noob oil change question

[White Whine]

hey guys, just did my first oil change, used a k&n filter, as always, and went to walmart and got a 5qt jug of mobil 1 5w30 and a 1 qt bottle as I've read people typically put 6qts in. well, I cleaned the dipstick, dropped in the 5qts, pulled the dipstick again...three times...and every time the line was right in the middle of min-max. so, after 5qts it looked like it was right where it should be. I'm impatient and didnt wanna post for answers in the middle of my change, so I just added about half of the remaining 1qt bottle and it brought up the line to right around max. my question is, does anyone just use 5qts? I couldnt find anywhere in the manual that said how much to use, just from reading did I see 6qts all over, some said 5.5. should i just rely on my dipstick and maybe only use 5qts next time? whats the deal?

 

[AZ ERIK]

I put 6 in and it was right on the money. I have a oil seperator as well. If you don't have one put in 6 you'll burn 1 off in 3000 miles leaving you at 5 which I think hits the min.

 

[RidnRodsLightng]

We just changed ours, pulled <5 quarts out and put 6 in.

 

[White Whine]

I put 6 in and it was right on the money. I have a oil seperator as well. If you don't have one put in 6 you'll burn 1 off in 3000 miles leaving you at 5 which I think hits the min.

yeah I havent gotten one of those yet...if I get a little extra cash in the next couple weeks I need one of those and clunk washers and I should have a lot of the little maintenance things out of the way. do you think 5.5qts (showing max on my dipstick) is cool for right now? shouldnt be losing oil anywhere.

 

[lightninmike]

the dip sticks can be off just a bit
it calls for 6 so put 6 in

 

[OH-MAN]

The oil filter will hold a 1/2 to 1 qt.
Start it up and let run a min. then shut it down and wait a bit to check again.

 

[Silver04L]

I have noticed my oil seperator isnt filling up much anymore......is this normal??

 

[trublu gen2]

This is a big topic of debate on the L boards. I've even read where some people think they may have gotten the wrong dipstick from the factory. :shrug: The bottom line is it calls for 6 quarts so I use 6 quarts. It seems like most L owners do the same.

 

[Robert Francis]

Stock spec's are 6 qts - should put in 6 qts for overall use. Don't worry about dipstick marking - it varies. If you want, after putting in 6 qts - run it for bit - shut it down for at least 15 minutes and while being on a level surface, check your dipstick and take a small file and file a small line on the dipstick where your oil level is, and you can use that as your "fill mark" for future reference.