oil change issue
 

Changed out my oil today and ran into a bit of a problem. I filled her up with 5.8 qts of oil but my dipstick indicates its still too low. I drove around for a few miles, rechecked and it doesn't even reach the notch on the dipstick. Before I go put more oil than this car takes can anyone offer some suggestions?

Are you parked on level ground when you check?

Is it not reaching the low mark?

Thanks for the reply N1rve. yes Im parked on level ground and it is almost to the low mark but not quite. looks like it needs another qt to even reach it.

Mine was same. Showed full, drove it, checked it 2 days after, showed around bottom hole in dipstick, added 1/3 quart, wen't to between bottom hole and top. When warm its barely to 2nd hole... Not sure how accurate these Subby dipsticks may be but take a look at this thread:

Here Buddy


BLAH!!! I'll look at the manual tomorrow. Too drunk top read, now.

Dumb question, but you're sure there's no oil leaks under the car?

How are you checking, the details that is? Apologies but gotta cover all the bases, you never know.

It should be about 5+ minutes after you shut the engine off. Due to the design of the boxer engine a significant amount of oil will sit in each head and take some time to drain back to the pan to give you a good measurement. Try checking it cold in the morning.

Edit: This may become more common, many manufacturers have begun eliminating the physical dipstick requiring the owner to run a diagnostic program with the engine running to determine oil level, I've seen this on BMW/Mini and Volvo, not sure how long it's been in effect but don't be surprised to see people not knowing the engine should be off when checking the oil of a simpler car, if they bother to check at all.

thanks Packofcrows, very informative link. Im going to try sanding the dipstick and rechecking it tomorrow. It looks like there are a lot of problems with dipstick readings with this car. The only thing is I am 100% sure I put 5.8 qts into the car. I dont want to put more than the car needs just because the readings are off...

YMAA no oil leaks whatsoever.

strat61caster I drove for about 5 miles, parked the car on a level surface, then checked the dipstick around 5 minutes later. I will try checking after giving the oil more time to drain into the pan. I will also try checking it cold tomorrow morning.

I assume by 'park' you mean shut the car off?

Also to be clear, what exactly are you seeing on the dipstick? To me the only accurate thing about the dipstick is whether or not there is oil in the holes. To me if there is oil in the bottom hole and the stick is coated both sides above the bottom when warm it is good. Some will argue that the top hole should hold oil in it as well, to me that is Maximum, being slightly above that hole will not cause any harm.

Based on your post we are assuming that both holes are dry after inserting the dipstick fully into the hole and pulling it out again, you should see the black rubber ring around the yellow handle disappear into the tube and hear a loud click as it goes into place. Is this correct?

strat61caster, yes i followed your exact description when checking and both holes were still dry. However I left the car parked on a level surface overnight and rechecked this morning. The oil now shows slightly above the bottom hole. Perfect! I guess you really have to give the oil time to drain with these engines. Thanks to everyone that helped. Also, I am new here. How exactly do you give people an official "Thank You" ?

If you are just above the bottom hole it may not be a bad idea to add a little more oil to be on the safe side, it's surprising you have added so much but you haven't gone overboard yet. Keep an eye on it, you should be able to see oil in the bottom hole easily after waiting for 5-10 minutes after engine shut off.

Looking at the shop manual, the engine actually should take 5.7 US Quarts when the oil filter is replaced and 6.7 quarts when filling a completely dry engine (for example after the engine is taken apart and put back together. Maybe you were extra thorough in getting oil drained out?

The last culprit could be a minor misunderstanding is if you used a gallon jug of oil in conjunction with a smaller bottle, the gallon should have 4 Qts. so an additional 0.8 on top of that would give you the reading you are observing, maybe even a miscount of how many bottles got poured in? I've done both those things and it took me some time after doing my first oil change to get used to reading the dipstick on this car.

You will be able to use the thanks button once you make 10 posts, no worries.

:thumbup:

Im going to go ahead and assume I was very thorough when draining it out hahah. But I will definitely be more cautious and double checking every step for my next oil change. Thanks again for the info strat61caster. Very helpful.

hey bro @bizintine

Here you go on manual pics. Sorry didn't get to do this earlier but lazy+forgot+sleeping+work+you know....


Instead of posting like 10 pics here, click to my photobucket folder: Here