i have a 2002 longblock in a 92 dakota,it has about 75000 miles on it,i checked the oil at 2000 miles and it was over 2 qts low,as in nothing showing on the stick,i have been thru the intake plate leaking and now have a plate welded onto the bottom of the intake,there is no oil film showing in the intake,and no exterior oil leaks,i ran a compression test and all cyls are good with the lowest being 140#,there is no exaust smoke! the platunim plugs didnt show any oil fouling,my question is,whats the possibalty that the intake warped a little when i had it welded and is sucking oil between the intake and heads?,or is it just gonna use some oil no matter what!,its not that the useage is so bad,but at 75000 it shouldnt be useing oil,and im not good at remembering to check it!1

Is the PCV valve working properly?

It depends on how long it takes to burn 2 qts if it is a problem or not, so truthfully, how long has it been?

Yes the intake could be warped if the welding was not done properly.

pcv works right!
i usually drive around 1000 miles a month,sometimes a little less,change oil every 2000 miles or close to it,

So it is burning a quart every 1000 miles?

Mabey there is a pin hole in the weld somewhere or mabey it developed a crack over the heating and cooling cycles it sees

Like you said it could have warped it and it is gettin in the chambers throught the other gaskets.

It could be valve stem seals but you usually get some smoke on cold starts from the stem seals.

when i had it welded i sit it up on a stand and put gasoline in the intake,watched for seepage,and took it back two times to reweld where it was seeping gas,after second time it sit all night without leaking,i have another intake and another heavy alum bottom plate thats bolted not welded,i can change and use it,but dont want to use the bolted one unless im just pretty sure that the welded one is warped,as i recall the intake bolts dont tighten down much,maybe not enough?