As the owner's manual says 6 qts and mine took 7, I decided to call my dealer.

The service manager read me the spec. out of the service manual; 6.675 qts. +/- 0.125 qts. Or 6.550 to 6.800 qts (close enought to 7.000).

He also told me that he talked to his lube techincians who said it all depends on how much old oil drains out. They told the service manager that they put in 6.000 qts each time and knowingly give the vehicles back to the customers somewhere over the ADD mark, but below FULL.

Why don't I implicitly trust dealers?

 

They are so easy to not trust ?

I avoid them like the plague once the warranty is over... Had enough of that BS a long time ago.

I have a '99 5.4 and I put in 6-1/2 quarts. That brings the level about 1/8 inch below the full mark after the engine has been run and oil has circulated through the filter.

 

I'll stick with doing it myself.
My dipstick looks good to me at 6.5 quarts.

 

7 qts, 6 qts, 6.5 qts, 5 qts...... The engine does not know how many quarts are in it (unless it's overfilled!!). As long as it's above the pickup point in the pan it could really care less........

Your motor will not seize up with 5 qts in it. You could probably go as low as 4 qts and not do any harm to it at all. Sure, it'll probably run hotter and the oil will break down faster and I would not run it that low for very long, but I'm just saying that adding an additional half a quart to bring the level to the top of the MAX line is not giving you any more protection then if it's in the middle. JMO. When I have 5 qts in my rig, it just touches the bottom of the stick, so I know that I'm a qt low. Add the sixth qt and it brings it to the middle. Good enough for me.

It harms a motor more if you overfill it. Think about when you are on an incline. That "extra" oil is going to pool up higher in the block and potentially come into contact with the spinning crank. Then the oil will get all whipped up and frothy. If that froth makes it to the pickup, you're basically sucking air into the system and that's not a good thing.

Do whatever makes you feel good. If adding that extra bit makes you feel better, nothing wrong with that. I just hate having an extra half qt of oil lying around..........

Happy Trucking!

 

about our oil-level 'controversy' after 40+(I'm 62 ) years of doing my own oil changes.

I can remember from my first oil changes, the relief and comfort I felt when the new oil level sat right at the 'max' line on the dipstick. I put in the factory(owner's manual) recommended amount in my new, 1964 Corvair Spyder(Turbo). Job well done!

Now, I move forward to when I did the first oil change on my used 1997, 4.6L xlt. I followed the owner's manual(6 qts.) and lo-in-behold, the oil level only came to the middle of the 'min'-'max' marks. The same thing happened when I changed the oil in my new 2001 Lightning. Out came the old--in went 6 new quarts--with the same results. What's going on?

Here's my take on this. Ford, in it's wisdom(?), decided to make the 'max'(or 'full') mark higher on the dipstick than needed to reflect the full 6 qts. They must have a reason, but it is beyond me. Our engines should have 6 quarts of oil . I fill with the six qts. and then the next morning(allowing all the oil to settle in the crankcase overnight), I check where the 'full' amount is for my eng. and on it's dipstick--usually, mid-way between 'min' and 'max'. Btw, there are at least two, stock dipsticks--one is made of aircraft cable and the other is of flat steel.

Mitch is correct. Too much oil will cause problems; oil overheating because of the beating it takes from being 'hit' by the crankshaft, frothing(air bubbles), a reduction of power--see overheating..., etc.

Finally, it's not whether the correct amount of oil hits the 'max' or 'full' mark on the dipstick that counts. What counts is putting the correct amount of oil in the crankcase, noting where that puts the oil level on the stick. Do what your owner's manual recommends---use six quarts of oil.

Dan

 

Some of you have "FULL" marks on your dipsticks? When did this start?

 

Dipstick reads MIN / MAX. Owner's manual defines refil capacity as 6.0 qts. Webster defines capacity as maximum volume.

Six quarts doesn't fill these things to MAX.

I'll stick with the dealer's reading of the service manual which states 6.55 to 6.80 qts. As far as I am concerned, the owner's manual is wrong.

 

Heck 7 quarts will not fill it to Webster's definition of "capacity". To fill to maximum volume you would have to fill with oil until it just slightly started to run out of the oil filler opening; then the crank case would be completely filled to "maximum volume" all the way up to the top, just like toping off the gas tank. Unfortunately this would not be good for your engine.

If the level is between the marks it's fine. If it's an eighth of an inch above the lower mark it's fine, if it's an eighth of an inch below the upper mark it's fine.

 

Dan,

I had a 1964 Monza Spider Convertable, real knock-off wire wheels, deep red with black top and interior . . .

 

An engineer would ask why the glass is so big.

If Ford has a range of "capicities" they should publish it in the owner's manual. I remember getting a NHTSA safety recall on my Buick Regal owner's manual because it gave the wrong dimensions for aiming the headlights. My Ford Contour's manual was "recalled" once too.

This isn't safety related, but it sure is misleading.

 

Well put Lightninrod.

 

swampview: Those Corvairs were a hoot. I autocrossed mine down in the Keys as I lived in Key West way back then. I traded the '64 Spyder in on a used 1965(had a better designed rear suspension) John Fitch Corvair Special convertible. It had Koni shocks, 4 single-barrel carbs, headers, dual mufflers, and a few other 'style' mods--all stock-from the John Fitch. Autox'd it too.

stephen: Thank you--glad someone else sees it's not where the correct amount falls on the dipstick that's important, but whether we are putting the correct amount in the crankcase.

Dan

 

When I did an oil change on the 4.9 motor Six qts. marked off at the full mark onthe dipstick. On the 4.6 it marks off right in the middle of the range. The mark has varied a little but some things remain constant: drain as much as possible, use quality oil and filter, follow mfgr's recomendations on refills.

I too had a Corvair with factory air conditioning to boot ! it was a lot of fun to drive and I wish I had held on to it.................damn that Ralph Nader!!!

 

Morning everone. I don't mean to add insult to injury but the owners manual and the service manual and BOTH correct. Why you ask? Simple. The owners manual states the ENGINE capacity. The service manual states the lubricating system capacity which includes the filter.