Hey guys. Please flame me, lock me, ban me, whatever if I am just being asinine.

I just changed my oil. On ramps, let oil drain for a good half hour. Changed filter. Put 1/4Q in filter before installing. Put the remainder of that 1Q jug into engine, 3 more 1Q jugs and 1/4Q of another jug. Should be 4.25Q. I checked my oil level, and it is right on lower line of the letter H on the dipstick, about 1/4" above the cross section. Is this overfilled or not?

 

Look to where the dipstick says full and fill the oil up to that. It usually takes 4.5 qt to fill up the oil.

 

i know. but i my question is: is the top of the checkered part full? or is the letter H full?

 

the correct amount of oil to add is 4.25 and the dipstick for the 4thgen is retarded. it seriously doesnt work so just add 4.25 and you will be straight.
Jules

 

I've had the same issues on both my old 91 SE & current 99 SE. It seems when filling the oil with the proper amount, the dipstick actually reads above the top of the 'range' and is closer to the bottom of the 'H' as you stated. I've drained and refilled the engine the first couple of times this happened in the past thinking that it was overfilled, but it seems it's actually the dipstick that isn't really marked correctly. Hope this helps ease your mind.

 

all right guys, thanks for the help and not flaming.

i will check again in the morning. i know that for some reason, at least on my car, the reading is quite a bit lower in the morning. i checked it again after sitting a few hours, and the level was about 1/2 way between the checkered part and the bottom of the H, so, i am not too worried. I am pretty sure that even if it is that much overfilled, it is still within spec, but I bet it goes down a bit still by morning.

thanks again.

 

The reason why 4.25 quarts read high on the dipstick may not necessarily be due to a whack dipstick. When changing your oil, you will never get ALL of the oil drained and therefore you will always have more than 4.25 quarts if you put in exactly 4.25 quarts.

 

so, i will check it again in the morning, and if it is still high, i will drain a bit out.