Oil change problem...

Jutboy · Post by **Jutboy** » Sun Nov 25, 2007 8:03 pm

I know what your thinking when you read the title but here me out. I have this wierd thing that happens maybe once every 10 oil changes and it just happened to me.

I want to know whats going on.

So I pull up on the ramps with my gfs 98 Impreza OB which I let warm up for about 3 minutes. Drain the oil pan, take off the oil filter, fill up the new filter with new oil, wet the gasket, tighten the oil filter and the oil pan drain bolt.

Fill the engine up to a little below full, start the car, pull of the ramps and let it idle for a while. Turn off, check level again and add more if needed.

What happens thats bad is I go for a decent drive (5 minutes) and check the oil and its way too full. I had to drain the oil filter 3 times for this last occasion. This has also happened to me on other makes of cars. Whats going on? Justin

skid542 · Post by **skid542** » Sun Nov 25, 2007 8:22 pm

When you fill it up initially on the ramps you have the vehicle tilted backwards causing your dipstick to read inaccurately. So you overfill it to begin with. Then you run it and check the level immediately? If so then you aren't giving the oil a chance to work it's way out of all the nooks and crannies of the engine back into the oil pan. This causes the dipstick to read low and you fill it up some more adding to the problem.

I would let the warmed up car sit a good 5-10 minutes before checking and adding more oil.

My .02 at least.

555BCTurbo · Post by **555BCTurbo** » Sun Nov 25, 2007 8:43 pm

skid542 wrote:When you fill it up initially on the ramps you have the vehicle tilted backwards causing your dipstick to read inaccurately. So you overfill it to begin with. Then you run it and check the level immediately? If so then you aren't giving the oil a chance to work it's way out of all the nooks and crannies of the engine back into the oil pan. This causes the dipstick to read low and you fill it up some more adding to the problem.

I would let the warmed up car sit a good 5-10 minutes before checking and adding more oil.

My .02 at least.

Nailed it on the head

dirtyhandssubaru555 · Fri Dec 14, 2007 11:17 pm

pully it up on the ramps drain oil/install new filter, then just roll the car off the ramps then add oil

ciper · Post by **ciper** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 12:58 am

Before dropping it off the ramps dont open more than 4 quarts of oil. Take it for a spin and add oil as needed.

The capacity is only around 4.5 so 4 + whatever is left in the engine is more than plenty for the car to run. Shit I've ran my 91 sedan with about 1.5 quart of oil for over 50 miles without issue and I drive the thing like I stole it.

dscoobydoo · Post by **dscoobydoo** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 1:29 am

Not sure about you, but since the oil filter is facing down and in the front, I don't have to get much more than my hand under the car to do an oil change.

I don't bother with ramps anymore.

asc_up · Post by **asc_up** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 2:36 am

yeah. i was going to ask why you were even bothering with the ramps. you can get to the oil filter and the oil pan plug pretty easily.

ciper · Post by **ciper** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 2:40 am

Time for Jutboy to get a fumoto valve!

Arctic Assassian · Post by **Arctic Assassian** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 8:57 pm

whats a fumoto valve?

ciper · Post by **ciper** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 9:41 pm

OMGWTFBBQ!? How can you own a car and not use a fumoto? It's seriously that great. I bought them as christmas presents last year.

Essentially its a high pressure gas valve that replaces your drain plug. Lets you change the oil using NO tools. It also lets you take small samples of the oil or drain any extra off. They even sell a model with a nipple which lets you run a tube into a container for mess free oil changes.

I can literally change my oil in less than 10 minutes now using one.

http://www.fumotousa.com/

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Sun Dec 16, 2007 9:03 pm

I had trouble with my Fumoto valve. I drove over some rough terrain and the lever actually got wedged partly open. The pan was dented inwards in that area and actually prevented the lever from closing all the way from then on.

ciper · Post by **ciper** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 2:14 am

Why not use a small hose clamp to prevent the lever from moving. At worst it would snap the lever off and keep the drain from opening.

They also have some type of spring clip that is supposed to do the same thing.

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 2:58 am

Either one seems like a reasonable solution, but I just put the drain plug back in and bought a bunch more crush washers.

biggreen96 · Post by **biggreen96** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 3:52 am

I love my fumoto

Post by **Legacy777** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 7:37 pm

Yeah....I just don't like that extra valve hanging out there like that. Not that I intend to run over anything. I don't need anything more hanging down under the car.

