Oil Dipstick is driving me nutz! (2 Viewers)

[biff44]

LX570. every frigin time i take a dipstick reading it is off +/- a quart.

a week ago, it showed i was way low. Added 3/4 quart, and it just barely made it up to where it indicates. Checked again 2 days later, and it was below the reading level, so i added a full quart.

then a week later i check, and it looks like i have 1 1 /2 quarts TOO MUCH now.

What the hell is going on. Is there some sort of vapor lock or vaccum thing that goes on so sometimes the oil is all sucked up to the upper engine, and other times is just flops down to the oil sump???

Anyone else having these issues? Any tricks to measure the oil reliably?

Should i crack the oil filler plug, come back in five minutes, and read it then? Is it possible my PVC valve is sticking and causing this variablility?

 

[bloc]

Checking it at different oil temps maybe?

 

[gasman4u]

are you checking it with the same set of circumstances regarding engine temp, vehicle being level, etc? That would explain a little variability IMO, however 1.5 qt variability seems a bit much.

 

[doru]

My way of doing it is always with a hot engine, 10 min after it was shut off so the oil gets a chance to drain down into the pan, parked on a level surface obviously.
Try it and see what you get.

 

[biff44]

My way of doing it is always with a hot engine, 10 min after it was shut off so the oil gets a chance to drain down into the pan, parked on a level surface obviously.
Try it and see what you get.

alright, i will try it carefully that way a couple of times and see what i get.

 

[Sandroad]

I think you’re not consistently inserting the dipstick all the way in. There is very little change in the level when hot or cold or whether or not you wait and certainly not so much that one time it reads full and the next time it doesn’t even show on the dipstick. The vehicle does need to be level. In your case you added about 1 1/2 qts and now it’s that much over full, so I think it’s a dipstick issue.

 

[HUZZAH]

I was having the same issue until I began checking it in the mornings when it was cold and all the oil had a chance to settle. I’ve found that checking the oil even after my LC has sat for 5 hours will not give as accurate of a reading as in the mornings.

 

[LX4x4]

I also check in the morning which oil should very clearly stand on the dipstick. Maybe at least 12 hours parked. Mine when cold is a little over the top marks from dealer change. I think it is ok because when hot the level in the sump is lower with oil going to other places.

You may get a few chances checking when hot before you get oil on the dipstick tube or the splashes and drips makes it not able to get a reading. Some cars like 1st gen GX I can read it hot as many times as I want. But I think the LC has a more contorted tube in front. There is even a view hole in the engine cover so you can see the dipstick is inserted properly.

 

[GordJ]

Anyone else having these issues? Any tricks to measure the oil reliably?

When you get home, park it and pop the hood. In the morning you’ll notice the hood and remember to check the oil. Thats the only way i remember and the only way that I’ve found to get all of the oil in the crankcase.

 

[manofthewoods]

When you get home, park it and pop the hood. In the morning you’ll notice the hood and remember to check the oil. Thats the only way i remember and the only way that I’ve found to get all of the oil in the crankcase.

Sometimes I do the same thing, but really...
It's about getting the oil out of the dipstick tube. The oil is viscous enough to drain if it has a few minutes with the dipstick out. I'll pull it out set it down and do some other stuff for awhile (check tire pressure, fill washer fluid, etc.) Then, check oil. Accurate reading guaranteed! With the caveat that new clean oil is hard to see.

 

[chriscosta416]

I could barely see 0w-20 oil

 

[Whiskerz]

Make sure the stick is going all the way into the tube. Mine has been tight to get into the dipstick tube and not want to fully seat a couple of times.

 

[biff44]

Sometimes I do the same thing, but really...
It's about getting the oil out of the dipstick tube. The oil is viscous enough to drain if it has a few minutes with the dipstick out. I'll pull it out set it down and do some other stuff for awhile (check tire pressure, fill washer fluid, etc.) Then, check oil. Accurate reading guaranteed! With the caveat that new clean oil is hard to see.

yeah i was wondering if the oil splashed up into the tube., and the vaccuum of the dipstick seated in the tube kept it up there. You do not get a clear flat line on the dipstick, but a smear of part oil, part no oil

 

[TigerInFL]

new oil is always a pain to read.

if you're having trouble reading it use the paper towel method. pull it out. wipe it down clean. stick it back all the way in. take it out and hold the dip stick against a paper towel. should be able to read it reasonable well.

now you could paint it. if you going that route, I'd degrease it first and use a high temp heat paint.

 

[LX4x4]

Some people use sandpaper to add cross hatch to the dipstick tip, this will allow oil to hold on better, especially new, thin oil. Maybe you can cross hatch one side of the dipstick. Use a very fine 1000 grit or higher, clean it well after.

 

[joyRidaz]

I’ve always struggled with the fact that one side of the dipstick shows a wildly different reading than the other side of the dipstick. Not sure how it’s possible but for some reason front vs back seems to read differently for me sometimes.

 

[manofthewoods]

I’ve always struggled with the fact that one side of the dipstick shows a wildly different reading than the other side of the dipstick. Not sure how it’s possible but for some reason front vs back seems to read differently for me sometimes.

two possibilities: 1) the tube hasn't drained enough (see suggestions in previous posts) and/or 2) when pulling the dipstick out it's getting wiped on one side by the tube itself. If that's the case you'll have to judge for yourself which side appears to be a "clean" reading. before writing this I just checked mine and noticed some of that, but on one side it was easy to discern the correct reading.

 

[LX4x4]

Today I found after I parked after 2.5 hours was able to get a reading.
I carefully removed the dipstick and there is a reading that can be seen on the dipstick.
Putting it back in resulted in a mess that is not possible to read.

 

[use2bn83]

here’s how Toyota wants you to check it. This is from the owners manual.

 

[FerrisBueller]

here’s how Toyota wants you to check it. This is from the owners manual.View attachment 3547291

With the caveat that if you fill to the lower areas of the "normal" range, then anytime you are idling on an incline of any sort (especially a side-to-side incline), then it will give you the low oil light because of how the oil is sitting in the pan. I have a particular place I used to park where the driver's side would sit much lower than the passenger side, and the low oil light would always come on quite predictably. Only when I made sure the oil was filled to the very top of the "normal" range did I stop getting the low oil light on those side inclines. It wasn't even that steep of a side incline, maybe 5 - 10 degrees.