how much oil

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Car is 2000 mazda protege 1.8 litre.Manual says 3.5 litre oil capacity with filter change.I put in 3 liters and it is full on dipstick so which is right.Maybe its because of tiny oil filter even smaller than original one installed at factory.Factory filter was larger in diameter.Anyways would it be safe just to put in 3.5 or trust dipstick which by the way is very difficult to read with fresh oil.
 
If for example you went from a SuperTech 2808 to a ST (or Fram) 6607 you could have easily made up the difference of a half liter, especially since some manufacturers tend to round capacities up or down, ie. 3.5 liters, not 3.317. I think most cars have room for a bit of overcapacity before the crank shaft starts whipping up the oil.
 
I seem to have the opposite problem on all the cars I change oil for in my family, all of them need an extra 0.3 to 0.7 L more oil than the manual says.

I'd put in the full 3.5L if I were you, running it a half liter low is not good when it's such a small sump.
 
my accord requires 3.5 l of oil for the 2.2L engine. but i usually put 3.75 because it doesnt register on the dipstick. my moms van is werid though..it says it requires 4.2 qts but when i fill up with 3.5 it is fine, even though the filter size is the same as stock...the thing i hate about her dipstick is is that i cant see the oil..the color matches too much with the dipstick...so its very hard to tell.

just my 2 cents
 
quote:

Originally posted by plato:
Car is 2000 mazda protege 1.8 litre.Manual says 3.5 litre oil capacity with filter change.I put in 3 liters and it is full on dipstick so which is right.Maybe its because of tiny oil filter even smaller than original one installed at factory.Factory filter was larger in diameter.Anyways would it be safe just to put in 3.5 or trust dipstick which by the way is very difficult to read with fresh oil.

Maybe your garage is not completely level. Or your suspension is weak & lopsided on one side.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Ken4:

Maybe your garage is not completely level. Or your suspension is weak & lopsided on one side. [/QB][/QUOTE]
Agree.
I would trust the dipstick. Check it half hour after running and compare next morning. Oil level is easier to read cold bc the oil will be hevier and more will stick to dipstick. At some point I would try to resolve the difference. Possibly go to dealer and compare dipsticks and then use your dipstick to check oil level in another engine to verify the tube is positioned correctly.
 
I don't know if I would trust the dipstick if it reads too low though. I'd feel a bit scared to run a half quart lower than the manual says, if the dipstick reads full.
 
thats interesting..my manual says if its anywhere between low and high level on dipstick i dont need to add any..cause its acceptable
 
After changing oil there is always a little left in oil pan. 1\2 a liter more would this damage anything?
 
We had a 1993 Ford F150 e. Cab 4X4 ruck at work that had the wrong dipstick in it. 302 engines in truck used 6 qts and in cars 5 qts. It would always read over full when it had the required 6 qts in it. I inquired at the Ford dealer and they confirmed that many truck engines come with the wrong dipstick and not to use that when changing oil, follow what the manual says.

My neighbor had (he deceasaed now) 1990 Buick Park Ave. The manual said somehting like 4.5 qts with filter but the quick lube place would always install 5 qts and charge him for that. This must have went on for years becuase one day about 5 yrs ago he asks me to look at it and tell him what I think. It looked like it was way over the full mark but in reality was only 1/2 qt over. He showed me a lot of receipts going back several years where it listed 5 qts. He was po'd and I rode over to the place with him to complain. They assured him that it did not matter one bit that it was 1/1 over so on to the Buick dealer, they said the same thing. He used up about 3 hrs of time, got very irate about this and was worried his car was going to have problems. Did it, NO. His decendents still have the car.
 
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