FJ80 Oil Dipstick Question (6 Viewers)

[twgreene]

On the 1994 FZJ 80 / 1FZ engine, how many quarts of oil are required to raise the level from L to F on the OEM dipstick which is actually a stiff wire cable? Engine is warm and has been sitting for 5 to 10 minutes. Two quarts?

Lots of websites advise, "fill it till full" - does that mean the quantity between L and F varies? If so, why, how much, and under what circumstances?

Can't believe i don't already know this, but your comments will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Kernal]

Edit: the early style dipstick was the cable type, the superceded (later style) dipstick "Gage sub-Assembly Oil level" is/was 15301-66010 (superceded to -66011) and should look like in the bottom photo below, a somewhat flexible thin/flat metal bar:

So if the oil level is at the lower edge of the FULL crosshatched (or indented) area, then you're ~1 to 1-1/2 US quarts low.

Been discussed before but to help the OP: the engine should be fully warmed up ie: check the oil after a 15+ minute drive, park the vehicle
on a level surface, turn the engine off, check the level by pulling out the Engine Oil dipstick, wiping it off, reinserting the dipstick,
count to 3 or 5 or whatever, then pull the dipstick back out and read the level.

Helps to hold the dipstick slightly tip down so the oil doesn't run up the stick, look at both sides of the dipstick as there tends to be a slight difference in the level side-to-side (but it doesn't really matter). Trivia point: insert the dipstick so the letters ENGINE OIL are right side up and read the cross-hatched/indented area.

Key Point is to perform the check in the same manner every time although it doesn't really make much of a difference as long as the level is in the cross-hatched area.

While we're on the subject, it is important to use a high quality oil filter as some filters tend to drain out overnight and that can give you
a false high reading if you check the engine cold before the first drive of the day.

Been discussed a lot but FWIW a Toyota oil filter is probably the safest and least controversial choice, after that (IME) Mobil 1 and a few others are known to be good (everyone has their favorite) but some filters are known to be bad. Avoid any cheapo white box Quick Lube shop no name filters. WIX filters were known to be bad in the past but since those few incidents WIX was bought out by MANN HUMMEL, so IDK if the filter design has changed, but most people on the forum probably would not use them or any low end low price filter.

 

[Funner]

I think the early 1fzfe had a cable style dipstick, either way the oil from l to f should be a quart or less, not quarts.

 

[Kernal]

Fixed it: the process for checking the level and how much to add when low should remain the same.

The amount of oil needed can vary depending on exactly where the measured level is, how it's measured, size of the filter, temperature of the engine, day/night, wearing your glasses or not, parked in a driveway on a slight incline, etc, etc but IME it's somewhere around 1 to 1-1/2 US quarts using a large filter when the oil level on the stick is at/near the lower edge of the cross-hatched (or indented) area.

Either way no one should just dump in a bunch of oil all at once.

For the OP: if the level is measured near the bottom of the cross-hatched area it would be safe to add 1/2 quart or so then recheck the level, then add more oil to get closer to the top of the cross-hatched/indented area on your dipstick. But as mentioned above it's not all that critical to get the engine oil level exactly to the top of the cross-hatched/indented area, just don't go significantly above the top level.