Hemi burning oil

Hello All,

Well, I finally gave up on my '94 1500 4x4 Ram in January and bought a leftover 2005. I got a great deal on 1500 Ram 4 x4 Thunderroad with a Hemi, 11,500 off of sticker.

I currently have 5000 miles on the engine. I changed the oil at 3K with Castrol 5w-20 as directed by the ownes manual. The engine appears to be burning about a pint of oil every 1000 miles. At the beginning I thought it may just be breaking in, but it is still burning the same amount. I don't see any signs of a leak, so I'm assuming its being burned.

The engine also has a "tick" that I guess is normal. Has anyone else seen these 5.7liter Hemi's burn that much oil? Is it because the oil is so thin?

Reply to
hockeydad
Loading thread data ...

Recomanded or not, 5w20 is really thin ans it will reduce oil pressure, increase consumption and make it more prone to tick at a idle for reduced oil pressure at a idle. I suggest that you use no less than 5w30 with 10w30 being prffered during the warmer months as it will increase oil pressure, redcue consumption and cling to hot parts a bit better as engine cools.

----------------- The SnoMan

formatting link

Reply to
SnoMan

I would bring it in to the dealer A.S.A.P.

Reply to
Xclimation

Why, 1 quart per 2000 miles is not a warranty fix as it is well within limits. Like I said earlier, use a different grade of oil.

----------------- The SnoMan

formatting link

Reply to
SnoMan

Consuming a pint of oil every 1k miles well past the break-in period is not normal. Neither is the "tick". Take it to the dealer while it's in warranty and get it checked. Accept no "excuses". You want it fixed.

Only my personal, non-technical, shadetree opinions here, but your symptoms sound an awful lot like someone *really* ran the piss out of it several times during the initial break-in period. That can possibly be checked with a simple compression test. The "tick" sound troubles me more than the unusual oil consumption (collapsed lifter or bent push rod), again a suspiciously familiar symptom of some severe abuse of a brand-new engine. How many miles were on it when you bought it?

If you get it back allegedly fixed I would drive it another 1000 miles then have the oil changed aga>Hello All,

Reply to
RamMan

My 2003 2500 Hemi didn't burn any oil and I had it almost 100000 miles.

Reply to
MoParMaN

There isn't a dealer in the United States that would do warranty work an engine that uses one pint every 1,000 miles. This is an miniscule amount and the buyer will have to learn to deal with it.

If he cannot, then I'm afraid he will have to sell it and purchase something else.

Reply to
Advocate

Wasted effort, they will say oil usage is within normal ranges and on the tick, if it is light and intermittant they may blow that off too.

----------------- The SnoMan

formatting link

Reply to
SnoMan

Geez, and I thought I drove alot of miles.

Reply to
miles

The Hemis are known to have a ticking sound. Originally I thought it was just the early Hemi's that had the wrong springs put it. But I've heard it on just about all Hemi's.

Reply to
miles

The truck only had 13 miles on it when I test drove it and 26 when I picked it up. The first time I gave it a little gas pulling out into traffic (not running the piss out of it) the tranny failed to shift properly. The dealer replaced the solenoid pack and all has been fine since. The truck sat on the dealer's lot from May 1st 2005 until January when I bought it. The battery was so dead they had to replace it. The dealer said that sitting may have also caused the tranny problem. Could the long rest period on a brand new engine have also caused ring damage?

Reply to
hockeydad

The truck only had 13 miles on it when I test drove it and 26 when I picked it up. The first time I gave it a little gas pulling out into traffic (not running the piss out of it) the tranny failed to shift properly. The dealer replaced the solenoid pack and all has been fine since. The truck sat on the dealer's lot from May 1st 2005 until January when I bought it. The battery was so dead they had to replace it. The dealer said that sitting may have also caused the tranny problem. Could the long rest period on a brand new engine have also caused ring damage?

Reply to
hockeydad

Not likely and one quart per 2000 miles is not ring damage. Again if you are using a really thing oil, oil consumption will be higher plain and simple because of reduced film thickness. GM 8.1's tend to "use" a bit of oil if you run 5w30 in them and a bit less if you use a good

10w30. Although maybe disapointing, that consumption is within specs. I suggest trying differnt oil brands and grades as you may find one it likes better. I have a old JD 318 lawn tractor that has a discontinued Onan engine flat opposed 2 cyl in it. The engine uses the least amount of oil if I use 15w40 (I tried several grades too and recommanded 10w30 realy goes thru it quick) It does not use but 2 or 3 oz a hour and it runs well so I keep it going otherwise and it does not smoke runing and those engines have a nice sound too. When I put in a fresh change it will not use any oil to speak of for first 5 hrs of operation but as time mounts, consumption increases and by the time you gget to 35 hrs the oil is quite dirty and consumption increases too. What is the pint of all of this? The point is not oils react the same in a given engine and usage and rather than blame the engine, look at how it is feed. I am not suggesting that you use 15w40 unless you are in a very hot area, I am suggesting that you try different lube.

----------------- The SnoMan

formatting link

Reply to
SnoMan

My 03 Ram does not burn hardly a drop at 31,000. My 93 Dakota hardly burned a drop at 188,000 miles. Both doing mixed driving with some hauling and towing. Only 1 of my vehicles out of 15 vehicles actually went through oil at oil changes using dino oil and Fram oil filters.

Reply to
Xclimation

-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Get a grip! A pint in 1000 miles equates to 1.5 quarts in 3000 miles. That's excessive any way you slice it.

Mark

Reply to
Mark Sparge

You're making me feel old! I can easily remember when a quart per 1000 miles wasn't considered bad.

Ken

Reply to
NapalmHeart

Cosideryourself lucky. When a engine is built, it has a acceptable tolerance range for internal clearances. If you get a tight engine, it will use little oil, if you get one at the loose end of the tolerance, it can be different. Myslef, I realy do not consider using a quart every 3000 miles or so , oil consumption though some seem to get pretty upset about it.

----------------- The SnoMan

formatting link

Reply to
SnoMan

And I don't blame them. My truck engine has well over 100,000 and doesn't burn anywhere near that much and with today's technology and materials available, there really is no excuse for that level of consumption.

Reply to
TBone

You'll find a lot of aluminum engines use around 2 quarts per 2K

Roy

Reply to
Roy

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.