3.1RS

Ok what exactly does the oil guage measure? I had a rear main seal go out and was running so low on oil it didnt even register on the dip stick and the guage didnt show anything remarkable. Is my guage broken or what?

Apeiron

Pressure, not level.

THEGENERAL

yes the gauge mesures pressure...... after you filled it back up with oil it didnt register any pressure again???

Gumby

If you still had good presure, then the motor should be fine.

Just check it more often. its not a level gauge.

Camaro Project

Here's a question---------------why don't the check oil lights come on when you're a quart low, instead of when half of your oil or more is gone? Is this a manufacturer move to get idiots to burn their engine up before they realize there's not enough oil in the thing? That's what it seems to me and it really pisses me off.

Apeiron

Some cars do have an oil level sensor, just not ours. How hard is it to check the oil when you put gas in it?

Gumby

Cause just being a quart or so low isnt gonna blow your motor.

Some people run a quart low on purpose. Long as you have good pressure, it frees up HP as the crank doesn need to spin through so much oil.

Doward

Screw that. I'd hate to think of my oil pump sucking all the oil out of the pan @ 6k rpm, and all of a sudden - no oil on the crank!

Gumby

Long as you have good pressure..... is the key to that point.

If you drop to 0 pressure over 5000rpm, its to low.


I knew a guy in school with one of them 4cyl mustangs and it was much faster a quart low, then full on the stick.
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I run mine full hot.

Meaning cold, with the engine off for hrs, it will read 1/2quart or more over on the stick.

I check my oil just after I shut the car off. So the pan is full with oil on the top of the motor.


But lots of people run low on purpose, as long as you have good pressure in your driving range.

Nocturnall

I usually run mine full then with like 1/2 quart of tranny fluid since that stuff is supposed to help clean because it's mainly detergents.