Dip Stick or Owner's Manual

[yonyon]

Originally Posted By: Blkstanger
I have a 4.6 in my Mustang. I know your sump will hold 7 qts with no problem. As a matter of fact it will hold more then 8 qts. I saw a guy measure his pan with it off the engine and with 8 qts it had plenty of room left. A lot of the road race guys run the Mustangs with 7 qts with zero problems. So it'a all up to what you want to do.


How sure are you that a 97 Mustang and a 2004 F150 use the same oil pan?

 

[RedCorvette]

Originally Posted By: yonyon
One more vote for dipstick. If you're especially concerned, call a dealer service department to verify there's no revised part number for the stick or the tube.

The manual was written without knowing low long your drain plug would be out, your preference on draining the oil or replacing the filter first, the viscosity of the oil at the time you drain it, or how far off from level ground you'd be on and in what direction. The dipstick works so long as you're reasonably close to level.


And you know this how?

 

[RedCorvette]

I wouldn't normally suggest this, but find a friend and try inserting your dipstick in his and his dipstick in yours.

See what happens. You might get a surprise!

 

[yonyon]

Originally Posted By: RedCorvette
Originally Posted By: yonyon
One more vote for dipstick. If you're especially concerned, call a dealer service department to verify there's no revised part number for the stick or the tube.

The manual was written without knowing low long your drain plug would be out, your preference on draining the oil or replacing the filter first, the viscosity of the oil at the time you drain it, or how far off from level ground you'd be on and in what direction. The dipstick works so long as you're reasonably close to level.


And you know this how?


Come on, what are the chances the guy who wrote the manual went over to Doc Holiday's house and watched him do an oil changed and asked what oil he was using. Think about it.

 

[Lyman]

Originally Posted By: yonyon
Originally Posted By: Blkstanger
I have a 4.6 in my Mustang. I know your sump will hold 7 qts with no problem. As a matter of fact it will hold more then 8 qts. I saw a guy measure his pan with it off the engine and with 8 qts it had plenty of room left. A lot of the road race guys run the Mustangs with 7 qts with zero problems. So it'a all up to what you want to do.


How sure are you that a 97 Mustang and a 2004 F150 use the same oil pan?
The pans are not the same shape but are the same capacity. There are some differences over the years but not many. The F-150 motors are swapped into mustangs all the time with a top end swap. Same with the Crown Vic motors being swapped into Cobras. Modular motors have a lot of different applications based on the same block and share many parts.

 

[RedCorvette]

The min / max capacity of the system must have been specified for when the engine is in operation with the oil at operating temperature. Thus oil would be thin and the filter would be in use.

Instructions for measuring oil have usually stated: on level ground, measure a minute or two after turning off the engine having run it at operating temperature.

So long as you measure the oil in circumstances close to what it would be operating at, then you're going to be close to what is required.

The only reasons for his level being too high are either a faulty dipstick, a very large replacement filter with a capacity very different from expected or not draining enough oil, but the latter would be hard to do in any quantity akin to the quart difference he is getting.

 

[Lyman]

I know a lot of 4.6 owners have the same problem. For instance my Mustang is an automatic. It came with an oil cooler from the factory. 5 spd Mustangs didn't come with an oil cooler unless it was a 32 valve Cobra. Dip sticks were often wrong from the factory. I have a co-worker with an 03 F-150 with the same problem. He fills with 6 qts and it reads low by almost a qt. He runs it like that as would I. Even though it will hold more safely. 6 qts is plenty of oil for these motors under normal circumstances. Im not sure if the F-150s had an optional oil cooler or not but that might explain the wrong dip sticks being installed.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Didn't Ford have a recall for misprinted sticks?

 

[ranger99]

I am a little surprised at all the dip stick votes, I would bet the tolerances are a bit looser on the dip stick than the engine parts. The manual comes with the truck for a reason, to look up information such as fill capacities. I would try another dip stick before believing the one you have.

 

[antiqueshell]

Originally Posted By: ranger99
I am a little surprised at all the dip stick votes, I would bet the tolerances are a bit looser on the dip stick than the engine parts. The manual comes with the truck for a reason, to look up information such as fill capacities. I would try another dip stick before believing the one you have.


