Adding oil too soon

[PimTac]

Originally Posted By: blupupher
Originally Posted By: PimTac
The decision to add may hinge on whether that person has oil on hand to do so. I suspect a large number of car owners do not keep a spare quart of oil handy. If the owner uses a quick lube or dealership for oil changes then having any spare oil on hand would be unlikely.

Well, considering most of the motoring public never even bothers checking their oil, I doubt they have oil on hand even if they do check.

Every once in a while I will see somebody checking their oil at the gas pump, but no idea if they have any to add (except the $7/qt generic oil in the store).

I have 2 qts under the hood of my truck, and a spare qt under the hood of my wife's.
My truck uses oil (1 qt every 1200-1500 miles), my wifes does not, but I have use the qt in my wifes car on other family members that I check (actually make my kids check oil levels at family get-togethers).



A lot of drivers wouldn’t know how to check. I agree with your statement.

Getting your kids involved is a good example.

 

[Kira]

My car: 0.6 qt. between the lines.

I ride any minor fluctuations except immediately before a highway run when I hit the FULL mark precisely so I can do the same after, if necessary.

 

[CR94]

Originally Posted By: Bryanccfshr
It takes 1.6 qts to go from min to max mark on my Tacoma according To the owners manual. ...
Same for my Prius. Any difference less than 1 quart would be --- uh - unconventional, even for vehicles with under-4-quart oil capacity (including my previous two). The owner's manual for the Mazda claims an oil pan capacity of 3.0 liters, and also states "Distance between the "L" and "F" marks on the dip/stick represents 1 liter ..."

 

[fdcg27]

Well, what do manufacturers know?
We have superior knowledge here, right?
I add oil if and only if the oil level reaches the lower level on the dipstick.
Anything else is wasteful and may only serve to cause the appearance of higher consumption where it doesn't exist.

 

[Eddie]

I stand corrected. All vehicles I've owned or remember took 1 quart or 1 liter to raise the oil level from add to full.

 

[Garak]

I gather that OEMs generally say to add only when at or below the low mark is to prevent OCD people (i.e. us) from adding ridiculously small amounts, like 100 mL at a time, or fussing daily when it's not needed.

 

[HondaBroMike]

Originally Posted By: Garak
I gather that OEMs generally say to add only when at or below the low mark is to prevent OCD people (i.e. us) from adding ridiculously small amounts, like 100 mL at a time, or fussing daily when it's not needed.


I don't even add oil any more, it is never goes below the top hash. So add, "Check cause you are so amazed with your car' as a reason to overcheck it.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Originally Posted By: mjoekingz28
I think I've read in manuals to only add oil if it is at or below the add line. So I wondet is it good for the oil and/or engine to go through the full range of the crosshatch OR is addind a few ounces from time to time to keep the level at its upper limits prefetable?


Thanks Bob,
Joseph


(normal 4-6 cyl passenger vehicles) Add sooner if your hold is only four quarts. Add later if it holds six quarts. Same with deciding your OCI. The more oil that engine holds, the longer your OCI can be.

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: mjoekingz28
I think I've read in manuals to only add oil if it is at or below the add line.


Never seen a manual that told you to wait, but simply keep it between the lines.

Am very interested in the manuals that you have seen 'though.

Screenshots ?

 

[fdcg27]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
Originally Posted By: mjoekingz28
I think I've read in manuals to only add oil if it is at or below the add line.


Never seen a manual that told you to wait, but simply keep it between the lines.

Am very interested in the manuals that you have seen 'though.

Screenshots ?


Well, the OM of my old BMW says:

"The best procedure is to add fresh oil only when the level has dropped almost to the lower mark on the dipstick."

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Originally Posted By: Shannow
Originally Posted By: mjoekingz28
I think I've read in manuals to only add oil if it is at or below the add line.


Never seen a manual that told you to wait, but simply keep it between the lines.

Am very interested in the manuals that you have seen 'though.

Screenshots ?


Well, the OM of my old BMW says:

"The best procedure is to add fresh oil only when the level has dropped almost to the lower mark on the dipstick."


So that's ABOVE the add line then ???

OP was only to add below or equal to...

 

[fdcg27]

I suppose it depends upon how you define "almost."
A millimeter, a micron, one molecule?
The dipstick isn't exactly a precision measuring device either and the difference between warm and cold would also be enough to put the level either above or below the mark if it were "almost" there, although BMW does recommend checking the oil cold, before the car is run.

 

[Uphill_Both_Ways]

Originally Posted By: Garak
I gather that OEMs generally say to add only when at or below the low mark is to prevent OCD people (i.e. us) from adding ridiculously small amounts, like 100 mL at a time. . . .
Hey! I resemble that remark!

Vlad the Impala drops 100 mL (Mobil 1, 5W-30) every 1,200 kms and has since I bought it in 2010, ~200,000 kms ago.

OCD indeed! Just 'cause I use a measuring cup!

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
Originally Posted By: mjoekingz28
I think I've read in manuals to only add oil if it is at or below the add line.


Never seen a manual that told you to wait, but simply keep it between the lines.

Ford has, on occasion, used that verbiage almost verbatim. It's even on their website with respect to how to check oil and how to add.

Originally Posted By: Uphill_Both_Ways
Vlad the Impala drops 100 mL (Mobil 1, 5W-30) every 1,200 kms and has since I bought it in 2010, ~200,000 kms ago.

My dad had a rule for everyone to never add to the taxis unless it was at least half a litre, and to do so in half litre multiples. When I had my old LTD, it burned so much, I stuck to a litre at a time. If it needed just a half, well, check again in a couple hundred kilometres, because it would then be a full litre.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Keeping the oil level at the full mark when the oil is hot is ideal. I will add oil when the oil level is 1/2 down to the low/add line.

 

[Patman]

Originally Posted By: Uphill_Both_Ways


Vlad the Impala drops 100 mL (Mobil 1, 5W-30) every 1,200 kms and has since I bought it in 2010, ~200,000 kms ago.



My Civic uses oil at the rate of 1L per 10,000 km so I just add 200 ml every 2000km. I don't even bother checking the dipstick, it's a pain to read anyways. I just measure the amount of oil that comes out at oil change time to see the consumption rate. IMO that's a much more accurate measurement than the dipstick.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Originally Posted By: Patman
I just measure the amount of oil that comes out at oil change time to see the consumption rate. IMO that's a much more accurate measurement than the dipstick.


I always check the "calibration" of the dipstick on my vehicles when I get them. Easy to do, just see how much oil it takes to raise the level from Low to Full on the dipstick. I've found the dipstick in all my vehicles have been pretty accurate.

 

[Patman]

Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix

I always check the "calibration" of the dipstick on my vehicles when I get them. Easy to do, just see how much oil it takes to raise the level from Low to Full on the dipstick. I've found the dipstick in all my vehicles have been pretty accurate.


When I talk about accuracy of the dipstick, for me the problem is that I just can't seem to get a proper reading on most of them. In other words, I honestly can't tell where the oil stops on the dipstick, especially when it's clean. Which means that if I can't really see exactly where the level is at, it makes it hard to determine the true consumption using that method, so measuring what comes out at oil change time works better.

I love the electronic oil level on the dashboard settings of my wife's BMW, there is no guesswork involved with that system.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Try taking a reading when the engine is cold - much easier to see the level on the dipstick. You can still see relative level movement on the dipstick to get an idea of oil use.

 

[Patman]

I checked my Corvette and my Honda this morning, both on cold engines, and in both cases I honestly could not precisely tell where the level on the dipstick was. The best I could say is, that neither of them looked way overfilled or way underfilled.