Silvertarga

No drive is a waste of time to me..
Anyhow its good to find out that the dip stick is a problem for others, I always wondered why mine only had oil on one side..

sml

haha .. true

Vandit

I didn't drive 1.5hrs to measure the oil level, but you'd figure that after that much driving, the car would be up to operating temp and register an accurate reading, yet flogging it some more only made it register a different, higher, reading.

stinkydog

Yep. You say it's a nice Sunday morning? I'll be back in a couple hours - gotta go do some maintenance driving (clearing the brake pads, getting the oil up to temperature so I can check it, etc.).

Vandit

So I went out, got the car up to temp till the theromostat opened (temp fell slightly) and then started adding oil till I saw the gauge move. Turns out i've been driving the past 250 hard miles down about 2 qts. The oil pressure was good the whole time tho. Gawd, I hate this car's ambiguity around motor oil.

Babalouie

2qts down still means you got 9 quarts in there tho, so you're a little low but probably a long way from the dangerpoint

jody stowitts

Many moons ago Union 76 motor oil was a nice PURPLE color and made this a lot easier, even when the oil was brand new. Wonder if there isn't a harmless dye that could be added. Think I'll give Mobil a call.

jody stowitts

You know, I think that's the perfect solution Stinkydog! It just occurred to me that taking a maintenance drive to diagnose automobile status is a WONDERFUL idea! Especially on a fairly frequent basis!! Why didn't I think of this. You've saved the day!!

August West

Bradd Penn is nice and green...I haven't checked to see if that helps on the dipstick as I've only just changed over to BP. That should help with visibility.

August West

So, Vandit, how did it look on the dipstick after you did all that? Less ambiguous?

SuperUser

I run Bradd Penn, I still can not see it on the dip stick, but I am color blind.

sml

we understand that .. but you need some serious idling time .... you need to get a book and relax for a long time .. you can get a rug and hang it over the engine grille to speed things up a little .. driving the car ruins the process as it cools the engine.

KaiB

nah...

Vandit

Yes, the oil on the dipstick was a bit more pronounced, but it still isn't great. Plus, I get an oil film over most of the bottom dipstick, so it makes it difficult to see what's the oil level vs what's just oil film.

I use Brad Penn also.

crg53

You are kidding, right ?