The specification in the owner's manual. Dip sticks can be off quite a bit but the specification in the owner's manual is nearly always spot on unless there was a misprint which is probably a rare occurance.

 

[Travis99LS1]

Originally Posted By: RedCorvette
I wouldn't normally suggest this, but find a friend and try inserting your dipstick in his and his dipstick in yours.

See what happens. You might get a surprise!


LOL...wear a glove though...you wouldn't wanna cross contaminate anything from one dipstick to the other

 

[RedCorvette]

Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
Originally Posted By: ranger99
I am a little surprised at all the dip stick votes, I would bet the tolerances are a bit looser on the dip stick than the engine parts. The manual comes with the truck for a reason, to look up information such as fill capacities. I would try another dip stick before believing the one you have.


The specification in the owner's manual. Dip sticks can be off quite a bit but the specification in the owner's manual is nearly always spot on unless there was a misprint which is probably a rare occurance.


And it's interesting that the manuals I have read advise not to top off so long as the oil is above min.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

I wouldn't trust any fast production dipstick. Always go by the owners manual and get used to what (hypothetical) six quarts measures to on the dipstick.

If it measures a half quart low, then that's your full capacity reading for future reference.

 

[doitmyself]

Interesting dilemma. It would drive me nuts.

There are a fair number of hits when you Google the topic. Seems that everyone agrees that the manual's stated quantity is 6 quarts, but many seem to put in 6.5 to get to the middle of the hash marks.

My search showed many that seem paranoid that engine damage will occur if you go to 7 quarts (dreaded foaming). A quart overfill (if it is overfill)is getting on the high side, don't most agree here?

Some seemed to think that if you had an oil cooler, the truck would require more than the 6 quarts. Is the cooler a factory option?

I would definitely try to find a knowledgeable dealer to ask (good luck).

 

[ARB1977]

Our CRV shows one qrt less in the manual. I can get almost 5.5 qrts. Almost as much as my Tacoma. That's a good thing since the OLM will take me to 10K.

 

[RedCorvette]

Originally Posted By: Triple_Se7en
I wouldn't trust any fast production dipstick. Always go by the owners manual and get used to what (hypothetical) six quarts measures to on the dipstick.

If it measures a half quart low, then that's your full capacity reading for future reference.


Agreed, but I was refering to the months during an oil change, not during one.

 

[Gene K]

While I have not seen such instructions for autos many heavy duty engine manuals instruct you to scribe the dipstick to match the correct volume.

 

[demarpaint]

Go by the OM, drain the oil, over night if it makes you feel better, put an OEM filter on, add 6 qts of oil. Run the engine park it on level ground, let it sit overnight, and make your own full mark. Done deal.

 

[travlnman]

I know it's already been said....but even the owner's manual says to use the dipstick to check oil level...and to add oil if it is on the "add" mark. With literally millions of miles behind a windshield, I have never used anything but the dipstick. The capacity listed in owners manual for anything is subject to variation, filters hold more or less (same brand), temp of oil due to ambient temp will make the fluid expand or contract and take up more or less space, and lastly if we don't trust mass produced dipsticks, but we trust the volume of a mass produced qt of oil to hold exactly the same amount ?! We are over thinking this folks, the dipstick has a purpose, and I have never seen capacity (regardless of make) in a manual, match what it actually took to fill my engine regardless of fluid (oil,coolant, trans,etc) Relax, buy enough oil to fill your vehicle, plus one qt , if you dont need it, use it for top off, or worst case the next oil change, and go to bed and sleep well knowing that it will be okay tomorrow. I did not read all 3 pgs, so if I repeat others, I am sorry, and since there is no tone or inflection when reading text, I am not angry, just providing my $.02 ........Probably all it's worth anyway

 

[Sayjac]

Quote:
Quote:
I wouldn't normally suggest this, but find a friend and try inserting your dipstick in his and his dipstick in yours.

See what happens. You might get a surprise!

LOL...wear a glove though...you wouldn't wanna cross contaminate anything from one dipstick to the other

Now that's thinking with your dipstick! LOL

As for topic, if owners manual spec is < dipstick reading after oc, I'm going with the dipstick to full mark. If owners manual spec is > dipstick to full mark after oc, more likley to go with owner's manual.