Oil Consumption

[Grumpy Bear]

16 minutes ago, chris21 said:

You seem to be struggling with reading comprehension.

 

I HAVE SAID 3 TIMES THAT THE BOTTOM OF THE CROSSHATCH IS A QUART BELOW FULL. 

 

I have also said that the manual will not call that "1 quart low" because it is not a quart below the acceptable range in answer to asilverblazer saying that he has never seen the bottom of the marking noted as "1 quart low" in a manual. The wording of the manual allowing for an acceptable range would indicate that .00001" above the add mark is ok. Also, because the manual allows a range, a quart below full and a quart below acceptable are two different volumes. Thus the manual will not use the phrasing "1 quart low"

 

Then we agree on the range between marks is 1 quart (for most light duty trucks and cars). Great! Whew! 

 

I will push back on the ambiguous every time. I can see some cherry looking at the dipstick before a long haul and seeing the level just above the lower mark closing the hood and not giving it a second thought until the next stop or the I-D-10-T error light flashes and parts leave the confines of the engine bay. 

 

How about it Chris, do we top up when we see it at a quarter quart low?, A half quart below full or wait until it doesn't register on the stick? 

 

That's where asilerblazer is heading and to me, it read like he wouldn't mind taking a few reads with him.   

 

 

[chris21]

1 hour ago, Grumpy Bear said:

 

Then we agree on the range between marks is 1 quart (for most light duty trucks and cars). Great! Whew! 

 

I will push back on the ambiguous every time. I can see some cherry looking at the dipstick before a long haul and seeing the level just above the lower mark closing the hood and not giving it a second thought until the next stop or the I-D-10-T error light flashes and parts leave the confines of the engine bay. 

 

How about it Chris, do we top up when we see it at a quarter quart low?, A half quart below full or wait until it doesn't register on the stick? 

 

That's where asilerblazer is heading and to me, it read like he wouldn't mind taking a few reads with him.   

 

 

Top yours off when you want. That is your decision. 

 

Different engines can have different markings and recomendations. The LT1 in my boat for instance the dipstick has 8 oz. Markings for a 1.5 qt range(7 dimples 1/4" apart) and 5qt sump it uses 20w-50 race oil and I keep it between the top two marks and change the oil every season or 50 running hrs. My truck has the 1 liter crosshatch and it depends on how soon I am going to be changing the oil how far down the crosshatch I would let it get before adding some. I haven't needed to add oil to my current truck as I haven't seen it below the top quarter of the crosshatch within 4000 mile oil changes. I had a 2002 5.3l that I added a full quart to every 2000-2500 miles that I drove until I sold it with 275,000 miles on it and a 4.8l that I never had to add oil to between changes that I drove until it had 300,000 miles. Every engine and use case is different.

 

I'm sorry the owners manual is somewhat ambiguous I didn't write it.

Edited June 10 by chris21

[riddler]

8 minutes ago, chris21 said:

Top yours off when you want. That is your decision. 

 

Different engines can have different markings and recomendations. The LT1 in my boat for instance the dipstick has 8 oz. Markings for a 1.5 qt range(7 dimples 1/4" apart) and 5qt sump it uses 20w-50 race oil and I keep it between the top two marks and change the oil every season or 50 running hrs. My truck has the 1 liter crosshatch and it depends on how soon I am going to be changing the oil how far down the crosshatch I would let it get before adding some. I haven't needed to add oil to my current truck as I haven't seen it below the top quarter of the crosshatch within 4000 mile oil changes. I had a 2002 5.3l that I added a full quart to every 2000-2500 miles that I drove until I sold it with 275,000 miles on it and a 4.8l that I never had to add oil to between changes that I drove until it had 300,000 miles. Every engine and use case is different.

 

I'm sorry the owners manual is somewhat ambiguous I didn't write it.

Some how I still think he wont get it.

Too many engineering classes does this to you.

[Grumpy Bear]

34 minutes ago, chris21 said:

Top yours off when you want. That is your decision. 

