I have an '04 Disco w/ 85k miles on it. Had it in for oil change 2 months ago. Yesterday, the oil lamp comes on briefly and then goes out. Pulled in to a gas station and checked the oil- dipstick is totally dry. Added 2 quarts and it rose to the very bottom of the dipstick. Took it to the dealer this am. They checked it out and said there were no leaks, filter looked good, drain cap was fine but that there was very little oil (which I knew from the day before). They refilled the oil and told me to watch the level. I have not noticed any new/different/bad sounds and the engine is running normally.

The truck has never burned oil in the past that I've noticed. Now, I've either burned through a whole tank of oil in 2 months or little to no oil was replaced at the last oil change. Does anyone have any thoughts on 1) what likely is going on and 2) assuming for a minute that it's not burning oil and at the last change only a bit of oil was put/left in, whether I've had damage to the engine?

Many thanks for any thoughts/suggestions.

 

This is why I change my own oil.. I can make sure I put the right amount in. Once I had it done at a jiffy lube/ firestone place and they didn't put oil in it.. I didn't know that until I had started it and it ran horrible. No wonder. Luckily I didn't do much damage. Your big damage points are , top of the engine: lifters and cam shaft bearings plus cam. Not so much push rods but its possible. Lower engine: Crank shaft and bearings. Thats bad news if its that. You could also do damage to pistons.... Hopefully you caught it in time. If your truck is drinking oil then something is wrong with the valves I would think. I haven't had to experience any oil drinking issues thankfully. Oh one more thing, is there oil in coolant? If so, I would say HG time... You can check it with a combustion gas test kit.

 

Yes, I want you to check the oil level at least 3 times a week before a cold start in the mornings. Do it and track it, if it starts dropping then get back to use for what to start checking.
By the way, what weight oil are you using?

 

No matter who changes your oil you MUST check it once a week, it takes all of 5 min, pick a day of the week, like Sat, and every Sat morning after it has sat all night and before you start it open the hood and pull out the dipstick, no need to wipe it, just pull it out.
Not knowing how many miles you drove in 2 months we cant say if it leaked out or was "used" by the engine.
Assuming you take it to the quick lube you CANNOT use anything less then 10w-40, that means NO 5w-30 or 5w-20, which it what they are going to use because that has the biggest profit for them and is what 98% of all cars use.
Also you CANNOT go more than 5,000 miles on a single oil change.

 

Amen on the weekly drill. In the past month or so we have posts from owners with loose clamps draining coolant, coolant low by as much as two gallons, and oil four quarts low. A loose clamp or bad o-ring does not care how big your house is, what you do for a living, etc. It just want's to ruin your day and empty your wallet.

 

Many thanks for the responses. Agreed on the need for weekly checks- once bitten twice shy. Atancreti- no oil in the coolant, to answer your question. Disco Mike, I use 10W-40. Dealer has been doing the changes. I am going to monitor the level daily in the am cold and will post once I get a feeling whether I'm losing oil.

Thanks again for all of your responses.