oil consumption

[aaron0558]

I know this subject has been beat to death, but I have a different question. Driving a 3.0 manual with 80,000 and it seems to burn more oil; approx. 1 quart first 2-3,000 mi. after oil change. Afterward it doesn't seem to burn much at all and I usaully change at 4-5??? By the way I burn bmw's 5W-30 and wondering if I should use mobil 0w-40. Is this oil too thin for summer mo's?? and will changing back and fourth damage gaskets?? Also had the oil separator aka ccv valve replaced this winter. Now that the temps are warm I took her for a 4 hour beat and still found mayonaise on the dipstick afterward...figured that would burn all the moisture up. My coolant level never changes. Any ideas??

thanks in advance

[swissfrank]

Let's hope not, but you may have a head gasket failure.... Sure sounds like at least.

[motordavid]

aaron,
I also have a 5 spd manual, an '01 with 65+K miles, and I get about
the same kind of consumption as you do. I have tried many different oil
brands and viscoities over the years, usually doing my own changes;
about a yearish ago I went to the 0W-40 from Mobil1 and I have
slightly reduced the initial consumption and curtailed overall consumption
to about 1 1/2 qts over the course of usual time/miles between changes.

All anecdotal, but imo, the 0W helps on our colder starts here at our
elevation and the 40 seems fine, and I don't notice any mpg tradeoff...

That's my oil anecdote, fwiw...your "mayo look" on the dip stick does
not sound good, esp after having the sep valve replaced; I'd do an
oil and filter change, (I don't see how the 0W-40 can be detrimental
in any practical way), and drive the sumbitch; if you still have the mayo,
I'd look harder.
GL,mD

[aaron0558]

thanks dave

[x5skiddr]

i have an 2001 3.0 with 80,000 miles on it also, and i just add 1 quart of oil. going to check to see how long will it last. is this normal?

[amacman]

Methods for checking head gasket are take small sample coolant,mix with chemical [garages usually have test kit] or warm engine a bit,loosen coolant cap and sniff with exhaust gas probe,this will detect hydrocarbons in coolant.