 

Different engines can have different markings and recomendations. The LT1 in my boat for instance the dipstick has 8 oz. Markings for a 1.5 qt range(7 dimples 1/4" apart) and 5qt sump it uses 20w-50 race oil and I keep it between the top two marks and change the oil every season or 50 running hrs. My truck has the 1 liter crosshatch and it depends on how soon I am going to be changing the oil how far down the crosshatch I would let it get before adding some. I haven't needed to add oil to my current truck as I haven't seen it below the top quarter of the crosshatch within 4000 mile oil changes. I had a 2002 5.3l that I added a full quart to every 2000-2500 miles that I drove until I sold it with 275,000 miles on it and a 4.8l that I never had to add oil to between changes that I drove until it had 300,000 miles. Every engine and use case is different.

 

I'm sorry the owners manual is somewhat ambiguous I didn't write it.

 

I know you didn't write the manual.  

 

Pepper uses none regardless of OCI which has been as long as 7.5K and as short as 3K. 5 is the usual. 

Daisy, the Buick 3800 uses zero as does the wife's Buick. 

 

Dizzy on the other hand has had its own oil well since the clock rolled 80K. Now at 287K and using a quart in 1200 miles. She had a Paseo that started using about the same time, 80 or 90K that went 300K. Both of those motors we feed shelf synthetics. All the others that don't run Red Line HP or AMSOIL SS. 

 

That oil guzzling Terrain I top off at 4 ounces which is pretty often. As wife's primary I'm more picky that if I were driving it all the time. 

 

Dad started that 'Keep it full even if you never change it", from the first day I was old enough to understand what he was talking about and sir that was early. Like 5. If I wanted to see him I had to be with him and when he was home, he was in the shop working on something with a motor. Army/farm trained. Anyway, I've pulled and read a few dipsticks and know a few as well. I've never felt anything but full was an 'acceptable' practice. Been forced into it a few times but never by choice. 

 

In the seven plus decades I've been breathing, a quart off the FULL mark is down a quart. There was never an acceptable deviation. Not that we didn't run them in between we just didn't go on line to make noise about it. There wasn't any, "On Line" 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 10 by Grumpy Bear

[asilverblazer]

3 hours ago, Grumpy Bear said:

How about it Chris, do we top up when we see it at a quarter quart low?, A half quart below full or wait until it doesn't register on the stick? 

 

That's where asilverblazer is heading and to me, it read like he wouldn't mind taking a few reads with him.

Personally, if it's anywhere on the upper 3/4's of the marked area I'm not adding anything, to avoid the 'risk' of overfilling.

 

If I am close to oil change time, and it's at the bottom of the marked area, I still might not add any. For this to be the case (which it never has) the engine would be consuming an amount of oil that I am no longer worried about the longevity of it.

[diyer2]

[Grumpy Bear]

58 minutes ago, diyer2 said:

 

How bout them Nicks? 

[MORSNO]

I have never had to add oil to any of my trucks between oil changes since I bought my first new truck in 1988.  I purchased each truck new, did my own break-ins, and did every oil change myself.  Every truck had a slightly different engine (1988 350ci, 1997 5.7, 2001 5.3, 2012 6.0) but each ran flawlessly without using enough oil to bother adding. 

[riddler]

4 minutes ago, MORSNO said:

I have never had to add oil to any of my trucks between oil changes since I bought my first new truck in 1988.  I purchased each truck new, did my own break-ins, and did every oil change myself.  Every truck had a slightly different engine (1988 350ci, 1997 5.7, 2001 5.3, 2012 6.0) but each ran flawlessly without using enough oil to bother adding. 

Same here until my 6.6L definitely not normal to burn oil. 

[asilverblazer]

On 6/10/2026 at 3:37 PM, Grumpy Bear said:

In the seven plus decades I've been breathing, a quart off the FULL mark is down a quart. There was never an acceptable deviation. Not that we didn't run them in between we just didn't go on line to make noise about it. 

At what point "between" were you refilling them?  (1/2qt, 1/4qt)

 

Did you ever overfill any?

 

What did you do if you did?

 

Further to my opinion, I don't want to keep or have a bunch of 1/2 quarts laying around in the garage. That kind of forces a wait until it's down to the 'full' quart low mark.

