i discovered today that my Intrigue is burning some oil, a quart got it back up to between "add" and full" after 3000 miles, i know thats not bad, but i dont like it.

some googling determined this is a common problem, and is considered "normal" for the most part. theories include machining flaws, improper break in and all that jazz.

i plan to check the PCV valve and im thinking about switching to a slightly thicker oil, im running Valvoline 10w-30 right now..

what are the risks if any of switching to a thicker oil? and does anyone have any recommendations, and can you break down what the numbers in the oil mean for me real quick? i always forget.

my climate ranges from an average of 80-90 in the summer with occasional periods of triple digits...temps in the winter are mostly between 20 and 30, although it was down in the teens tonight and often drops lower than that, seldom below zero though...

surprisingly enough one of the suggestions that i seemed to find for helping out for the oil consumption was too "flog it, flog it often, flog it hard"....heck ya dont have to tell me twice!

I always thought that the northstar variants 'used' a little bit of oil to lubricate the cylinders. Northstar engines upon teardown usually do not show very many signs of wear and tear. (or so I have heard this is the reason why they use some oil.)

i read that as well, and it seems to make sense...one theory i read was as follows, and this is me paraphrasing, it was written better the first time:

when the cylinder walls are bored out of the block, they are slightly rough to "hold" oil, when a new borer is used, the walls will be more rough, therefore using more oil, as the borer gets worn down, the walls become less rough, which is why some use more oil than others.

makes sense, and as long as it runs and runs strong its just a minor annoyance. i dont recall the series 2 using any oil though so its a change for me

10w30 is too thick in anything below 30 weather imo, what you could try is a 5w40 heavy duty oil to clean out the engine and stop some of the oil usage, otherwise 10w40 should work but i would NOT reccomend it in the winter (i personally use 0w30 year round if i can, it depends if i get my oil from autozone/napa or not which are the only places around here that carry 0w30)

Zach, dont run anything higher than 10w30, come winter, run 5w30 if you see weather say below 30F.
Our newer engines arent designed for thick engine oil, yours being a twin cam needs quick top end lubrication, lower viscosity oil upon cold start up is key.
Your engine is running normal, my uncle and aunt had a 99 Intrigue, same thing, nothing wrong with it.

1 quart every 3K is considered normal. Don't go thicker, merely change your oil on time. Or aim to change it every 3K if you have a different schedule.

Anything thicker will leave the oil in your pan when you cold start it won't get up to the top end quick enough and you'll damage things from a lack of oil because it was too thick to pump in the cold weather.

I checked my oil level today on my 3.5 and it was at the very bottom of the dipstick, at the "add" line. I haven't added any oil to it since my last oil change and that was almost 6,000 miles ago. (My DIC still reports 47% oil life.)

Stop letting your DIC think for you and change that oil!