Dip stick

No problem. Use the washer that comes with it...it should be blue. Get it snug, then check it after a few miles to make sure it is still seated snuggly and not leaking. Then, when you change your oil, flip the valve lever, pop 3-4 brewskis and watch it DRAIN.

 

i haven't changed my oil yet but 6.1 qts sounds like alot for a 4 cylinder....my old 22re engine only held 4.5 qts and it would be exactly on the full line....my first oil change is free so i'll take it to the dealer and see what they do...lol

 

The toyota service manual says for my 2.4, an oil and filter change requires 5.8 qts of oil. I put in 5.75 qts last night and now the level on the dipstick is about a half an inch over the full mark. Thinking toyota knows what their engines need, I filed a mark on the faulty dipstick at the level the oil was at. So, now my dipstick is accurate.

Brett

 

Or....just as likely.....you have too much oil in your engine. If you are not sure, the odds are 50/50.

 

I'll rely on the service manual.

 

I can not believe this thread has gone on to 3 pages... If the manufacture says to put X amount of oil in the motor of any of their vehicles, why would anyone question this??? Just because it does not line up with the dipstick full mark? Like the last post stated, go with the manual specifications!

 

yes sir

 

my honda 400ex atv the manual says use 1.8 qts....but it takes 2.2 qts to get it to the full line on the dip stick....lol....i don't know which to go by...i mean the dipstick is there for you to measure the amount of oil right?....call the dealer and ask them...see what kind of story you get...lol...i wouldn't go over the full line very much...a half inch over the full line is alot....i would keep it 1/8th of an inch or less over the full line to be safe...maybe just use 6 qts.?

 

You gotta rely on the manual because these dipsticks SUCK!!!

I want a DIPSTICK TSB!!!

 

I somehow can't believe that all the dipsticks are wrong.

Why would someone decide the manual is right and the dipstick is wrong. Couldn't it be the other way around? I have more faith in an engine component (dipstick) than the manual.

And what if the manual is referring to the amount of oil a "dry" engine takes? Remember you can never drain all the oil (unless you take the engine apart).

And what happens if you take the truck to the dealer and they see the oil over the high mark? Would they consider it overfilled?

You are much safer going by the dipstick!

 

Do you change your own oil?

 

x2. Janster's right, this needs to be brought to Toyoga's attention before this thread gets to 1000 and someone loses an engine. Their dip shit engineer is probably a dip shit.

 

If you are like many who bought a Toyota, it was because of the realibility and dependability of the product. (Toyota Engineering.) And Toyota, as well as perhaps all of the other manufactures would not "refer to the amount of oil needed in a dry engine" in the basic owners manual. Maybe in a shop manual, but not the owners manual unless it was stated as such. Maybe there is an issue that needs to be addressed with the current dipstick. But for those who feel like using less oil then stated would be going against Toyota engineering, unless of course they are wrong, but history could disprove this theory, especially with the 4 cyl.

 

I just checked the service manual.

This is for a 05 or 06 2.7.

With filter change 5.8
Dry 6.1

Now this makes sense. If I let the engine drain for a while I can get 5.5 in it and that matches the high mark on the dipstick. This is pretty close to the 5.8. If the truck were perfectly level a little more might come out. At worst, it might be pint low. This suggests that the dipstick is pretty close.

6.1 would only be if the engine had been dissambled.

I pretty sure that this would also be the case for the other engines.

Since the general concensus is that overfilling is bad, it's possible that Toyota purposely made the high mark a little low on the dipstick. Sort of like empty on the gas tank not being really empty. This is just a guess. But in any case I'd rather have the oil .3 low than .3 high.

Do what you like, but I'm going to follow my dipstick (sounds like a Castrol commercial ).

 

Perhaps the old "down a quart" adage is at work here? Quart volume in the handbook is correct, with the dip shit showing "Down a quart" at the full mark....Japanese logic?

 

Sounds like the 4cylinder guys don't have a problem with reading their dipsticks. Oh yeah, that's because they have the same 2.7L engine they've had for years.

The 3.4L dipstick was a dream compared to these 4.0L dipsticks.

And yeah, I personally think its better to be a quart low than a quart high.

As long as you're withing the proper 'range' - you're good even if you are on the low side.

 

x2 Pos rep to the Janster for a balanced view.

 

I wonder, what does your owner's manual specify with an oil change for your 05? Same as the service manual? Maybe Toyata has changed the specs for the 09? Please let us know if you can... Thanks

 

Hi PSJ,

The owners manual shows the same - 5.8. So at least the two manuals agree.

Bob

 

I don't know about 05, but my 08 manual says 6.1 qts for the 2.7. It does not, however, say if this is for a completely dry engine or for an oil and filter change.