Short trip engine/oil abuse

I know, I know, short trips are bad on the oil, bad on the fuel, bad on lots of things. But I can't help it much. 3 times a week minimum I have to drive to the airport for work which is only a mile away. The temp doesn't even rise off the Hell-is-frozen-over-cold mark. And then some hours later I have to drive back, although sometimes go grab some food which allows it to actually warm up some.

I just changed my oil last Saturday and checked it today when at the gas station. You can easily tell there's moisture and fuel in it. The big puff of smoke on startup is what prompted me to check, but I know that's because of the excess fuel in the cylinders because of it running rich in open-loop mode.

I just want to know if this is really really bad, or just marginally bad? I try to atleast once a week take it out for a longer drive, say 10-15 miles or so to get it warmed up and burn some moisture out of the oil. I just don't want my bearings wearing out for another 100k atleast.

If it matters, I use Motorcraft 5W-20 or 5W-30, whichever is available for 3,000 mile OCIs.

Once in a while a short trip is ok. Repeated short trips really do the damage. If you can't help it, change your oil a lot more often. It doesn't make it better but it won't be as bad.

Yeah I can't help but make these short trips (about a mile) to work and back these few times a week. How often should I change it do you think? 3k is already pretty short considering new Fords are calling for 7.5k OCIs.

Imo older engines, with more blow-by will contaminate the oil faster. So, the older the engine is, the 'worse' it is, all other factors being equal.

As for the change frequency...... change it every 3 months, regardless of how low the mileage is. :)

A puff of smoke on startup or after a long idle period usually is a sign of bad valve seals. Shows up often on high mileage V-8s.

Well only does it after those short trips. I've been extending them to try to get the temp of the engine up a bit more which has helped.

I also believe the valve seal issue in the modular 4.6L engines were fixed in the '96 or '97 models.

Well only does it after those short trips. I've been extending them to try to get the temp of the engine up a bit more which has helped.

I also believe the valve seal issue in the modular 4.6L engines were fixed in the '96 or '97 models.
The issue may have been fixed for premature wear, but Willyum is right. Smoke on start up is usually the sign of valve seals seats leaking oil back into the cylinder. Might not be the problem in your case, but do you notice when you change your oil that your are low? I know my 5.4 burns about 1 quart of oil every 3000 miles and is someone common on this modular motors with high miles.

In the warmer months I burn no oil. In this past winter with the job requiring these short trips, I've burned about 1/2qt. in 3,000 miles. With 1,000 miles on my current OCI, it's still right at the full mark where I filled it up to.