Thought I was crazy.........

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demarpaint

demarpaint

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........I might be. Got a call from my brother this afternoon, he did an oil change on his beater which holds 5 qts of oil. He used for the first time a gallon jug of oil and 1 qt bottle. He came up about 5 ounces short of the full mark after starting up the engine and letting it cool down about 2 hours. Filter is the same PL20195 he always uses. Reason he called is he remembered me telling him I came up short with the gallon and 1qt bottle on my last OC.

I told him the exact same thing happened to me when I changed the oil in my Jeep and filled it from a gallon jug and a qt bottle. I know a gallon = 4 qts etc, but what is going on here? No point in mentioning oil brands it was two different brands, coincidence? Both containers were sealed.
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
but what is going on here?

Only one way to find out for sure... open a new container and measure exactly how much oil is in there.
 
Originally Posted By: hardcore302
i thought that it was a little over 5?


It should be exactly 5 qts using a gallon and 1 qt, or 5 qts from 5-1 qt bottles. LOL
 
My last oil change i used a gallon of QS green bottle and a 1/2 quart, which always brings it just a fraction above the full mark. This time i had to add about 1/8 of a quart more.

The next time you buy a gallon, before using it, mark where the fluid comes up to, then use a measuring cup and fill the jug with water to see if it's right. If it's not, and you contact the oil company, i bet they will send you something for your trouble.

Could oil that is bottled in the summer and stored/sold in the winter make a difference due to expansion? Maybe the oil companies are getting better at giving us exactly 1 gallon, whereas before they overfilled? I'm not sure.
 
I usually don't use gallons, so I took it for granted that a gallon is 128 ounces same as [4] 32 ounce qt bottles. When I came up short I cracked open another qt added 5 ounces and called it good. Now I'm scratching my head after my brothers call.

If I use gallons again I will be measuring to be sure I have a full gallon.
 
Are you sure he actually got *all* of the oil out of the bottles? Even after it gets down to the point where the oil is not flowing, but dripping out of the oil bottle, there is still a measurable amount of oil left in the bottle, clinging to the sides and slowly running down to the spout. When I pour oil in my truck and the bottle is down to the point of just dripping, I take the bottle and set it on the ground at an angle that will let the oil settle near the spout, and after 5 minutes or so, I'm able to pour a bit more out of the bottle. It doesn't seem too far fetched that if he was in a hurry and didn't let the bottles drain completely, there would be a few ounces, (maybe even the five ounces he was short) clinging to the inside of the bottles when he was finished.

Also, maybe the dipstick isn't perfectly accurate.
 
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Interesting. The wife's Tribute holds 5.5 qrts. of oil with the filter(according to the owner's manual & the Haynes manual. However, it always takes putting 6 qrts. of oil to get the level to the FULL mark on the dipstick. I always use Maxlife 5W-20 and a PureOn filter.
 
Originally Posted By: Big_Ed
Are you sure he actually got *all* of the oil out of the bottles? Even after it gets down to the point where the oil is not flowing, but dripping out of the oil bottle, there is still a measurable amount of oil left in the bottle, clinging to the sides and slowly running down to the spout. When I pour oil in my truck and the bottle is down to the point of just dripping, I take the bottle and set it on the ground at an angle that will let the oil settle near the spout, and after 5 minutes or so, I'm able to pour a bit more out of the bottle. It doesn't seem too far fetched that if he was in a hurry and didn't let the bottles drain completely, there would be a few ounces, (maybe even the five ounces he was short) clinging to the inside of the bottles when he was finished.

Also, maybe the dipstick isn't perfectly accurate.


The dipstick in both cases is accurate. When I pour oil from a container I make sure I got as much oil out as possible. Then with a large funnel I take 4 of the 5 qts that are so called empty stick them in the funnel and let them drain over night into a container. Typically I can gain a few ounces of oil. I did just that with the gallon, let it drain into a qt bottle via the large funnel and added that oil to the engine in the morning. I'd say I got close to 2 ounces out of it, I was still shy 5 ounces. My brother and I worked together for over 20 years so he pretty much does the same thing as I do.

Judging from the replies it is probably a fluke in both instances. I thought it was odd and I would toss it out for discussion.

I hate sending bottles to the recycle plant with oil in them.
 
I think this is common. At least I have heard it is. Oil should be checked like 5 - 10 minutes after shutdown. If you let it sit till cold you will show slightly low. I heard this on the MS3 forums.

I may have that backwards though, lol

p.s. is your car perfectly level?
 
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Car is perfectly level, parked in the garage, oil checked first thing in the morning. Or an hour after shut down, same reading. 5 qts of oil puts it to the full mark every time. 1 gallon and 1 qt put me low 5 ounces. My guess is the gallon was short 5 ounces, since this is the only time it happened to me. My brother was down by about the same amount using a gallon and 1 qt vs 5 qts of oil. That is why I mentioned it, we never had this problem before.

It is not a big deal, but since it happened to two of us I was wondering if people using gallons had a similar problem.
 
Try checking it 5 minutes after being completely and fully warmed up and then shut down. Since I read this, I verified it this morning. I got up, checked my oil DEAD cold. It was a little low. I drove for half and hour and parked and shut down. Came back out to check the oil about 5 minutes later and it was completely full. A hair over in fact. So there is definitely something to it. I suppose oil expands when hot and contracts when cold? I dunno, but like I said, people on my cars forum have noted the manual says to not check when dead cold, but after being brought to temp, shutoff and 5-10 minutes later.
 
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Originally Posted By: shpankey
Try checking it 5 minutes after being completely and fully warmed up and then shut down. Since I read this, I verified it this morning. I got up, checked my oil DEAD cold. It was a little low. I drove for half and hour and parked and shut down. Came back out to check the oil about 5 minutes later and it was completely full. A hair over in fact. So there is definitely something to it. I suppose oil expands when hot and contracts when cold? I dunno, but like I said, people on my cars forum have noted the manual says to not check when dead cold, but after being brought to temp, shutoff and 5-10 minutes later.


My
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1) It takes Oil a LONG time to "Drip out of the Head." Look at a Dipstick RIGHT AFTER you turn Engine off; there is Oil all over it.

2) My mechanic devised a system when Adding oil after a CHnage. he adds 3 Quarts; urnes Key and runs engine for 30 seconds with Cap off.. Then adds one more quart. Apparently, this gets Oil circulated, so its not like an "Air Pocket" Inthe Crankcase, idk...

3) I believe that Sludge on the bottom of the Oil Pan as well as other places will affect Capacity as well.
 
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