Oil changed not 2 weeks ago, level is below 'L' on dipstick
#1
Thread Starter
Oil changed not 2 weeks ago, level is below 'L' on dipstick
I have nearly 210k miles on my stock 2003 S2000 and for as long as I can remember, have always burned some of the Mobil 1 10W-30 EP oil I use (would use up a quart every 1,500 miles or so). I don't track, but I drive hard and redline the car multiple times every day, yet I've always had meticulous maintenance done at the proper intervals with Billman250. However, within the last month or so, the oil burning has accelerated. After an oil change not even two weeks ago, the oil level is now below the L on the dipstick. Filling a quart brought the level to the second marker (out of five). The car still performs and runs well and gas mileage hasn't changed since this happened. If I didn't check the oil level just now, I wouldn't have known anything was wrong... until the engine goes BOOM eventually!
What could be the problem? Do I need an engine rebuild? Performance doesn't seem to be affected, nor the gas mileage, no obvious change in engine/exhaust sounds so not sure if that helps in the analysis. Billman did a compression check on all cylinders at 195k miles and all was good. I also got high praises from Blackstone Labs analysis from a couple of oil changes ago. Don't know what's going on. Thanks!
What could be the problem? Do I need an engine rebuild? Performance doesn't seem to be affected, nor the gas mileage, no obvious change in engine/exhaust sounds so not sure if that helps in the analysis. Billman did a compression check on all cylinders at 195k miles and all was good. I also got high praises from Blackstone Labs analysis from a couple of oil changes ago. Don't know what's going on. Thanks!
#3
Community Organizer
any leaks or drips under the car?
place some weighted down cardboard under the car overnight to check for leaks?
place some weighted down cardboard under the car overnight to check for leaks?
#4
If it runs fine, just keep feeding it oil! You could rebuild now, but what is the point, if something finally does surface the answer then is to rebuild, so you don't save anything.
I will say that my car drinks Mobil 1, especially if I drive hard. I could go 1000 miles and add nothing or 500 and add a quart depending how I drive the car. I just switched to Motul and will see how well it works.
I will say that my car drinks Mobil 1, especially if I drive hard. I could go 1000 miles and add nothing or 500 and add a quart depending how I drive the car. I just switched to Motul and will see how well it works.
#5
I also had / have an AP1.. it used oil, what I would have thought was.. that's what AP1's do.. and on it's last trip.. I had checked and within that 500 mile trip.. second guessing myself.. I didn't recheck my oil and it cost me an engine.. people say.. oh, it shouldn't have eaten that much oil... well.. it was 203k.. yes.. it really drank it up... should'a checked it... ...
#6
Registered User
Join the club. Many of us with high mileage AP1s burn 1qt/1k miles or more, despite having flawless compression tests, new pcv valves, and no signs of performance degradation.
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#8
Thread Starter
No leaks on the ground whatsoever, that would have been obvious. It's definitely getting burned up. Dropping in a quart raised the oil level to 2/5, so I'm assuming about 1.5 quarts was lost in the 2 weeks I drove the car around for approx 600 miles or so. So I guesstimate I was getting about 400 miles per quart that's burned up. The reason I asked if I should get it looked at now rather than wait for something to explode is potentially to save a boatload of money. I was figuring this was an early warning sign of something more devastating to come.
Is the best course to just wait and see what happens? I'll continue to monitor the oil burn rate.
Is the best course to just wait and see what happens? I'll continue to monitor the oil burn rate.