My First Oil Change and Have a Question

[77Bronc]

Changed the oil today for the first time, 5500 miles, 6 months old and followed Antmans tutorial, a tremendous help.

Added a 5 quart Mobil 1 jug of oil, then a single quart and then a little over half of another quart, could have paid attention a little better, have 13 ozs left in the quart, added 19 ozs which is .6 quart, total of 6.6 in the engine, after runing for a couple of minutes, set for 5 minutes and the oil is showing 1/4 to 3/8" above the full mark on the dipstick...

Sorry for the elementary question, but is this an issue? i can't imagine this being an issue, but would like some feedback.

Thanks,

77

 

[chitown40]

Yes this can be an issue. A crankcase is better slightly underfilled than slightly overfilled.

Luckily, there is an easy solution to this. Get back underneath, crack the drain plug, let out a little oil, and put it back in. You may want to wait until the oil is cold, as it will drain much slower and easier to judge how much to remove. It's ok if you drain a little too much, just add a little more when you are checking the level.

 

[BobsTrail]

The 6.6 Quart normal fill is 211 ounces, a few ounces over in a big oil pan can't make a difference, I would not do anything.

 

[jbjones85]

I would personally drain a little out. I normally add 6 back with an oil/filter change then add as needed to get to full.

 

[Kennyr44]

I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[1engineer]

Mine is always a bit over. I don't think twice about it. Only time to worry Is when there is nothing on the dipstick.

 

[chitown40]

The amount you overfilled probably will not be an issue, but as a rule over filling a crankcase can cause the oil to contact the rotating crankshaft. This will cause the oil to aerate. Over time the oil pump will no longer be able to circulate the aerated oil and you will lose oil pressure causing some engine damage. This is usually a problem when the crankcase is significantly overfilled.

 

[ThorInc]

Not a 5th gen owner but that is too much over in my personal opinion. I would say that an 1/16" over the full mark is the max I would leave in. My truck was bought brand new in 1997 and no engine issues to date.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

As one stated above, and from significant experience building high performance motorcycle engines and some car engines along the way too - the biggest risk from overfilling oil is aeration.

What happens is when your oil pan is overfilled the crankshaft hits and whips the oil and aerates it. This results in in the oil pump effectively trying to pump the aerated oil and causes what is called cavitation (intermittent loss of oil pressure).

I am not going to comment on whether you added enough oil to do this, but cavitation is a very bad thing. I never, ever overfill oil. Ever. When doing an oil change, fill it to about a 1/4 quart less than spec, start the engine for a few minutes then shut it off and let it drain down. Then add oil to get to (and only to) the full line.

Think of trying to suck whipped cream through a straw vs. Pepsi and you'll get the picture.

 

[77Bronc]

All good replies...in my line of work, oil whirl, oil frothing is a big issue. Especially in dry sump gearboxes. So that is why I am asking. The dipstick is very hard to read with new oil..

I may try to drain some out, measure what is removed. I know 211 ounces went in, I let the engine drain for 30 minutes. The oil coming out was 120 F, shot it with a IR temp gun. So I am sure the entire pan was drained.

Looking at the owners manual, the two dots on the dipstick low to high is 1.8 quarts, this is a lot, as I was always taught the low to high was 1 quart. The distance is 1.2", so even being 1/8 to 1/4" over, is a lot in terms of ounces.

Will work on this tomorrow evening.

Thanks,


77

 

[vicpick58]

You only let it sit for 5 minutes, try letting it sit overnight and check the dipstick again before you drain any out. I have found that the dipstick is hard to read until it sits for a while. Be sure to look at both sides of the stick

I do the same thing as you, add 6 quarts then just a tiny little bit over half of a 7th.

I don't even check the dipstick until it has sat long enough to cool. I think something inside the block may drip oil onto the dipstick for a while after engine is shut off, but just a guess, I may be wrong about that.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

I concur that the dipstick on the 5th gen is difficult to read. It is long and mine always seems to come out smeared making it difficult to read accurately. If I have one gripe about my new TE (and I only have one) - that is it.

However, everything else about the truck is so good I can live with that and maybe after a while I'll get it down to where it doesn't smear on me.

