stupid oil dipstick

[mikec]

I had that happen once before (down a quart suddenly and then fine again).

I too would like to know where it ends up when this happens.

[entirelyturbo]

Because I'm such a baby and just could not let the engine run with a quart low on oil, I poured a quart in it, and guess what happened??

The dipstick said I overfilled it about a quart!!! . I'm guessing that pouring the oil in probably loosened up the quart that was missing and it all flowed back into the pan. I had to drive it around a bit like that, no smoking or anything, it's fine. It just felt a tad more sluggish which makes sense since the engine has to slosh through more oil. I'm going to change just the oil filter tomorrow; I figure I'll probably lose that extra quart doing that.

Then I'm going to the dealer Monday to order a new dipstick with the superceded number Vikash posted, because the one that's in there now is REALLY getting inaccurate readings.

[evolutionmovement]

Watch the seals. I did the same overfilling routine (plus the big dent in the pan doesn't help) and ended up causing leaks all over. Moving to 15W has helped a little, although I never see drips under the car, the oil always coats the engine no matter how often I clean and I never seem to burn oil.

Steve

[mikec]

Can you let us know if there's any noticeable physical differences between the 2 dipsticks? If its been superceded, and looks newer, perhaps more of us should be using it...

[legacy92ej22t]

I was in a hurry one day and was warming up my car, I thought about checking my oil at the last second. I popped the hood and checked the level, it was a quart low. I ran inside and got a quart and added it. Right as the last drop went into the valve cover I relized my moronic mistake. I never turned the engine off. I turned it off and waited about 5 minutes and low and behold I was running a quart high. lol.

Anyways, I alway's try to run the car for few minutes to get everything dislodged and moving, then wait around 5 minutes to let the oil work it's way back to the pan, then check the level.
Are you guys being consistant in your checks? You probably are, I'm just throwin' it out there.

[cbose]

Anyways, I alway's try to run the car for few minutes to get everything dislodged and moving, then wait around 5 minutes to let the oil work it's way back to the pan, then check the level.
Are you guys being consistant in your checks? You probably are, I'm just throwin' it out there.

Uh, perhaps you have uncovered the problem. I've been perplexed with the oil level problem in my 91 also, on and off since September last year when I bought the car. It will indicate F(ull) for a very long time after oil change, then appear to drop to L(ow) over a period of a few days. After much messing around I've concluded that there are only two times you can accurately measure the oil level. 1. Cold, after a whole night of sitting and before startup. 2. Hot, and I mean good and hot, long after the coolant temp says 'normal' and only then, after about 5 minutes of sitting level. All other measurements seem to introduce errors of up to 1 litre (the distance from L to F) . These boxer engines seem to hold oil up in the heads and passages for a very long time, especially when the oil is thick and cold (or even warm, but not HOT). At least twice I've added oil only to find it overfull on the next (correctly performed) check. I think it is fair to say that ALL of my sharp drops in oil level have proved to be misreadings on later inspection. There must be a lot of subarus running around with too much oil in them, which in some circumstances can be as bad as too little oil .

At oil change, I put exactly 4.5 litres in and just make a quick check that oil is showing on the dipstick before starting. Check for leaks. Then, a few days later, a proper oil level check will show exactly F and there she will sit for a very long time. How long, I don't know 'cause up to now, I've always ended up overfilling at least once before the next oil change!

I just did 3000km of high speed highway driving after a fresh oilchange. When I got home it did look like I was on L, which didn't really surprise me. I checked it twice on two consecutive days at a petrol station -- still low. I put in 1/2 litre. Guess what. I'm overfull again! Crazy. Probably, in truth, I was about 1/3 down and could easily have gone to the next oilchange without any topup.

Chris

[entirelyturbo]

Well, I changed the plugs today, probably time anyway, been at least 8k or more. There was absolutely nothing abnormal on the plugs, save for a bit of white deposits on the #3 plug, which is supposed to be the lean cylinder anyway.

But no signs of oil deposits whatsoever. So oil is not making its way into the combustion chamber, which will let me sleep good tonight

I also changed just the oil filter and drove about 30 miles today. Oil is right at the F mark again, saying I lost the extra quart in the old filter and no more.

After I get out of my first summer class tomorrow , I'm headed straight to the Subie dealer for the dipstick and some XT stuff. I'll report back after I get the new dipstick.