Engine Oil Stop Leak Additives

Firstly, congratulations and thank you on this great web site.  You are helping a lot of people.

My wife’s Chrysler Pacifica Limited uses up a lot of oil.  She is pretty easy on the vehicle and we always took care of if with regular oil changes, but it has hit the 100k mile mark, and I am having to top it up at least a quart every oil change.

It does not leak any oil and I haven’t noticed any blue smoke.  Any advice?  Any additives I can use?  Have you heard of Howe’s Lubricator Miracle Master?  Suggestions on an engine rebuild?

Thanks!
Oz

Hi there Oz,

Thanks for the kind words, glad my site was a help to you.

Your question. If you do not see any obvious signs of external oil leaks then I can only assume that the engine is consuming “burning oil” slightly internally.

Here are a few thoughts/concerns that I have running through my head right now.

1.  Does the PCV (Positive Crankcase Ventilation) system work properly? I would have your mechanic check the PCV system and make sure it is not clogged with oil sludge which will not allow the engine to breath properly…causing stress on internal oil seals.

Here is a pretty good video talking about the PCV system, take a look

Sometimes you can inspect the air filter for fresh engine oil residue. If you feel or see oil on the air filter it is a good sign there is too much internal pressure on the engine (called blow-by).

2.  Are you using the proper engine oil weight?  I assume the manufacture suggests using 10w-30 weight oil, are you using that?  If so, you might want to try using a slightly thicker engine oil to help reduce consumption.

Castrol makes an oil 20w-50, which IS a little thick and I generally suggest my customers with bigger V8 engines use that, but I think you should be ok with that as well if you want to try it for 3 oil changes and see if it helps.If you are using 5w-30, try switching to 10-30 for 3 oil changes and see if that helps.

3.  If you prefer, you can try a few oil additives. I like Engine Restore in the shiny silver metal can at your local auto parts store.  It seems to really help slow down oil consumption on older cars (although yours is really not that old). http://www.restoreusa.com/Engine_Restorer.html

This video demonstration is pretty compelling

I have not heard of the Howes Lubricator Miracle Master you mentioned, so I can not comment on it.  Engine Restore, I have used many times in my shop and know it can help. It can take up to 3 oil changes to really see any improvement as well, so don’t give up after one use.

On the thought of rebuild….NO.  You are not using that much oil to justify the cost of the rebuild let alone the hassles involved. You just might make things worse. Oil is pretty cheap, and I would rather you find a way to reduce consumption rather than try to solve the problem, which could be an expensive task.

Keep me posted as to what happens.

Please share this with your friends
Austin Davis