Oil Change Question

kkdoughboy

New Member
Jul 20, 2007
212
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Pennsylvania
Hi guys, I changed the oil in my stang the other day. It says to add 6 quarts, so I drained the pan and started adding royal purple. I added 5 quarts and then checked the levels. I would get very inaccurate readings. Sometimes I put the dipstick in and pulled it out and No Oil at all. Then other times I got a higher than fill limit reading. I ended up adding about 5 1/4 quarts and it looks like theres a little too much in there. When I do get a reading its a bit over max fill. I drove the car around the block and didnt notice anything until I pulled into my garage and gave it a rev. It kicked out a little bit of black smoke when I would rev it up. It never did this before I performed this oil change. I know this sounds ridiculous. Has anyone else experienced a problem with reading the fill level accuratly? Any ideas? Looks like I might have to pull the plug and make a mess.
 
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Remember also that a brand new (dry) oil filter will throw off the reading as well. Unless I'm mistaken the posted capacity readings usually are based on system that has been topped off after the engine has been run and the filter has been oiled.
 
I've always(5 changes to date and ready for the 6th:D )put in 6 full qts with no need to add some and the level has been fine after a short drive to saturate the filter(holds near a .5 qt I believe). For me that puts the level near dead center of the acceptable level. I've never seen smoke of any color so that has me stumped. When you drain the old oil, is the front of your car higher than the rear to allow most of the oil to drain out(if the front of your car is not higher, it's possible you're leaving too much left in the pan). Do you fill/check it on a level surface?
 
I always put 6 full quarts. First I pour as much into the filter as it will hold without spilling and then install the filter and pour the rest into the crank case. Also, like kooldawg6 says, I have my car elevated so the front is higher than the rear when I drain the old oil. Once I'm finished and do a short test run to saturate the filter my level shows about half way between full and empty. Remember, each dip stick will show different levels for different engines due to various factors like how the car sits and differences in how the dip stick fits into the tube and protrudes into the crank case. Ford calls for 6 quarts so use that as a benchmark and see where that falls on your dip stick.
 
I had the car on jackstands that were both on the drivers side. It makes sense what you said Kooldawg that all the oil didnt drain. I bet thats what happened. Should have jacked it up in the front. Now I just have to figure out how to get a proper reading to see if I need to take oil out. I imagine even without all the oil draining there couldnt have been that much left in the car. I'm sure there is no easy way to drain a little oil other than pulling out the plug? Thanks for the info guys I'll let you know how I make out.
 
I just checked mine the other day, it was a hair low. I bought a quart of motorcraft 5w-20 and about a 3rd of the quart topped it off. When it's time for my first oil change and I go to mobil 1, 6 quarts is all you have to have, but a little over 6 fills it to the line, correct?
 
Problem is solved. I drained about 1/2 a quart out of the car and its right at the top of the fill line. No more black smoke when I rev her up. Next time I wont be so stupid as to jack it up from one side and leave some residual oil left in there. Thanks for your help guys.
 
yay for a car that doesn't mind being tipped backwards to drain the oil! I had to do the opposite in my old 240 to drain it completely which required having to go backwards in a cramped driveway awesome
 
2222 miles and counting... xmas is coming up so I gotta put a damper on the modding but I see a Steeda exhaust and a JLT intake coming up next.

Still haven't heard from my shifter should be here in days.