What's the secret to checking the oil?
 

When I check the oil the dip stick always has oil smeared all across the stick and it makes it hard to tell exaclty where the level is. Has anybody else had this problem?

you have to wipe the oil off the dip stick and put it back in. then it will give you a cleaner reading..

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what tek said

I do that, but it still comes out smeared. That's my dilema. I've just had to guess.

what you have to do is drive the car, than let it sit for about 20mins to 30 mins to let all the oil get back to the bottom of the oil pan, take out the dipstick, wipe it off put it back in and when u pull it out again you will have an accurate reading.

it shouldn't come out perfectly clean, but you can still tell where the fill is with the amount of oil on the stick. it should be thicker where the fill is..

or

you can just simply wait overnight while the oil sets and check it then....

You have to check it hot, because oil expands. if you check it cold and fill it you will over fill it and can cause leaks.

Check it in the morning before you start it.

you have to find the "fluids and lubrication" forum.....

voila. now that you know where that is....

dealer said always check it cold. it won't expand enough to cause leaks... :Orly:

look around and you'll find many opinions. some even say, change it every 3750, and don't worry about it.

bottom line, our stick sucks. i don't check it b/c i park on uneven ground and get tired of the Dumbstick. but if it crosses my mind and happen to be somewhere level over night, i will anyway.

I check it in the morning when all the oil has settled back into the pan...gives me pretty good readings...however I question the accuracy becuz I was taught to check it while it's still "warm", by my high school auto shop teacher....

How much do you think the volume will change warm vs cold? 1/16 of an inch, 1/8 of an inch? More important, which way gives you more error, letting it sit overnight or checking the level after 5 minutes? My gues is the latter gives you more error.

Check it in the mornings before starting it.

Good to see others have this problem. I try cleaning it and pulling out slow, then pulling out fast and it is usually too hard to read. The best I have found is what other suggested, check it in the morning. Crappy dipstick to be sure.

As stated, check the engine oil in the morning before use and on a flat surface.

Your joking right?

This thread sucks. :igor&donk

I'm with all who say to check the oil level in the morning. IMHO when you check the level while the engine is still hot, not all of the oil has drained back into the pan. So it looks like the level is low (not all of the oil back, yet) and you add some more oil and end up overfilling. This will not happen checking in the morning.

Given the volume of motor oil in the 6th gen VQ, you will be OK running the engine about 1/2 Qt down on the dip stick. Would not go any lower than that.

Just had the oil changed and the tech put the whole 5 quarts in the VQ30.

I saw on the forum that the capacity is 4.25. It reads real high on the stick. Do I have to drain some off or is this no big deal.

Thanks.

You don't want the oil pan too full. About 1/4 extra quart is not bid deal, but 3/4 of a quart is. I would crack the drain plug so that it slowly comes out and try to get at least 1/2 quart or more.

after wiping the stick, putting it in and pulling it out, I hold it horizontal (9 and 3 oclock) and the flat surface facing me. Read the area that pools, cuz the smeared stuff's too thin to pool. Good luck.

Jae

This procedure always works for me: Turn car off, wait 5 minutes. Pull the oil dip stick out about 8", then push it back. Do this about 5 times to clear the oil tube. Then pull the stick out, wipe it clean, put it back, and take a reading.

:wtf:
:grinno: not sure I love my Max that much...