3.5 Litres of Oil, None showing on Dipstick

slyjonno · Post by **slyjonno** » Sun Aug 01, 2004 4:23 am

I put 3.5 Ltrs of Oil in after doing an oil change and none is showing on the dipstick after I've warmed it to running temp.

I pulled off the hose which connects to the air intake from the valve covers and there was a liitle bit of creamy oil inside the pipe.

Car seems to run fine, except when I put it in gear, it idles really low and sometimes stalls.

Can anyone assist?

Cheers

Legacy GT 1990 S/W Ej20

mTk · Post by **mTk** » Sun Aug 01, 2004 4:44 am

iirc you need 4.5 quarts (4.25L)

Keep adding oil in 1/2 liter increments until you get to the proper level.

MK

dirty kru · Post by **dirty kru** » Sun Aug 01, 2004 6:06 am

for good measure wait till some is on showing before u run the car next time. There could have been a leak and no oil getting into the engine.

entirelyturbo · Post by **entirelyturbo** » Sun Aug 01, 2004 6:37 am

Not necessarily, dirty kru.

slyjonno, look through this thread I started about this very problem. Back when I started it, I was burning oil because I so intelligently decided to put synth oil in a 120k mile engine. But now I don't even bother checking it anymore. I checked my oil once and the dipstick was bone-dry. I didn't think twice about it, I just started it up and it was peachy.

I'm starting to believe that due to the nature of the boxer engine, oil can find a way to sit in the heads instead of draining down into the pan. So all the oil is in the engine, but not accounted for in the oil pan.

You can tell the level of the oil a lot better by listening for valve tapping than you can on the dipstick. If you hear valve clatter, simply pour a quart of oil in. If it stops, you're good.

THAWA · Post by **THAWA** » Sun Aug 01, 2004 9:42 am

I must be lucky, my dipstick is fairly accurate.

slyjonno · Post by **slyjonno** » Mon Aug 02, 2004 12:28 am

Cheers for your input.......

I know it needs 4.5 ltrs (I have Haynes manual) but i wanted to check as i went.

Interestingly subyluvr2212 i'm using Synth oil and got about 115K on the clock.

Problem is I allready have a relativley loud valve clatter, so diagnosing it that way is hard.

My oil light isnt on so I'm not too paranoid, the part that worries me is the oil in the air intake, getting sucked up through the valve covers. Im thinking of using an oil flush chemical. Hopefully that will help the noisy valve aswell.

Any input on oil flush chems ??

evolutionmovement · Post by **evolutionmovement** » Mon Aug 02, 2004 12:39 am

Sea Foam if you can get it.

Is the valve clatter an occasional start-up only issue? If it is, then that's normal.

I've heard that switching to synth on high mileage will cause leaks due to cleaning off the old varbnish on the seals which have dried and then start to leak. I know mine started leaking everywhere within 15k miles of changing so it's probably true.

The new engine is synth only now that it has all new seals.

Steve

THAWA · Post by **THAWA** » Mon Aug 02, 2004 12:45 am

trust the haynes manual for nothing important like oil level. Your owners manual is a MUCH better resource.

slyjonno · Post by **slyjonno** » Mon Aug 02, 2004 6:32 am

Cant seem to find seafoam here in New Zealand, i wonder if there are similar products? I'll ask around.

The valve clatter is constant, from one valve (thats not a gunked up hydro lifter is it?)

I think I'll do a flush and put dino oil in it.

