I have always been told that motor oil doesn’t just get used up by a healthy engine. Meaning, if it is in need of being refilled it has either leaked out on the ground or burnt up somewhere. However, my 2008 LR2 has always needed about 1/2quart every 2 months. There has never been a drop of oil out of place, no signs at the tailpipe of any oil being burnt, no oil in the gas, coolant, etc, nor any Vice versa. Thoughts?

 

It is my experience the most common place oil is consumed is through worn out piston rings, where it gets burned with the fuel. 1/2 quart every 60 days is a very slow leak, a tiny bit over a quarter of an ounce every day. Radial engines on aircraft mark their spots on hangar floors faster than that.

Did you also remove the bottom shield and see if it is accumulating there? If it is, it wouldn't get to the ground unless it's a BIG leak.

 

In my case the oil consumption was the valve guides, apparently that's a known thing with volvos which have the same engine.

I did a compression check, which was good (valve guides don't affect cylinder compression).

After I switched to mobile one high mileage oil, my oil consumption stopped. It contains additives which cause the valve guide material to expand and give a better seal. But once you use that oil, you need to keep using it, otherwise the oil loss will be worse.

Or you can replace the valve guides. But I wouldn't leave sloppy guides alone, the valves could get damaged eventually.

If you don't see any leaks and are worried about engine health, do a compression check to rule out rings or bad valves.

Also check your plugs, if they're not fouled up then you're not burning that much oil. And look at your coolant, make sure it's coolant colored and not milkshake colored... that would indicate a leaking oil cooler, which would actually be an easy fix.