Noticed Low Oil during oil change

Was doing an oil change today, and noticed that the oil level was below the min level on the dipstick

98 tacoma 3.4 5vzfe with 300'000km. I have not noticed any leaks in the garage so this was a surprise for me. Changed it at 8'000km (5'000miles)

But when I was taking the drain plug bolt out (which was torqued correctly), I did notice some oil on the drain plug (perhaps it could have been leaking from above). Not sure if my truck is leaking or burning oil.

Do these things have low oil lights on the dash? because no lights ever came up on my dash?

I believe that the last oil change I did full synthetic, but was running a blend before. Currently I'm running full synth again.

Should I just monitor the dipstick every thousand km or so and go from there?

 

Just monitor it.

What is your oil change schedule mile wise?

Oil light is pressure driven, not level driven.

 

Valve seals get really hard over time, cylinder rings get gummed up, it happens. There's no warning indicator but the oil pressure will read low if you watch it at intersections.

Just means you gotta check the oil more frequently, once a month is fine.

 

Nope.

Weekly with mileage notes until you determine how long it takes to lose about 1/2 a qt

 

You Do not you check your oil in between the time you change it till the next time you change it? I couldn't let it ride. That would drive me nuts. All engines consume some oil thru usage. Blowback, exhaust etc

 

Every 8000km if full synth, or every 5000km if blend

 

No i didn't, but lesson learned!

 

i don’t have an oil pressure gauge in the 98, just a gas and temp gauge. what year is yours?

 

how do i know when ige lost a quart? how much does that equal on the dip stick?

 

Full to add mark is around one quart. 8KM and a quart used is really not a big deal. There are some new oils out now that have more detergents in them that work to free oil control rings that are getting gummed up but seriously, I've driven vehicles that used more oil 100,000 more miles before I sold them and they were still running fine and using around the same amount of oil.

 

Interesting that you check your oil before you drain it. I've never done this ever in 50 years. Nothing wrong with doing so, just never thought about doing it.

I do check oil levels monthly along with other fluids and tire pressures.

 

It's perfectly normal for an engine to use about 1 quart between 5000 mile oil changes but most of us are used to less oil consumption from modern engines. With an older high mileage truck a quart every 2000-3000 miles isn't anything to worry about. It's when you're using a quart every 1000 miles or less that it's time to consider a new engine.

My 2007 with 253,000 miles is usually about 1/2 quart low after 5000 miles when I change oil. But I do check it about every 1000 miles just to stay on top of things in case it starts using more.

 

I normally don't, but doing it this time made me realize that i probably should

 

So i noticed some small oil puddles under the truck in the garage. Leaking from the drivers side back side of the front skid plate--right under the oil filter. When I changed the oil fiter a bunch of oil spilled so i think maybe this is just the residual oil leaking out? There was also a few drops on the oil pan kind of beside/above the drain plug bolt; but i torqued it down properly with a new washer so i ruled out it coming from the bolt, but perhaps it's coming from above (valve covers?).

if not, is that a common area for a leak?

Going to monitor it for a couple days and see if its still leaking

 

Update: Just let truck idle for 20 minutes, and no signs of a puddle on the ground

 

Sometimes leaks appear after running instead of while running

What color is your coolant?

 

I'm not sure, green or red maybe? the drops were oil tho i'm pretty sure

 

NM, I got lost and was thinking of another thread. Sorry about that.

You should be fine, just check the oil a bit more often.

Maybe drop the skid and clean it if you find more drippage from there.

 

I lost a lot of oil once after not tightening the oil filter well enough. Left a leak on my friends driveway and that's what caused me to take a look. Definitely easy to lose oil through there if it is loose.