[Unknown User]

I noticed tonight that my 280zx ate about 2 quarts of oil since I last checked it (about a week ago). The only reason I noticed it was because my oil gauge went nuts. Now the oil gauge is reading much higher than it normally does. I always keep the oil inbetween the full and empty points. I'm not burning any oil that I know of through the exhaust and I haven't seen any oil spots on the ground. Any suggestions would be very appreciated.

 

[Ian]

> I noticed tonight that my 280zx ate about 2
> quarts of oil since I last checked it (about
> a week ago). The only reason I noticed it
> was because my oil gauge went nuts. Now the
> oil gauge is reading much higher than it
> normally does. I always keep the oil
> inbetween the full and empty points. I'm not
> burning any oil that I know of through the
> exhaust and I haven't seen any oil spots on
> the ground. Any suggestions would be very
> appreciated.

There are only 3 places oil can go. 1) through the exhaust pipe after being burned by the engine.(bad rings or valve stem seals) 2) through one or more of the seals of the engine (front or rear main, oil pan, etc.) 3) this is very rare occurance but sometimes little gremlins get into a motor and eat oil. you have to perform a special oil gremlin exorcism to get rid of them.
Well, seriously, I would double check your spark plug for oil fouling if you don't have any leaks. Otherwise there is nowhere else for the oil to go. good luck!

 

[Unknown User]

> There are only 3 places oil can go. 1)
> through the exhaust pipe after being burned
> by the engine.(bad rings or valve stem
> seals) 2) through one or more of the seals
> of the engine (front or rear main, oil pan,
> etc.) 3) this is very rare occurance but
> sometimes little gremlins get into a motor
> and eat oil. you have to perform a special
> oil gremlin exorcism to get rid of them.
> Well, seriously, I would double check your
> spark plug for oil fouling if you don't have
> any leaks. Otherwise there is nowhere else
> for the oil to go. good luck!

I had this happen once in my Ford Ranger 4 banger, where the oil seemed to dissapear after a week. The exhaust looked normal, and no oil spots on the ground. After so many months smoke started coming from the exhaust. The exhaust also got louder. Could the catalitic converter be catching the oil and getting clogged up?

 

[web]

Have you checked your coolant? It might be possible for the oil to get into the radiator fluid through a bad seal.
> I had this happen once in my Ford Ranger 4
> banger, where the oil seemed to dissapear
> after a week. The exhaust looked normal, and
> no oil spots on the ground. After so many
> months smoke started coming from the
> exhaust. The exhaust also got louder. Could
> the catalitic converter be catching the oil
> and getting clogged up?

 

[Unknown User]

> Have you checked your coolant? It might be
> possible for the oil to get into the
> radiator fluid through a bad seal.

I pulled out the spark plugs yesterday and they were very clean. I replaced them anyways. But I have noticed that my coolant has been getting blacker. I drained it about a year ago when I had the radiator resealed. I thought it was just getting dirty, but maybe that's where my oil is going. I would think it would be real black by now though. Is there any other way to tell if it's leaking in the coolant? (I'm getting the radiator flushed probably next week)

 

[Russ83ZXna]

It sounds like the start of a blown head gasket. try this to see if you have oil in the coolant system. Drain some coolant out into a glass jar and let it sit for awhile. I am pretty sure that the oil will seperate and float to the top of the water.

hope this helps you out.

> I pulled out the spark plugs yesterday and
> they were very clean. I replaced them
> anyways. But I have noticed that my coolant
> has been getting blacker. I drained it about
> a year ago when I had the radiator resealed.
> I thought it was just getting dirty, but
> maybe that's where my oil is going. I would
> think it would be real black by now though.
> Is there any other way to tell if it's
> leaking in the coolant? (I'm getting the
> radiator flushed probably next week)