Ok...this is going to sound really stupid. But how much oil should I be using when performing an oil change. I have 5 1/2 qts in there right now and I dont see a f'ing thing on the dip stick. FYI: new oil filter and sender. I also ran the car for a few minutes and nothing. Oil pressure is way down.


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88 GTA Notchback
A4 / 350
Stock
** New User Name**

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95 Mustang GT |88 Mustang GT
94? Impala (real close)|97 Dodge Neon
86 Corvette |2000 Prowler
88 ASC GTA | And a few more Accords and Neon's.

And more Civic's then I can count. Why do they even bother?

 

Look under the car above the starter, is your dipstick tube all the way in the block? If its sticking out too much, it might not make contact. I think I used about 6 quarts last time I changed my oil, but half a quart shouldn't make it so you see nothing.. check the dipstick tube.

 

Uhh.....

Did you put the bolt back in the bottom of the oil pan?

I did this once many many moons ago.

Replaced the oil filter and then drained the oil.

Got sidetracked on something else and came back and just poured in the oil.

Checked the dip stick and no oil.

Took me like 15 minutes to figure out why there was no oil.

Looked under the car and found that I never put the plug back in and my little oil collector pan was VERY full.

Talk about "dipstick".

 

I did replace the bolt.

 

Should hold about 5 quarts. That oil had to go somewhere.


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350 with stealth intake, holley carb, 470 lift cam. 700r4 with .5 boost valve, vette servo, tci lock-up kit, B&M megashifter. Richmond 3.73 gears, powertrax locker, timkin bearings, synthetic lube. Custom 3 inch single into 2 2.5 pipes. 1 1/2 drop springs, 1 5/16 solid front sway bar, 1 inch rear bar, custom subframe connectors, custom LCA relocation brackets. Kobel ground FX, current red metallic paint. Lots of other stuff...
82camaro

 

Sorry, I used 6 quarts in the LS1, your car should hold less. You don't see any leaks? How low is the oil pressure? Did you check the dipstick tube? Hope its not squirting out somewhere.

 

No leaks. The oil pressure will drop to zero after the car warm's up. This is the reason I replaced the sending unit. It now looks like the oil pump may be bad. How much of a PITA is it to replace one?

Jacob

 

OK, Super, super long shot...but maybe because it's new and clean, you just can't see it very well on the dipstick. I know i have a hard time seeing fresh oil on the stick. Maybe?

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-Dan
-1990 3.1L RS
-Mods? no
-Slow? yes

 

Why should his car hold less ? Is it because if it's not an LS1 it's a "lesser" car ?

6 quarts is what it takes and if you dont see anything on the dipstick you're about 2 quarts low.


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92 Z28 5.7
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Trick Flow 23° heads, Comp Cams XR270HR-10 cam, Accel intake base + ported TPI,
TES headers, Flowmaster catback, MSD ignition, #24 SVO injectors, 1LE aluminum driveshaft.

Click here to see pics of my car !

 

Ok, got another really good one fer ya.

Is the car sitting level?

By that I mean......

If the rear of the car is higher than the front (ie inclinded driveway or if you have the rear up on jack stands) then all the oil will be at the front of the pan and you would not see any oil on the dipstick and the oil pump would not be getting much if any oil.

My only other thoughts would be.....

Did you pour the oil into the right hand side of the valve cover?

Is the oil filter in place?

Are you sure you're not pulling the tranny dipstick?

I know they're dumb thoughts and I don't mean to judge you capabilities, but we gotta cover all the bases here.

 

Every small block chevy that I have ever seen holds 5 quarts of oil unless you have a bigger aftermarket oil pan. If it's not showing on the dipstick then the tube is not seated right or you have the wrong dipstick in it. My 92 will be right on the full mark with 5 quarts and a long oil filter.

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92 Camaro RS 5.0 5-Speed (Quasar Blue)
T-Tops
14" Open Air Cleaner
3.08 Posi-trac
Edelbrock TBI Intake
Crane cam
Ported & polished stock heads 3 angle valve job
HyperTech Chip
UltraFlo cat-back exhaust

74 Dodge Dart Sport 360 (11.2 1/4 mile)

2000 Dodge 1500 Ram Sport

 

This is true for the cars I've seen as well, but I have seen a few medium trucks with a seven quart pan, stock.

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88,

Another remote possibility that I've seen once is an engine sludged so badly that the oil did not drain back into the pan. If you've changed you oil regularly, I doubt that is your problem, but it would explain the lack of oil on the dipstick and lack of oil pressure.

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Later,
Vader
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"Let the bodies hit the floor!"
Adobe Acrobat Reader

 

Sun..no offense taken. :-)

The bolt on the bottom was dripping so I had to drain the oil and replace it. I measured the oil before pouring it back into the engine - Just a tad over 5 qts...so I know there is plenty of oil in the engine. I still have no f-ing oil pressure....I run the car for about 5 minutes then, bam..down to zero. But thats a diffrent post.

Thanks Guys!!!!