Hey guys / gals,

I've checked the oil a few times in my car and each time, the oil line would fall nicely among the "x"'s on the dipstick.

Yesterday, I checked it again, and no mattter what I did, I could not get ANY oil to collect on the "x"s. I must have tried it ten times, wiping each time, so that the stick was clean before taking the reading. I tried to take a reading after the engine had run for a few minutes, and also when the engine was cold.

All I could ever get, was a very very dark bead of oil on the bottom 1/2 inch of the dipstick. It was nowhere near the x's. A few times, I would get oil on the bent part of the stick, but I thought that was from rubbing the side of the pipe as I pulled it out.

I just had the oil changed less than 2000 miles ago, and I am using synthetic for the first time. No oil leaks that I can see.

I know that they put in about 4.5 quarts of oil when the change was done, and it seemed improbable that more than 3 quarts of oil had been used up by the engine.

I decided to error on the side of more oil, and I added about a quart into the engine. I took another reading, and now it seems like, the bent part of the dipstick is collecting more oil than before, but still nothing on the x's.

1) Can you tell me what I am doing wrong that I can't get a reading anymore?
2) What might happen is my engine has 1 quart too much oil in it?

Thanks.

 

S2000s use a lot of oil, especially synthetic oil. They also require a little over 5 quarts for an oil change.

I don't know you well enough to say if you are stupid...

 

How many miles were on your car when you made the switch to synthetic?

 

Where you on a hill? on Level Ground? No oil on both sides of the dip stick?

5.1 Qt is MAX you put more then that in and your in trouble.

 

I was on perfectly level ground. There was no oil on either side of the x's. But there was oil on the bent part and on the very tip.

I suspect that I now have more than 5.1 quarts of oil in the engine. Is the extra oil going to blow up my engine?

 

You haven't checked the oil in about 2000 miles? Seems like what you said. There's no magic, either oil is on the dipstick or not. If it isn't there, your oil level is way down.

edit: The oil sits in your oil pan. When you put the dipstick in, the bottom, where the xxx are, measures the level of oil in the oil pan. You can't have too much oil if there is NO oil on the xxx. If you had too much oil, the xxx would be covered with oil AND the oil level would be higher than the top x. I'm guessing you let your oil get really low and even after adding a quart, that still wasn't enough.

 

Have you checked the oil since the last oil change? If you have not, then I'd bet that you're way low. You are correct to ignore the oil that rubs on to the stick when you are putting the stick in or out. Also, I was told that the S2000 takes 5 quarts, not 4.5, so you may have been a little short from the start.

 

Is it possible for the engine to use more than 3 quarts of oil within 2000 miles? The level of oil was nowhere even remotely close to the lowest "x.'

 

LostWaffle, read my edit above. I think you let your oil get really low.

Gary

 

If I where you I'd jack the car up and drain out all the oil and put in 5 Qt. and if there's only 2,000 mi. since your last oil change leave the filter.

Too much oil can ruin your Piston Seals