 

And if I'm in spitting distance of an oil change anyways, I'm not dumping a new quart in to drain it back out a month later.

 

That mindset is geared more to the darn near 10 qt capacity of the current fleet, being 10% low is a much different animal than 20%.

Edited June 12 by asilverblazer

[Grumpy Bear]

11 minutes ago, asilverblazer said:

At what point "between" were you refilling them?  (1/2qt, 1/4qt)

 

Did you ever overfill any?

 

What did you do if you did?

 

Further to my opinion, I don't want to keep or have a bunch of 1/2 quarts laying around in the garage. That kind of forces a wait until it's down to the 'full' quart low mark.

 

And if I'm in spitting distance of an oil change anyways, I'm not dumping a new quart in to drain it back out a month later.

 

That mindset is geared more to the darn near 10 qt capacity of the current fleet, being 10% low is a much different animal than 20%.

 

Great question. Answer....depends. One the volume of the crankcase, the driver that will actually be using the vehicle and the amount it uses plus the distance expected for that next trip. Couple of for instances:

 

Wife is going to drive Dizzy to Moline and back plus a bit around town so say 500 miles on the day. I know from years with that SUV that around town and local rural it uses about a quart in 1250 miles. But on the Interstate and her at the wheel without her anchor nagging her she'll push it and it will drop a quart in about 800 miles. Hence, around town I wait to somewhere between a quarter down to a quart down. On her trip I'd top it if it was down a few ounces and hope for the best. 

 

Have I overfilled one? You mean by adding before it needs a full quart I assume. No, not once after finding the true fill mark.  I know the dipsticks of everything I drive and add what it needs. I learn this by doing the first oil change a quart low. Run the motor for a few minutes. Let it sit over night. Check and mark. Then add half a cup at a time making note of the place on the stick. I add through the dipstick tube with a barbeque basting bottle. Give it a few minutes to drain down and check again. 

 

A vehicle like Dizzy that uses this much oil will take a few quarts between 3K changes. I keep one in the vehicle with the bottle and a bag. (Mindful of it's fullness) Not a big deal and never makes a mess of it. There is no such thing as "multiple quarts' in my shop for any specific oil. There will be a maximum however of the number of different oils used over the fleet.  

 

Dizzy holds a nominal 5 quarts. So the first fill was indeed over as it actually took 4.75. My vehicles are fit with Valvomax valves so I can meter an ounce on the drain if need be. Found her mark first crack at it. Never to be repeated. 

 

Pepper uses none between changes so I don't keep a quart in that one. Straight up 6 quarts put her dead on the full line. Check it ever fuel stop. They will surprise you when they start using. 

 

Raven holds 3 liters or 5.44 ounces over three quarts. I add 3 quarts and 6 ounces. That gives me 5 oil changes on my orphan quart. 

 

Lawnmower holds about 3/5 of a quart. I don't over fill it to prevent an orphan. So yea, depends. 

[dieselfan1]

On 6/11/2026 at 8:30 AM, diyer2 said:

X2

[Grumpy Bear]

On 6/12/2026 at 5:06 PM, dieselfan1 said:

X2

 

How about them NICKS!!! 

[asilverblazer]

On 6/12/2026 at 2:13 PM, Grumpy Bear said:

You mean by adding before it needs a full quart I assume.

No, just straight up poured too much in. Oil level is over the "full" mark on the dipstick.

 

On 6/12/2026 at 2:13 PM, Grumpy Bear said:

I know the dipsticks of everything I drive and add what it needs...

 

My vehicles are fit with Valvomax valves so I can meter an ounce on the drain if need be...

It sounds like if you do or did, you would drain it off with the valve.

 

I use magnetic drain plugs, so draining off any to come down to the full mark would be more difficult. The 'range' of acceptable fill level keeps from having to be so exacting with the dipstick, filling, draining, etc.

[PunchT37]

1/2 qt over full ain`t gonna hurt $h!t. Most times, a whole qt won`t either. Most have windage trays now. As long as the crank isn`t slapping itself in the oil, it`s not the end of the world.

 

We used to overfill 1 qt at the track, at race time. Better to have it over full than having the pan sucked dry at 6500 rpm`s.