 

[Lester Lugnut]

3 of the 4 Toyota's that I've own/owned and a couple more that I maintain for others have always read above the full mark using a dealer filter and the specified amt. of oil. It's never been a problem.

 

[wanderMT]

Calls for 6.6 qts, I'd put 6.6 qts in and not even check it. Been doing oil changes for 45 years and never check dipstick - but always double check that I used proper amt. by counting containers.

 

[shahsmerdis]

my solution and what you can do next time keep track of what you loss is to keep the old oil bottles, once you empty the old oil into your pan, fill up your old empty oil quarters, measure about how much you loss, fill in the same amount, then check the dip stick to get it to the right level.

 

[chitown40]

Calls for 6.6 qts, I'd put 6.6 qts in and not even check it. Been doing oil changes for 45 years and never check dipstick - but always double check that I used proper amt. by counting containers.

Um.. Don't know what to say to that, except I wouldn't recommend that method.

Very simple. Drain oil, put in new oil leaving about a half-quart or so short. Start car and circulate oil through new filter. Wait 5-10 minutes for oil to drain back into crankcase, then add oil to bring level up to the dipstick full mark.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

my solution and what you can do next time keep track of what you loss is to keep the old oil bottles, once you empty the old oil into your pan, fill up your old empty oil quarters, measure about how much you loss, fill in the same amount, then check the dip stick to get it to the right level.

Sorry brother, the last thing I am ever going to do is sit there trying to refill oil bottles with the old oil.

I'm anal and a perfectionist, but thats extreme even by my book. LOL

 

[77Bronc]

Many many thanks for the responses, here is what I did:

On the original drain, let it sit for 30 minutes. When I put the plug back in with a new gasket of course, not even a drip was left. The filter was changed too.

I put in 6 quarts plus 19.5 ounces out of a 7th quart, for a total of 211.5 ounces. 6.6 quarts. The oil level was high on the dipstick as I noted in the original post.

When I got home today, truck was cold, cut a 5 quart Mobil1 jug in half long ways for a makeshift drain pan. Loosened the drain plug, lowered the plug and let the oil run across my hand into the jug pan. When I felt I drained enough oil, reseated the plug and torqued to 30 ft lbs. I poured the oil into an empty quart oil bottle, I drained exactly 28 ounces. Took the 12.5 ounces I had left over from the 7th quart and added 8 more ounces from a new bottle. For a total of 204 ounces...6.4 quarts.

Damn thing was still high. Took the truck to the Toyota dealer, even the service techs had trouble reading the dip stick...then we all agreed that is slightly below the top dimple on the dipstick. I suggested to put some file marks on the dip stick, they said it would be a good idea.

They also told me that slight overfilling like I described, is not that big of a deal. They explained the process they use in the shop, drain the oil. Change the filter and electronic meter with the oil hose, 211 ounces and call it a day.

My next change is going to be 6 quarts and 8 ounces. Don't think I am over thinking this, I just like to make sure I am doing this correct.

77

 

[shahsmerdis]

Sorry brother, the last thing I am ever going to do is sit there trying to refill oil bottles with the old oil.

I'm anal and a perfectionist, but thats extreme even by my book. LOL

my car calls for 5 quarts, so really im just refilling the 5 quart jug im going to send to the recycle land anyway. I think Im saving time by not having to measure the dip stick. I guess filling up 6 quart jugs will be a bit more time consuming, but my oil catch bin has a drain so its not really to hard 2 min really?

 

[swva]

The same thing happened to me when I changed the oil the first time in my 2015 Trail. I put in 6.6 quarts and when I went to check it about 30 minutes later it was showing above the full mark. It was hard to tell whether it was just oil smeared on the dipstick where it rubs in the bend when it's removed. I have a hard time re-inserting it sometimes too because of that bend. I let the oil drain 45 minutes to an hour before putting in the 6.6 quarts.
The second time I changed it I put in 6.4 quarts. The best I could tell it was still showing some oil in the dot at the full mark on the dip stick. I left it at that and didn't put any more oil in it. It's really hard to read. The dip stick on my previous 2 Subaru's was a lot shorter and went straight down without a bend making it a lot easier to read after pulling it out.
I'm coming up on another oil change in the next couple of weeks.