Cannot get accurate oil level reading....

[Chase77]

All,

Im having a stupid problem. I changed my oil, put in a little under the exact ammount called for and it still reads over full. Its been this way for 2 weeks and the cruiser leaks out the rear main. What gives? By over full I mean like 1/2 an inch over the full mark. Checked for the frothy signs of coolant in the oil and nothing. Oil looks clean, engine doesnt smoke. Im at a complete loss.


Thanks,


Chase

 

[87CRUSR]

I had a similar problem which ended up being the actual gauge in the dash. Or could it be the oil pressure sending unit functioning incorrectly?

 

[NocalFJ60]

There is no exact amount to put in it. You want to use the dipstick to see how much you got in it don't worry about measuring it while pouring it in the engine. Just make sure it is not overfilled. I usually fill it up until it is about half way up or little less on the dipstick and then start it up and let it idle and warm up. Then recheck it and add some if needed. I don't worry about trying to get it right on the upper mark.

The dipstick is a what counts. If it is high then drain some oil. I am not sure about the sign and what happens when you overfill it but know it is not good. I wouldn't be surprise if it started to leak oil when overfilling it. The amount of oil varies depending on temp and the size of the oil filter you use.

The old Toyota filters are big and the newer ones are like half the size it seems.

 

[lowtideride]

Everytime I change my oil I put in extactly 8 qts and it alwasy readys high. Im not too worried becuase 8.2 is what its suppose to have. I think its just beacuse not all the oil is going to drain out from just the pan. I have been it like this for years and have not had a problem....

actually to tell ya the truth my truck use to smoke when i got it. Now after years of just normal upkeep and PM the truck onyl burns about 1 qt between oil changes. I think it just wasnt taken care of very well.

 

[zcruiser]

I just changed mine and only put in 7.2 quarts, with a new NAPA filter. It reads about 1/8" over the full mark. I was going to just dump in 8.2 quarts but thankfully stopped to check before I dumped in the last quart.

I'd say drain a quart and get it back down to where it belongs on the dipstick.

 

[Wile E Coyote]

Not gonna kill the motor to be *slightly* overful. Wheelers do it all the time to keep oil near the pickup on way steep ascents/decents.
Too full, and the oil will foam from the crank slopping around in a too deep bath of oil in the pan, along with cause a slight pasasitic loss.
Personally, I'd get closer to the full mark than 1/2".
Mostly.... no worries!

 

[jb welda]

is there an oil *level* gauge on your dashboard?

haile unlikely as they say. thats oil *pressure* and its not necessarily related to oil level which is what the original poster is talking about.

im not so sure about this oil filter business either...if you buy the "correct" filter then i think it ought to have the same capacity that the stock one does. if it doesnt its time to buy your filters from the dealership for genuine toyota parts.

its also not true that the dipstick is the be all and end all of measuring oil, especially if you dont run the engine first to distribute it all before measuring.

personally i learn the capacity of the motor with filter and then put that much in, minus maybe 1 or 2 tenths of a quart which is probably still hanging in the nooks and crannies of your motor after a quick oil drain job. i doubt a little over max will cause much of a problem but ive been wrong before i guess.

one love
jah bill

 

[zcruiser]

its also not true that the dipstick is the be all and end all of measuring oil, especially if you dont run the engine first to distribute it all before measuring.

eh? Of course you need to run the engine a bit after the change and check it again to make sure you're at the right level, but... Once that's done, AND you're on a level surface, AND you've given sufficent time after running the engine for the oil to settle to the "cold" level.... The dipstick IS the ruler the manufacturer gave us to measure whether we have enough oil in the engine or not.

After all, he said "Its been this way for 2 weeks". Doubt he just kept going out day after day to check the oil w/o starting the engine, hoping the level would magically go down before he started it up.

 

[Tarrazu Tico]

Chase,

You probally just have the new smaller filter. You can still order the big can from the dealership for about 12-14 a pop. I just order a bunch at a time. They are the only ones still manufactured in Japan! Search for the part number.


Please do drain down to level. A little won't hurt but I've seen engines that have been killed that way! One dummy thought he was supposed to fill to the top of the engine where you pour it in!!!

Metal shavings in drained oil is very bad.

 

[rockyklg]

my .02
i would have to agree that the dipstick is king. you never know how much residual oil is left in the sucker and if you dont use the markings on the dipstick what good is it?
on a sidenote,for whatever its worth, i worked at jiffylube for a stint and they go by the dipstick. im sure their army of bean counters found it to be the safest.

 

[srplus]

.02 more

seems obvious, but be certain that the car is level left to right and front to back where you check your dipstick.

used to have my shop next to a service station back before the days of self-serve… the owner intentionally had the area where he filled the cars pitched to his advantage. he would check the customer's oil and 'top it off'. he laughed his butt off about all the people he sold 3/4 of a quart of oil to... a quart would usually last him for 3 to 5 customers who all must have thought they drove some real oil burners. he even gave them a ‘discount’ if he already had a can of oil opened & a smile as they bent over.

Same guy also had the contract on tires for the local state troopers. The rules for the trooper cars back then were that if they had one flat they had to change all of the tires on the ground. He would intentionally leave the valve stem cores a little loose so that the tire would be flat in a couple of days. He sold several tires more than once to the troopers (he used to keep the labels and reapply them with rubber cement on the tires he took off). He never got caught but I didn’t buy my gas there ‘cause I figured he probably rigged the pumps somehow or the other.

 

[zebrabeefj40]

im not so sure about this oil filter business either...if you buy the "correct" filter then i think it ought to have the same capacity that the stock one does. if it doesnt its time to buy your filters from the dealership for genuine toyota parts.

one love
jah bill

This one of the things folks are talking about. The OEM filter USED to be a big 1 qt filter. Toyota has revised the filter design so that a filter half the size filters the oil better. So buying an OEM filter buys a "small" filter now (unless you stumble onto a stash of larger filters). You can still buy the larger size in a quality aftermarket filter though...

Nick

 

[Cruzerman]

I've never even gotten close to putting in 8.2 quarts before it says full. I'd say around 7 quarts (usually, a little more) is normal for being full after an oil change. I just figured there was some oil in there that just won't drain. I would, however, be sure to go by the dipstick, not the oil capacity spec.

If my dipstick read a quart over full, I'd drain out a quart. That's just me.

 

[miker]

All,

Im having a stupid problem. I changed my oil, put in a little under the exact ammount called for and it still reads over full. Its been this way for 2 weeks and the cruiser leaks out the rear main. What gives?

I don't think anyone answered the leaking question so I'll throw in my 2 cents. Overfilling by 1/2 to 1 qt will not hurt anything and this alone should not cause any "leaking". You have another problem causing the leak. Bad rear main, bad oil pan gasket, bad side (tappet) cover gasket, bad distributor 0-ring gasket, or bad valve cover gasket. Any of these can be leaking and look like the oil is coming from the "rear" of the engine.

Clean up the engine and then take it for a short low speed drive so as not to blow oil all over the engine. Then have a look all around the engine paying attention to where all those gaskets are located. You will eventually find the leak. Chances are that the source is not the rear main but rather the oil pan, side cover, or valve cover.

 

[Mace]

I love how precise people get with oil


JB, you overanalyze things man.


1/2" over the dipstick is not the worst thing in the world..

 

[zcruiser]

JB, you overanalyze things man.

Yah, we probably all are, but what else ya gonna do with all this excess knowledge???