am I losing my mind??

2014 Access cab Prerunner SR5, with a 2.7 4-banger. She just turned over 100k miles, so I figured it was time to start doing my own maintenance. When I checked the owners manual, it said oil capacity with a new filter was 6.1 quarts. I poured in a 5 quart jug, let it run a minute, check the level and sure 'nuff, it was a quart low. Pour in another quart, clean myself up and let it sit overnight. Now the oil level on the dipstick shows way high!? What the heck? Do I drain off a quart and run it a while, or do I go with the book and just trust the 6 quart capacity? So far she's been flawless, so the last thing I want to do is risk screwing it up by overfilling it. Help?!

 

The dip stick will have a high and low mark. Keep between the 2 levels. What is happening, is the oil is draining from the head (etc) and back into the pan. So your cold level will be higher than the hot level.

 

Did you start the engine before checking in the morning?

You're supposed to run the engine for a bit and have the engine at operating temp. The cold vs warm part doesn't make much of a difference but definitely run the engine first to let the oil flow through all the passages and let it sit while off for a minute before checking the oil.

 

nope, I'm an old fart who was always told to check my oil when the engine's cold and all the oil has drained down into the pan. Looks like I've got to relearn a lot to deal with these new vehicles. Changed the plugs on it at the same time, and it threw me when I couldn't find a distributor, plug wires or any evidence of plugs. Had to You-Tube it to find them. Thanks for the help

 

that makes perfect sense, in a strange sort of way. Thanks!

 

Nothing wrong with that... We old farts can still still learn new tricks. We don't have a choice; having to work around these aches and pains that keep popping up seemingly out of nowhere. Lol

 

U would have to fill more than a few quarts to matter

no less U have to run hard / fast / under load for an ext3ended period o time to pressurize the sump

all o which is totally unlikely

few engine use ' splash ' lubrication whereby the crank+counterweights actually
beat their way thru the sump oil

essentially U have little to worry about

even a quart low by design
most engines allow that the amount o oil traversing thru the engine
reconstitues with at least an equal volume in the sump