A question about checking oil.
 

Yes, from me. one of my girlfreinds car was making weird sounds a couple weeks ago. Sounded like there was no oil. I checked the oil 4 seperate occasions over the course of the weekend because I couldn't figure out what the hell was going on. A couple days ago she said her engine almost stalled and the temp guage was really high. Okay, take it into the shop as soon as you can. They check the oil, and guess what, NO OIL!!! She tells me this and I'm thinking, WTF, do I not know how to check the oil? Apparently there was only a couple drops of oil on the dipstick at the bottom.

Checking Oil:
engine was warm and off for about 5-10 minutes all 4 times.
Car was on the level.
Pulled the dipstick, cleaned it
pushed it back in, all the way, and pulled it out.
Looked at the oil level, it was 3/4 up the hatch marks all 4 times!

Yes, this is how you check oil. This is how I check oil, how I have always checked oil, and never had any problems. So what the hell!! why would it appear that there is oil when there is not. Maybe I could mess up once, but not 4 times. No way, no how. Is there any reason that you could get a false reading?

I feel like such a n00b. She told them she is pretty sure I know how to check oil, that I race cars, and they apparently laughed! I'm kinda pissed right now.

I posted my experience below in other thread before, but no one response back yet. Well, maybe this would help?

"Yesterday, my8's motor oil was about half full, so I poured half bottle of oil into the engine. Then I checked the dipstick......Holy Cow!!!! The oil level was all the way up!!! I overfilled my 8 with half bottle oil?! I checked the dipstick again few times, and it showed the same.

I knew it must be something wrong with the dipstick reading, so I pulled it out again and twisted 180 degree and put it back and read it again! Wala!!!! It showed me 80% full, which make more sense.

Then I realized that the design of 8's dipstick is not straight, but a bit curve. So I wonder that you have to put it in a correct orientation in order to read the right oil level."

For my case, I read overfill when its 80% full.
For your case, you read normal oil level when its actually low.
I'm not sure if the orientation of the dipstick matter neither, but otherwise, I can't explain why..... :confused:

i bet you checked her transmission oil.

Her car doesn't have a transmission fluid dipstick. Plus I remember it saying engine oil on the dipstick.

lemme gues... she has a Honda right?

No, a 96 pontiac sunfire. But, she has a cavalier engine in it from an unknown year, at least, unknown to her.

She is claiming that there is a trannie dipstick. I have never seen it and I know those cars had an oil level plug down on the trannie for a bunch of their years.

hmmm

The difference between the "low" and "full" marks on any car's dip stick is 1 quart. So by adding 1/2 a bottle of oil you would go from the oil level reading 1/2 way between low and full to reading full.

No, it wasn't just full, but way over the full mark, up to the round area(low\full marks' area is flat, not round) of the dipstick.

In tha case of just filling with oil, when you just filled it the oil takes a little while to equalize the pressure inside your car. (while it goes down throgh the engine) so you will get false readings the first couple of minutes after just adding oil.

In the case of blue Eyes's GF, HER OTHER BOYFRIEND emptied out the oil pan before taking it in!!
Just fu..ing arround, It was probably only 3/4 full but you know how most mechanics like to make it sound like they are the only ones that know cars and "that other guy you took it to before bringing it in did a awfull job mam, If you wouldn't have broght it in now he could have really messed up your car" They like to make you feel like nobody but them should be touching your car. So dont think of it too much. I'm pretty shure that when you checked it it had 3/4 of oil.