Best way to Check Oil Level?
 

So I have 2004 sedan. I changed the oil with Castrol Edge Syntec 5-30 5 gallon, roughly 2K miles ago.

Just checking the oil level in the morning. About 37 degrees outside but was probably colder than that last night.

Pulled the dipstick and the level showed oil level a line below "L." Didn't even go pass the L mark on both sides.

Opened the oil cap and checked again and the oil level is the same.

Closed everything up and turned the car on to warm up.

Checked the oil level again after 15mins, and the entire dip stick is covered in oil from the tip to the top. Not just a thin film, but covered in a heavy coat of oil. Feels like I just wiped off 2 teaspoons of oil.

What is the correct way to check the oil on this engine?

Correct way is first thing in the morning before the engine has been started. You are low on oil, crankcase holds 5 qt, oil consumption is a known issue, I check my oil weekly and usually add a tablespoon or two depending on how spirited I drive for my weekly 300 miles worth of commute.

Thx, went ahead and added an extra 1qt and picked up another 5 qts at Walmart.

Did an oil change and only 4qts came out. So I actually had 3 qts :eek:

Crap. hopefully motor didn't break down further. I already have the bad lifter sound clicking.

You put in 5 gallons of oil instead of 5 quarts?

No wonder you have a problem!

Telcoman

Lol, I don't think 5gal would physically fit :)

If you have lifter noise and/or suspected wear I would DEFINITELY switch back to conventional oil and not use synthetic. The engine is built around a certain set of tolerances, these tolerances are "filled" with a specific viscosity and type of oil (conventional is a larger overall molecule, synthetic is a smaller molecule) a rotating part will "carry" a certain thickness of oil on it's surface based on molecule size and viscosity and the more an engine wears the more important it is to keep the tolerances filled.

Synthetic is fine if the motor has no signs of wear, it does provide a lower friction surface for metal parts but it carries less and once the engine is out of it's tolerance spec it can actually contribute to MORE engine wear than conventional would.

The same logic applies a little differently to worn piston rings since they're not designed to have oil filling a moving part, the ring assembly is designed to push oil off the cylinder wall as the piston travels to keep it from making it's way into the combustion chamber, the smaller molecule of synthetic is more likely to pass through the worn rings and be burned off (probably where your oil consumption is happening).

There is also an inherent amount of oil consumption that happens on higher rpm motors (especially the '05-'07 6MT Rev-Up with its +500 rpm redline) from the valve assembly splashing oil around on top of the heads at such high velocity it becomes a fine mist which is sucked through the PCV valve and ingested through the intake manifold, the jury is still out but it doesn't appear to make any difference whether synthetic or conventional consumes more oil this way. This kind of consumption can be limited by keeping your rpm's down or by installing a PCV catch can (mine catches about 1/3'rd of my overall consumption, minor intake ingestion and the rest likely is due to worn piston rings), or by eliminating the PCV system entirely and atmospherically venting (won't pass smog checks).

TL'DR, switch to convention and see if your oil consumption improves, check your oil weekly with the engine cold. Once you hit the point where you are consuming 2qt or more per 3k miles it's time to start shopping for a new or used motor. This gives you enough time to find a good deal on a motor before the motor is completely toast.

haha, ya you caught me on that one. meant 5 qts. Thanks for the tips. Will try conventional.

Thank God I grew up in the era I did, Dad taught me how to check oil level only after showing how to change it! Is this why they painted the dip stick yellow? :LMAO2:
Gary

Until you get to the point where the oil consumption is affecting the spark plugs (fouling them and causing a misfire), adding oil is a lot cheaper than replacing the engine.

I second this theory. I have a 07 camry and I have tried both synthetic and conventional oil. I been using 5w30 mobil1 synthetic all the time and by the time it gets to 1k, dipstick is already bone dry. Last oil changed I tried 5w40 castrol gtx conventional oil and I checked 1k after still got plenty in the dipstick, now at 2k dipstick still got plenty of oil. Huge improvement on oc issue, but I still monitor oil level all the time. I know it is not a vq35de engine but I might try it on my rev up engine next time and see if it does the same results.

I found that mobil 1 synthetic oils evaporates more than conventional oil, I think they are not the same mobil 1 that were from the good old days. My claims are based from my own experience and could be different than others. But I am ditching mobil 1 oils from now on.

Deeliciousqueen, you should also call your dealership and ask about this technical service bulletin:

EG018-06 GF-4 Engine Oil Recommendation

Basically Toyota found out that 5W-20 performs much better in those year engines than 5W-30 (0W-20 if you have the 2AZ–FE engine), it will probably add even more life expectancy. You can google it as well to read the document.

0w30 is better than 5w30 except that oil change station don't want to do it even when I bring my own 0w30 oil.

That's pretty highly dependant on machining tolerances, bearing tolerances, anti friction coating, and what kind of work the engine is performing. It MIGHT be better but there is no magic number to fit all engined, waaaaaaaay too many variables. Not even considering how wildly different two different oil manufacturers products can be even though it says the same viscosity on the bottle!

If you really want to know for sure then get a used oil analysis done regularly and try out a few brands and viscosities.

Mobile1 0w30 full synthetic is the way to go.

That is because it is not the correct oil for your vehicle.
Read your owners manual

Telcoman