sorry to hear about your problems.. I own a 97 Rodeo and so far with 121.000 miles on it I have noticed slight oil consumption especially after day of wheelin', I check my oil level religiously once a week if not more often, also I have bought it with 80.000 on it and so far I have only replaced water pump, fan bracket (bearing noise drove me nuts) and starter solenoid (talk about lot of work if you don't have body lift). all I can say is that I love my Rodeo, and want to see how much more I can get out of this engine (hopping for another 100.000+... change your oil at 3000 miles, change oil filter at the same time, and add some of that fuel inj. cleaner (I buy Lucas for $2-3)... also I change all the fluids in diffs, tranny, tcase and fuel filter once a year. take care of it, and it will be good to you. hope this helps, just my $0.02 Adem