I've always changed the oil in my truck, but for some reason, Its not showing on the dipstick after I've added the new oil this time.

I start it up, and the oil pressure gague says its fine. When I stop the engine & check the stick, it looks like it splashed about a third of the way up the stick, but is clean after I wipe it off and check it again. wtf is going on?

[Edited on August 30, 2005 at 1:15 PM. Reason : .]

8/30/2005 1:15:05 PM

uh, you didn't put enough oil in?

8/30/2005 1:19:34 PM

I dont think so... I bought a gal. of oil, my truck only takes 4-4.5 quarts, and the bottle is mostly empty... its possible tho

8/30/2005 1:21:29 PM

haha

>.<

[Edited on August 30, 2005 at 1:22 PM. Reason : what kind of truck]

8/30/2005 1:21:45 PM

Do you have pressure at all when you crank it?

8/30/2005 1:32:24 PM

yeah, turns out I n00bed all over myself

I didn't have enough oil in there after all...

So then, if I didn't have enough oil in, why did the gague needle read right in the middle b/w the high and low marks? I always thought that the pressure gague was a fairly good indicator of having enough oil. Am I wrong about this?

8/30/2005 1:35:19 PM

your oil is too low to run when it gets below where the dipstick reads
it's a margin of safety

if your engine takes 4-4.5 qts and you had a gallon jug (4 qts) with some still left, then you put in less than 4qts.

8/30/2005 1:37:48 PM

Yep. You can have as little as 1.5 to 2 quarts of oil in an engine and still show oil pressure. This is because the oil pump pickup tube is usually between a quarter and a half inch off of the bottom of the oil pan.

8/30/2005 1:38:38 PM

hehehehe

8/30/2005 1:38:55 PM

Yes. It has way more oil than it needs to keep the oil pressure up. The extra oil just allows it to go longer between changes, stay cooler, and have a little to spare in case some idiot person doesn't put enough in.

8/30/2005 1:39:00 PM

Thanks... first time I actually learned something from tdub




[Edited on August 30, 2005 at 1:40 PM. Reason : self-served]

8/30/2005 1:39:10 PM

You've got it, unless the thing just drops to zero. That's a damn good indication there's no oil in the engine...but by then, it may be too late.

8/30/2005 1:40:13 PM

^ ah, cool man. 'preciate it.

8/30/2005 1:41:10 PM

also, you may have pressure when sitting still, but once you get going and oil is sloshed around and not around the pickup, your pressure would then drop.

8/30/2005 1:42:24 PM

also, you may have pressure when sitting still, but once you get going and oil is sloshed around and not around the pickup, your pressure would then drop.

8/30/2005 1:45:08 PM

i maxed out a couple weeks ago (very safe open stretch, etc), checked the oil the next day and the dipstick had been bone dry

8/30/2005 2:58:43 PM

gettin no pressure probably, gauge is more than likely just screwed up. get that checked out.

8/30/2005 3:13:15 PM

it amazes me the number of people that dont read before they post

8/30/2005 3:45:34 PM

i do that sometimes too

but that was just plain stupid

8/30/2005 4:26:56 PM

yeah, really. GTFO.

8/30/2005 4:29:40 PM

not related to the problem, but i usually test an oil pressure gauge and usually my oil level in a special way, i wait till the lifters start knockin, then pour some in till its stops and the engine starts smoking out the exhuast, dipsticks are overated.

8/30/2005 7:27:50 PM

Yea I wait for the audible "low oil alarm" as well.

8/30/2005 8:51:48 PM