All_talk · Post by **All_talk** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 11:43 pm

I get that the valve is easy... but how hard is it to reach under there with an end wrench and unscrew one well oiled bolt?

Swaping the filter is the majority of the time under the car anyway.

And I agree... put 4 quarts back in and run it, let it sit for 15min and top up.

Gary

ciper · Post by **ciper** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 1:10 am

All_Talk: Are you replacing the crush washer every time you change your oil?

206er · Post by **206er** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 1:56 am

i don't, I just clean the threads and use some thread tape. doesnt seem to leak, my plastic seperator plate has that covered

93Leg-c · Post by **93Leg-c** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 4:30 am

If I read Jutboy's post correctly, after driving the car off the ramps, he ADDS more oil if needed, which makes me believe that he leaves with the oil right at the "full" mark on the dipstick. But when he returns after his 5-minute drive, the oil level is far above the full mark.

That happens to me at times too but not at other times. Somehow the oil has gone up into the dipstick housing causing it to read high -- in the case of my car, it reads up to 2 quarts high. I would normally check the oil level the first thing in the morning before I start the engine to have an accurate reading but I've got a bj that I'm working on in the garage and so my daily driver is parked on my significantly inclined driveway.

If I'm on a long drive and stop to fill in gas and need to check the oil level, how do I know if the reading is accurate or false? A two-quart difference in reading can be disastrous for an engine. I think that's what contributed to my eventual low compression in my first bc because the oil level would read a tad below the full mark but above the "fill" mark and perhaps I was actually two quarts low? By the time I figured out the inaccurate oil readings, my compression was below 110 psi on all four cylinders.

So, does anyone have a solution to all who may have this intermittent inaccurate reading scenario?

All_talk · Post by **All_talk** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 7:51 am

ciper wrote:All_Talk: Are you replacing the crush washer every time you change your oil?

Nope, I've been changing oil in all sorts of cars for over 20 years and have never changed a crush washer... no leaks yet.

Gary

All_talk · Post by **All_talk** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 8:02 am

93Leg-c wrote:...
So, does anyone have a solution to all who may have this intermittent inaccurate reading scenario?

Are you saying you read the oil level with out wiping off the dip stick and reinserting it?

The oil will always slosh up the tube while driving, you have to shut off the engine wait a few minutes, pull the stick wipe it clean, stick it back in for a few seconds then read it. If after that you get inconsistent readings then something is strange.

I will sometimes check mine before startup in the morning without wiping, but remember the marks on the stick are for warm oil, so cold it should read a bit low.

Gary

93Leg-c · Post by **93Leg-c** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 5:57 pm

All_talk wrote: Are you saying you read the oil level with out wiping off the dip stick and reinserting it?

The oil will always slosh up the tube while driving, you have to shut off the engine wait a few minutes, pull the stick wipe it clean, stick it back in for a few seconds then read it. If after that you get inconsistent readings then something is strange.

I will sometimes check mine before startup in the morning without wiping, but remember the marks on the stick are for warm oil, so cold it should read a bit low.

Gary

With the car on level ground, the oil level is always read after shutting off the engine, waiting a few minutes, wiping the dip stick clean, reinserting it fully, pulling the stick back out to read it, wiping it clean again, reinserting it, pulling it back out to read it again. I usually check the stick several times to make sure where the oil level is.

So, to have such high oil level readings, either something is strange or I'm doing something wrong that I'm not aware of.

jamal · Post by **jamal** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 9:30 pm

All_talk wrote:Nope, I've been changing oil in all sorts of cars for over 20 years and have never changed a crush washer... no leaks yet.

Gary

I had the crush washer on my car leak. However I don't know how old it was; could have been original

All_talk · Post by **All_talk** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 9:59 pm

93Leg-c wrote: So, to have such high oil level readings, either something is strange or I'm doing something wrong that I'm not aware of.

Doesn't sound like your doing anything wrong, something seems strange.

Gary

ciper · Post by **ciper** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 11:36 pm

jamal wrote: I had the crush washer on my car leak. However I don't know how old it was; could have been original

You are supposed to replace it every time though

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Oil change problem...

Oil change problem...