Every time I go to check the oil on my 92 rs with a 305 tbi I can never seem to get a correct reading. I'll do an oil change, put 5 quarts in, check the oil, and it will be about 1 quart over and then leave a trail of oil that goes up about 4-5 inches up the dipstick. Whats the deal here? I even let her drain over night last time and fill her her back up with 5 quarts of mobil 1 5-w30 and a pf1218 oil filter. Start here up and let her idle for a couple minutes, pull the dipstick out, wipe it off, slide it back in, pull it back out and it shows about 1 quart over and a little trail of oil goes about 4 or 5 inches above the full mark. Even if I let her sit over night and go to check the oil the next morning it still does the same thing. Anyone know what the problem could be?

Same problem here. At 4 quarts mine shows overfull. I have a dent in the bottom of my pan but it's definitely not big enough to displace a full quart.

My 86 IROC does the same thing. I find I can get the most accurate reading by looking at the dipstick from the side. The oil should look "thicker" at its actual level. Try to keep the dipstick level so the oil doesnt run.

you should check to make sure you are taking 5 quarts out. It could be correct and you just have so much build up in the pan?

I know that's not true in my case. I just swapped engines. One of these days I'll figure out what's up.

Maybe someone put the wrong dipstick in the engine? Have you owned the car since it was new? I bought mine new and if I drain and add 5 qt. it reads right on the full mark with a 1 qt. filter, if I use one of the short filters it reads a little over full.

now i am no engine expert, but if you just fill it, and don't run the car at all, then the filter will be empty right? so you have probably close to a quart of extra oil in the pan ?????

thats why what you should do is pour oil in the filter before you put in on the engine..

otherwise when it starts up it runs dry for a few secs.... not the best thing for it...


if i was reading that high i would first check that i had the right dipstick... after i was sure of that, i would pull the pan off and see if any crud accumulated in there, raising the level...

Absolutely drain all the oil out...put 5 quarts in and the long filter...start it...park it in a level place overnight. Pull the dipstick the next morning and mark it with a file. You probably just have the wrong dipstick/dipstick tube. Should be 4 quarts in the pan, plus the filter(5 with the long one).

i'd say it's because there's probably still close to 1 quart that stays in the pan.

Think about it. Where is the oil pan bolt? on the drivers side pan, about 6 inches from the rear of the pan.

If you jack the front of your car up only and drain it, naturally there's going to be some oil that is lingering in the back of the pan.

If you dropped the front end of the car, or jacked the entire thing up to make it level, more of the old oil would drain out.

In fact, the best way to get all the oil out would be to jack up the passanger side of the car only.

Thanks for the answers guys. Well I know it isn't the wrong dipstick or crud in the bottom of the pan because when I first bought the car I could get a good, accurate reading, and for the past 6 months for some odd reason it just wont read right anymore. The dipstick itself is straight and has no bends in it. The pan has no dents at all from looking at it on the outside. Like I said, last oil change just to make sure I got it all out I put the car on all 4 jack stands up in the air and let it drain over night until there were no drips at all. I even went a step further and put in a pf1218 over the standard size and added the same 5 quarts of oil and it still reads high. it is possible there could be a small amount of oil left in the pan even over night, but not a full quart. Anyone else have any ideas what it could be?

Yeah yeah, old thread. But I'm having the same problem on my L98 350. I'm wondering if it could also be that there's some sludge buildup at the bottom of the dipstick tube that's swiping the oil on the dipstick as you lift it up.

so yeah... BUMP.

Has anyone tried sucking it out through the dipstick or putting something in the dipstick to make sure its not clogged in any way? I have the same problem and also have the small trail of oil that goes about the full mark. Hope someone figures it out.

after running the engine for at least 1 minute, let it settle for 2 minutes before checking the oil. to check the tranny oil, run the car let it idle then shift through the gears at least once in park, then check the tranny oil while engine running. it should be at the first line if cold, top line if hot.

My wife thinks maybe your dipstick is too short?

Sorry - couldn't help it!

you should be me, all i get anymore is YOURE NOT THINKIN WITH YOUR DIPSTICK JIMMY,jimmy hahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think there is something funky going on with the dipsticks on our cars. My 2.8 has the same problem. I just had the oil pan off and I know it is completely empty, no dents, no crud. And mine is showing like 2-3 quarts over. I cleaned the dipstick and tube. I think oil is somehow getting sucked/pushed up the dipstick tube. But what the hell do I know?

BTW: This has to be one of the dirtiest threads i've read in a while