Cheers guys

EJ20TMAN · Post by **EJ20TMAN** » Mon Aug 02, 2004 9:13 am

hey slyjonno, are u a member of the RS liberty club or club sub? u should join up there as they deal with our type of engine and car more than hear, and the diff between low and full on our engines is 1ltr, and with the filter in u will need about 5ltrs oil all up to bring it to full mark

free5ty1e · Post by **free5ty1e** » Mon Aug 02, 2004 1:30 pm

I bought my Legacy at 200,000 km, and the first oil change synthetic went in. No major consumption issues to report. Although I have no idea if the previous owner had already switched to synthetic, or if I got lucky and the car has been run the majority of her life on synthetic... but the point is I'm running synthetic on a ~130,000 mile legacy and shes pretty happy.

elkaboom · Post by **elkaboom** » Mon Aug 02, 2004 7:20 pm

Just to weigh in on this synth over dino issue (which, by the way, has been covered before, but hey

):
There is absolutely no proof what so ever that switching to synthetic over dino is "harmful" or otherwise not a good idea.
I switched to synthetic on my Legacy about 4100 miles ago and have noticed no ill effects at all.
In my other vehicles, I've done the same thing; the most notable being my 82 Tercel with 213k (switched to synth app. 35k miles ago and the 89 GMC S-15 Jimmy 4X4 (switched to fully synthetic gear, tranny and engine oil about 12k miles -no issues to mention.
I was running Castrol GTX 10W30 (dino) exclusively and then switched to Mobile 1 (full synth), and my last oil change I switched to Redline fully synthetic 10W30.
In addition, I use Amsoil 75W90 (the dark green "racing formula") gear oil in my diffs and Amsoil synthetic tranny fluid -I could'nt be happier with the overall results.
While it's true that if the engine seals are worn, or highly stressed synthetic (being considerably "slippery'er" -I made that word up!) oil may more easily work it's way past them, but otherwise, asusming the engine is in good repair, this should'nt be a cause for concern. I've heard guys here talking about it but, personally, I've never experienced it.
Ciper posted that he made the switch to synthetic in all of his cars and, if anything, noticed an improvement in the cars engine performance -at least in terms of internal component wear, longevity, etc.
I think using the man made stuff is generally the way to go -it's not like your car is going to blow up...
I say go synthetic -it's superior to the dino (at least the good stuff: e.g. Amsoil, Redline, Mobile 1, etc) in almost every way and while more expensive, the piece of mind is worth it imho.

entirelyturbo · Post by **entirelyturbo** » Tue Aug 03, 2004 12:56 am

I'm starting to think that there are too many variables in order to determine which oil is better. Besides mileage and oil seal condition, we can discuss ambient temperature (it's very hot here in FL, even the thickest oil can become rather thin at 102 degrees!), we can discuss driving style (push it hard enough, and almost any car will at least burn some oil), etc. etc. All I can tell you is that synth doesn't work well for me in particular.

slyjonno · Post by **slyjonno** » Tue Aug 03, 2004 1:56 am

Yes I've read massive amounts of posts regarding the oil debate, so its hard to decide other than by trial and error.

Cheers EJ20TMAN will check it out.

My major concern is oil in the Intake (testament to the smoke occasionally puffing out the back)

Begining to wonder about friggin turbo....

THAWA · Post by **THAWA** » Tue Aug 03, 2004 5:07 am

doesnt it come down more to how the seals and gaskets and stuff are holding together in the engine as far as realiability after the switch?

EJ20TMAN · Post by **EJ20TMAN** » Tue Aug 03, 2004 8:35 am

Slyjonno, how much oil are we talking, a film or like a puddle in the intake (collection) if it gives a little puff on first start up in the morning thats pretty commin on EJ's and flat engines in genral.

slyjonno · Post by **slyjonno** » Wed Aug 04, 2004 4:53 am

Well I pulled the resonator out and it dribbled out the small pipe hole. So not HEAPS but a resonable amount to be worried.

When I originally pulled the vent pipes (at the T connector where the valve cover vents meet) it was just a thin coat of greyish oil.

Ive read heaps of posts, on this forum and others mentioned. Im begining to freak that ive cracked some piston rings. Really need to do a compression test.

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3.5 Litres of Oil, None showing on Dipstick

3.5 Litres of Oil, None showing on Dipstick