miles on her and runs strong. Viper wizards please chime in. Compression and leakdown test this weekend for more accuracy but wondering if anyone has delt with with this issue before. Thanks Gents in advance. Oh... in addition I did have a valve cover that had loosened off a bit and was leaking a bit of oil, and was sitting down in one of the sparkplug holes but torqued it back to spec and no problems since. This was just before i noticed the radical varriances in oil consumption. On the bright side, I was considering a rebuild this fall, going NA and with cam, heads etc. This may expediate things....lol For those who have done it, what kind of money can I expect to spend getting into the mid 600 rwhp?

 

[ViperTony]

If it's going to expedite your NA build then it sounds like your engine is toast, LOL. A compression/leakdown test will help shed some light one way or another. The only time I notice oil consumption is when I do track days. I have a catch can just for my CCV (GenII) and it can fill up after two days of track. Normal driving I've never had to add any oil to the engine even after my GG heads/cam treatment. Nader did an NA build on his GenIII and has nice mid-600 numbers. Try contacting him for more information on cost, etc.

 

[Steve-Indy]

While I am not sure about the status of your Viper...I will say that I have seen MANY 03 Vipers with oil dip sticks that were very hard to obtain a consistant, meaningful reading on said dipstick with multiple attempts on the same occasion...especially if one looked at BOTH sides of the dipsticks as one could see what some perceived as a 2 quart difference in the reading between two two sides...leading a few folks to overfill their system. Again, I am not saying that this your only issue...but it may contribute to the swings that you have observed.

I recall a thread about this, but have not yet tried to find it.

 

[2easy]

Thanks ViperTony and Steve-Indy. Im hoping it is toast so I can get on with this build...the kind of push I need to get it done...lol. Might have to do with hard cornering like you suggest, or a poor system of measurement, or a combination of all. Thanks for the input and I will contact Nader. Thanks Gents

 

[Viperless]

Hmmm....I have been following my cars oil consumption the past year and it variesdrasticly. It uses 1/2 a litre for a 1000 miles approx. and then in the next it has used 4, and the 3rd thousand it is back to 1/2??? Something is up but Im not sure what. No smoke, knocks, or leaks and I have been under the car with a fine tooth comb. Its an 03 with 52000 miles on her and runs strong. Viper wizards please chime in. Compression and leakdown test this weekend for more accuracy but wondering if anyone has delt with with this issue before. Thanks Gents in advance. Oh... in addition I did have a valve cover that had loosened off a bit and was leaking a bit of oil, and was sitting down in one of the sparkplug holes but torqued it back to spec and no problems since. This was just before i noticed the radical varriances in oil consumption. On the bright side, I was considering a rebuild this fall, going NA and with cam, heads etc. This may expediate things....lol For those who have done it, what kind of money can I expect to spend getting into the mid 600 rwhp?

What were your leak down percentages?

 

[bluesrt]

when checking your oil warm, it will show higher on one side,and lower on the other, the accurate one is the lower side. the lower the level gets on oil,the quicker it will use more oil, anything more than 1 quart in 3 k miles is too much .....period

 

[Viper X]

May be a problem with your "checking" procedure as noted above.

I'd also check your intake manifold for excessive oil in it "sucked in" through through the pcv system (two smallish hoses running from under the large opening at the front of the intake to each valve cover).

Most Viper engines **** oil into the intake and burn it pretty easily with little or no impact on performance.

Good luck,

Dan

 

[plumcrazy]

Oil consumption is going to vary with driving style

 

[bluesrt]

i can run the holy toledo out of my car on a trac weekend(about 400 miles) and not use a drop.. it used a little new on breakin, but thats exspected

 

[Viper X]

i can run the holy toledo out of my car on a trac weekend(about 400 miles) and not use a drop.. it used a little new on breakin, but thats exspected

Yeah, I can run mine hard for two weekends and not use a measurable amount of oil.