What do you use to top off?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Originally Posted By: tpitcher
98% of the time the exact same oil that's in the engine.



I'm more like 99.99% of the time with the exact same oil that's in the engine.
 
As my vehicle has a 4.2 to 4.5 quart sump, and most oil change deals are for 5 quarts, I usually have half a quart left if I need top up.

Or, since my car takes 4.5 quarts and typically uses .25 to .5 of a quart over a 5-7k miles, there are times I just add in the full 5 quarts. It fills it to just slightly over the F line on the dipstick.
 
Have a separate topoff jug. Mobil 1 High Mileage 5w30 for both Toyota's. Both use approx 1 qt per 5-6k. They like the stuff, get it as a treat.
 
I use whatever I have opened. It could even be another oil weight -- another oil brand -- even conventional oil where synthetic was used.

Being most vehicles hold five quarts, your crankcase won't know the difference, unless you are replacing 20% of the volume or more.
 
I'm surprised. As OCD as many are on this forum appear I'm really surprised how many will just about dump any old oil you got in your vehicle. I don't change brands once I use one in a vehicle. And if I was out of 'that' brand and needing top off I'd buy a quart of the SAME thats in it to top off. Old clunker excluded.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: hounddog
I'm surprised. As OCD as many are on this forum appear I'm really surprised how many will just about dump any old oil you got in your vehicle. I don't change brands once I use one in a vehicle. And if I was out of 'that' brand and needing top off I'd buy a quart of the SAME thats in it to top off. Old clunker excluded.

My driver (Granada) destroys most oils equally and they're never in there long, so it really doesn't matter much.
 
Originally Posted By: hounddog
I'm surprised. As OCD as many are on this forum appear I'm really surprised how many will just about dump any old oil you got in your vehicle. I don't change brands once I use one in a vehicle. And if I was out of 'that' brand and needing top off I'd buy a quart of the SAME thats in it to top off. Old clunker excluded.


Im OCD too, but if you have to "top up" then your OCD didnt take care of the underlying issue as to why it does that. Therefore, "anything" IS ok. Touche.
 
I don't need to top off the oil in the RX.
But, if I did I don't think I would care what I topped it off with, I'd use whatever was available.
 
Last edited:
My T4R, as a rule, rarely burns any oil. The weird exception is when I change from full conventional to Synthetic for my new run of oil.

However, other gasoline vehicles that I service for oil changes, do burn some oil during their OCI. I have gotten into the habit of rinsing out each empty quart and Jug of oil with some MMO. I started with about a half of pint to rinse out some empty quarts and gallons of any remaining oil. I currently have about a Gallon of the MMO fortified motor oil of all weights, brands in conventional and synthetic. I use this “Fortified MMO, to fill some empty quart bottles, for owners of those vehicles that use oil during their OCI It's up to the owner to check their oil and use only as a top off when needed.

So....from what started as a ½ a pint of MMO ...it has now blossomed into almost a gallon of reserve for top off oils. I've already used over 2 gallons of this mix so a little less than I gallon is on hand till the spring when more oil changes take place.

I felt that rather than waste any oil or add pack in the empty container....a quick rinse of the empty container, with the MMO, would be appropriate before the solution goes back into the gallon jug.

So far....it's helped for top offs and keeping the oil thin for the winter.
 
I said CLUNKERS excluded. Now that issue about underling issues causing oil off is bunk for the most part. Old CLUNKERS excluded again. On today OCIs topping off a quart in 5000 miles and or such is way in a normal range and 99.9% of the time requires no attention or alarm. I don't even mix oils in my two tractors. One gas one diesel. And only in sh mowers if they use a bunch of oil and I don't care. And sometimes not even then. I didn't mix oils when I was 17 years old. I might have at 16! LOl.
 
For a top off I normally just use whatever oil that is left over from the previous oil change. If not I will be the least expensive quart of oil I can find wherever I am shopping that meets specs. Mixing 10 to 20 percent of whatever oil for a couple thousand miles will not hurt a thing. It not like in ghostbusters where you can't cross the streams.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom