I went up to Sequoia national forest last weekend, and before I left, I was gasing up and checking the fluids. When I checked the oil, my keen eye noticed that there wasn't any oil line on the dipstick (after wiping it off). I ended up putting 3 quarts of oil in it to bring it about half way up the "safe zone". I am about 3000 miles from my last oil change when I went to full synthetic. I have ~43k on my 07. I looked under for some kind of leak, and could see a little "wetness" around the gasket area of the oil pan, but nothinig that looked too bad...though, it was really low on oil at the time. I did drive it the 5 hours up to Sequoia, and checked the oil everytime I stopped the entire trip...level held steady.

does anyone know if this is common when switching to synthetic...did they just not put oil in when they changed it? Any other thoughts?

Thanks

 

I don't think it is related to changing to synthetic. It's more related to it being a Jeep 3.8L engine.

I run synthetic, and don't use any oil between 6K oil changes.

Lots of threads on the subject.

Keep an eye on the level during this cycle. If it keeps using oil, go back to the previous type. See what happens.

If you still see usage, try going to 5W-30.

 

Some JK's seem to eat a qt. every 1,000 miles, some more, some less. Some not at all. Oil consumption seems to be a problem for some engines. You should always check it after an oil change. I check it in the dealer lot prior to leaving. It could have been down a qt. or more after it was changed, you're not going to know. Have you had problems in the past with oil consumption or is this an isolated incident? I don't think that switching to synthetic automatically means you use more oil. It may just seem that way due to longer intervals between changing it. If you haven't had problems in the past and no huge leak I bet they screwed up the oil change. Like I said, I open the hood and check it right there whether they are present or not. Sometimes techs get distracted. It would'nt be the first time the proper amount of oil wasn't put in. It's up to you to check and make sure it's done properly to include making sure you have a new filter.

 

thanks, I'll definitely keep checking it...and checking up on the oil change guys.

 

the only thing 21st century on the Jeep is the esp and the tpm so don't loose the old habit. For a dealer changing oil is mostly the same thing as any fast food drive thru you never know if it what you ordered until it to late

 

ALWAYS DOUBLE CHECK!!!....when i owned a Grand Caravan( give me a break..i had two little ones at the time ) w/ the 3.8, not ONCE but TWICE a local dealership forgot to put oil in the engine. Oil light came on within 30 seconds of leaving dealership so i pulled over and shut it off to call the service department. They didn't believe me that there could be no oil in it and that i was not reading the dipstick properely and they told me to DRIVE it back. By the time i got there they were replacing my 50,000 km 3.8 with a brand new one FREE of charge.

Lesson learned...i now change my own oil in my garage...feel safer, excuse to have a couple of beers and save a few bucks in the interim.

 

This is the best advice "we've" all arrived at via the many reports of the engine using seemingly (the manufacturer states that this is within normal limits: 1 quart per 1000 miles) too much oil. Many other JK owners report no oil loss between changes. There is a small engine part you might replace if you're prepared to do some research by reviewing the oil loss threads which sometimes seems to also resolve the problem. One quick fix, would be going to the 5w30 oil instead of using the 5w20 oil which has been reported to have resolved the problem for some JK owners although the dealership would probably not comply with this type of fix since it goes against the manufacturers reccomended oil specifications.

 

I use Castrol GTX 5W20 synthetic oil with Lucas synthetic oil treatment 1/2 quart in the cold winter months , and 1 quart in the hot somer months. The filter I use is the Fram TG3600 or Extended Gard 3600. I always pre fill the filter with oil before installing, so there is oil instantly when i start up the engine. More filter media ,more oil capasity,and more of a chance to cool the oil down. I know it dont cool it down that much , but every bit helps when your cranking out the RPM's to get that 202hp . Fram studies have shown by adding twice the filter media , or 2 stock filters that you double the bearing life.
Still rockin 54,000 miles 4:10 gears on 37's ,and the 3.8 dont consume oil. Oh by the way I am still running 45% Ethonal 55% 87octain gas. Hypertec is set for the high octain setting. Tomarow I am going to try and get this hydregen generator instaled and running. Weather permitting.

 

Yeah? I would love it if you could make my jeep run on water not suitable for drinking...or dust.

How do you use twice the filter media?