oil

[larry#16625]

my 1950 cadillac uses about a quart of oil every five hundred miles . is this normal? should be using any type of additive to help? Thanks

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Sounds like there is wear in the engine, and the Oil Rings aren't doing their intended job.

Do a complete Compression Check and let us know what the readings are.

Bruce.

[Dave Shepherd]

Usual good advice Bruce, but keep in mind a compression test will not reveal if the oil rings are gummed up not sealing and/or worn.

[jim thomas]

LARRY,I had a '57 chev that you couldn't keep penn oil in it for 500 miles. I swiched to a differerance brand and   BINGO my probems were gone   HTH  jim

[larry #16625]

this was a funeral home car and only has 67000 miles . mostly driven at a slow speed.larry

[David King (kz78hy)]

Maybe some aggressive driving might free up the rings.  I doubt it would do any harm and what fun!

David

[buicksplus]

In my opinion, a quart every 500 miles is not very much consumption for an old car, unless it is smoking severely and being a public nuisance.  Just keep your eye on the level and enjoy the car.  I doubt if there are any additives that would change the consumption much, though driving conditions might matter -- such as highway driving vs city driving.  I use 20-50 wt oil in my older cars, this might cut oil consumption a bit.

Repairing this condition would cost much more than the value added.  Wait until more problems occur (blown head gaskets, loss of power, or much higher oil consumption) and then do a complete rebuild -- including fresh bores, pistons and rings. 

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Sounds like the sudden change in driven style has caused the problem.

When buying an old car that has had an unknown usage, or been pampered, one needs to virtually re-run it in.

Bruce.

[Roger Zimmermann]

You may also "loose" the oil at the crankshaft rear seal. Have a look under the car: if it's oily, the rear seal is at fault.

Roger

[Chris Conklin]

We have very different cars, I know, but the owner's manual on my car states that a quart of oil every 800-1000 miles would be normal. I should also state that my car does not use a quart every 800-1000... and I'm a little worried about that. 

[Tom Magdaleno]

In my opinion, a quart every 500 miles is not very much consumption for an old car, unless it is smoking severely and being a public nuisance.  Just keep your eye on the level and enjoy the car.  I doubt if there are any additives that would change the consumption much, though driving conditions might matter -- such as highway driving vs city driving.  I use 20-50 wt oil in my older cars, this might cut oil consumption a bit.

Repairing this condition would cost much more than the value added.  Wait until more problems occur (blown head gaskets, loss of power, or much higher oil consumption) and then do a complete rebuild -- including fresh bores, pistons and rings. 

My thoughts exactly.