I have been racking on the miles lately on my 87' 4x4 which has gotten me thinking about whether or not I should be changing the oil more or possibly just the filter. The thing is that it burns about a quart every 200-400 miles so it has been getting fresh oil added regularly. I would just change it as recommended by the owners manual and use a high quality oil and use a zinc additive as most recommend but have just been adding NAPAs house brand oil like crazy since it burns it so much and haven't bothered with an oil or filter in a while. I guess ive been stuck with the mindset that its getting fresh additives through its regular oil fillings. I have a friend who used to own an old ford ranger with a similar oil consumption problem and he owned that truck longer than any of his other vehicles and just added oil regularly. the oil is getting a bit dark but still has the consistency of fresh oil. Im sure the oil control rings are to blame since i have been through everything on the engine except the bottom end. it has new valve stem seals, valve cover gasket, timing chain and seals etc. I like to think eventually ill get around to re-doing the bottom end but who knows when that will happen, maybe when i get my 88' SPX on the road soon. what do you guys think? should i just do a new filter and keep adding oil for now or does all 5-6 quarts of capacity need to go?
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