1999 Dodge 1500, 117000 miles. No leaks that I can see so I think it is burning some oil. About a quart for 500 - 700 miles. It ran hot one time for about 1/2 mile. Did I damage rings etc.? Any suggestions other than a rebuild? Additives?
I don’t think that amount of oil is very much. You could have somebody accelarate the engine while you look at the tail pipe to see it you get any blue smoke just as it is accelerated. If you do, you may have to replace the valve seals,out side of that I don’t see if there my be any damage to the engine.
Another thing is the heads and gaskets but I really don’t think so.
Running an engine hot can cause the rings to coke up in the piston grooves where they get stuck, or the rings can break. What you might try is adding a half a can of SeaFoam to the engine oil, and if the rings are stuck in their grooves, the stoddard solvent in the SeaFoam may free them up.
Tester
Remove the air cleaner, open the throttle all the way, and look down the throttle body to the floor of the intake manifold (use a small flashlight). If you see oil, the intake manifold gasket is leaking. This can turn into a major disaster if it blows out completely. This is a fairly common problem with the Mopar V8s of that era, and not unheard of in the 3.9L V6. Take a look here:
http://autorepair.about.com/library/a/1i/bl816i.htm
Leaking valve seals will cause blue smoke at start up. Check your exhaust next time you start your vehicle. If you have blue smoke, the valve guide seals are leaking.
Thanks guys. I will try these suggestions. Keep 'em coming.
Overheating can damage the piston rings as Tester mentioned and it can also cook valve seals.
If the vehicle were mine I would run a compression test.