I get my baseline on the dipstick after I do an oil change for each of my trucks. Put in the required capacity, wait 5 minutes, and check the level after your oil change. Where the oil is on the dipstick is your level for cold checks.
For hot, take a 15 minute highway drive, maybe more if the weather is cold. Shut down, check the oil 5 minutes later. THis is you level for hot check. You do this right after your oil change, check for any leaks while you wait the 5 minutes.
Pretty simple for me.
Also, to those with the nissan engines with the junky dipsticks. I have found you need to be religious about inserting the dipstick, (well not really a dipstick, more like a piece of heavy gauge wire with a metal tab on the end, what was nissan thinking. Couldnt get a better straight shot at the sump?ANyway..)the same way each time. This will create bend in the wire, I mean dipstick. Mine is so formed from doing this it will not go in any other way than the way I always store it. It has all the bends of the tube, and if you try to insert in opposite of the way it was previously in, it wont go. SO now that I have dont this, and it is now properly formed, I always get accurate readings on my POS Xterra with the 6 cyl. Previously, it was always impossible tp read the dipstick, alwasy changing because I was never careful about always putting it back in the same way.
Good luck.
