4.0 tacoma dipstick issue

[mobilaltima]

talking about the truck in my sig, ive noticed and its mentioned quite often on other forums, when checking the oil on the 4.0's, the oil is splotched all over the dipstick. capacity is 5.5 quarts, i changed my oil the other day with Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5W30, added 5 quarts, ran it, and checked it the next morning. some times the dipstick comes out clean, with a good reading, and sometimes splotchy. 5 quarts of M1 seems to put it at the full mark, while the Quaker State Ultimate Durability i used last time took 5-1/4 quarts to reach full. Should it be fine with just 5 quarts? I dont want to jeopardize my engine, the dipstick marking full when it could very well not be. I skipped out on my last 2 free oil changes at the dealer, they just put in a full 6 quarts and its way overffull, seems as they cant use half quarts. (stupid)

 

[QuietPortage]

Drive it a bit and recheck. Mine always takes more than 5, even before I went with the oversized filter. Was the oil hot when drained?

Off topic, the oversized filter in my signature is something to consider. It adds a bit of capacity. It's the same width, only longer. I like it.

 

[mobilaltima]

it had been parked for about 30 mins when i drained it. Im using the OEM toyota filter while i still have my warranty.

 

[Slick17601]

I have 2 Toyota 3.5 V6's and the only way I can get a good reading on them is with a cold engine. You get one chance and one chance only. Luckily neither one uses any oil so they only need checked infrequently.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

+1
Do the 'one check' method - like described above.

Just check the oil level the very first time you pull the dipstick - when the engine is cold and on level ground.

That's the method I use with my S-10 with 4.3. Otherwise the dipstick oil level comes out spotty/blotchy.