How much is too much?

Purchased my first Taco 2 weeks ago, its an 08 RC 4x4 with 2.7l engine and MT with 109k. Looks and drives like it has been exceptionally well-maintained.

Only issue I have had has been getting an accurate read on the oil level which, through research, I have found is pretty common problem. The only oil I could find was on the twisted section which is below the low level dimple. I proceeded to add 1/2 qt in 1/4 qt increments and when I saw no change, I knew my readings couldn't be right.

After learning about the idiosyncrasies and adjusting my eyes to reading really clean light weight(5w20) full synthetic, I mean to me, it actually looks like water on the stick, I now think I'm about a qt overfilled.

Question is how much is too much, I know its not good, but should I run it and keep a close eye on it or just drain some out. Also, is there a way to remove a little without pulling the drain plug, which would be difficult for me to do.

Thanks in advance and thanks to everyone for making this such a great reference forum for Tacoma owners. I can easily tell, after only 2 weeks why y'all have become so passionate about these vehicles.

Mike

 

Just change your oil so you know how much you added. You're pretty much guessing otherwise.

 

Wipe the drain plug area off well and drain it out into a real clean container. Then refill it with the factory recommended amount. I don't think it should be run a quart over.

 

I would pull the filter, dump it and put it back on, that should get you close to where you should be. If not, repeat.

 

Also, scuff up your dipstick with some sandpaper, wipe it clean to remove any debris and it will be way easier to determine the level.

 

As cheap as it is to do so, is just go ahead and change it out. You'll know exactly how much is in there, and where it reads on your dipstick as "full"

 

The 2.7 manual says 6qts, it will show over filled on the dipstick. I put 5.5 in my truck with an oil filter. Some people run 5qts with no issues.

 

That sounded like a great idea, but when i saw the location of the OF I decided to just pull the plug and do my best to drain 1 qt and pop it back in. Yeah it was pretty messy but worth it. Dipstick read just a smidge past full when I was done and I can live with that.

The best news was A) how clean the oil I drained out of the pan was, barely distinguishable from unused oil after a couple hundred miles of use, which gives me hope that the previous owner took very good care of it, and B) while I was crawling around underneath I thoroughly examined the frame for rust and found nothing but very minor surface oxidation and when tapped with a hammer everything sounded real solid.

I peeked at the frame before I bought it, but was unaware of the major rust issues until I started frequenting TW, so was a little nervous.

Thanks for the responses everyone!

Mike

 

Glad you got it sorted out!