Help. My New Aspire only holds 3 quarts of oil.

[JohnGunn]

Since buying my 1994 Aspire last August I have changed the oil twice. Both times, after adding the 3.6 quarts specified by the User's Manual for oil change with filter replacement, I noticed that the level on the dip stick was well above the "F" letter which is itself above the line it names.

The first time I thought I might have made a mistake in measuring the oil from a 5 quart jug. I drained out enough to bring the level down to the full line on the dip stick and drove on. The engine burned no oil in 3,000 miles.

The second time I took special pains to measure the oil as accurately as possible. The over filling occurred again in exactly the same amount, close to 0.7 quart, almost 3/4 of a quart. This never happen to me in all the oil changes to my 1990 Festiva over a 14 year period. 3.6 quarts always brought the level exactly to the full line on the stick.

Has anyone ever experienced this problem or even heard of someone else having it?

On careful consideration, I have come up with two possibilities.

1. The dip stick is not properly calibrated.
2. The engine does not completely drain, leaving 0.7 quarts of old oil in the pan.

There is one observation that makes me favor the latter of these two.

The second time I changed the oil (I did it today, in fact.), I allowed the engine to run only about one minute before shutting it down and allowing the oil to settle so I could check the level. Again, it was much too high. But this time I immediately drained the extra oil out to bring the level down to the proper mark. The oil was heavily discolored, turned from the honey color it began to a dark black in less than one minute running. That suggests to me that there was a significant amount of old, dirty oil left in the engine which immediately discolored the new oil.

My plan at the next oil change is to allow it to drain completely. Then jack the front of the car up to see how much extra oil can be gotten out. The drain plug is at the back of the oil pan so I figure the oil must be pooling at the front of the pan. The front of the Aspire is much closer to the ground than my Festiva and the back seems much higher. But all Aspires seem to me unlevel and dramatically canted forward.

Till then I will trust the accuracy of the dip stick, being careful to keep the oil at the full mark, just in case the stick is the part that is off.

Please tell me what you think and if you have ever heard of such a problem before.

John Gunn
Coronado, CA

[89newb]

Even with the oil full I wouldn't run around too much with old bad oil in the engine. Who knows how longs its been there. Maybe a full oil system flush and new oil pump?

[iceracerdude]

Always warm the engine up first before you do the oil change, not completely up mind you, but to where the oil is warm but can still be handled with gloves on. Try picking up a replacement dipstick at a junkyard just as a precaution. Tell me you're not one of those guy's who only changes their filter like every other time!? Consider switching to purolator "pure one" filters, not the purolator standard, or fram filter in the mean time. Then pay attention to the color of the oil at the 3,000 mile mark and see if you don't notice oil closer to the original honey color at change time. I do actually jack the front of my aspire up enough to place jack stands under when I do my change, then lower it for the filter replacement and subsequent refill.
Take some time to view the thread debating the pro's and con's of synthetic vs dino oils.
In it you'll find some pictures of engines that have been heavily sludged up, you may be doing more desludging of this engine than you realize as you're doing "more" regular oil changes then pehaps the po did.

[ericsmith32]

Your's isn't the only one. Mine has a dent in the oil pan but even without it I don't see how it could hold over 3 quarts. 3.5 quarts put it up 1/2 inch higher than the full line. But I wouldn't rule out the 5 quart jug having a little more than it should. Changed the oil in the Festiva this morning and put in 3.5 quarts based on the jug and by the dipstick I put at least 1/4 maybe more than I should of. With the Aspire's and the roller-rocker setup it'll be easier on the oil and 3 quarts shouldn't be a problem.

[JohnGunn]

Always warm the engine up first before you do the oil change, not completely up mind you, but to where the oil is warm but can still be handled with gloves on. Try picking up a replacement dipstick at a junkyard just as a precaution. Tell me you're not one of those guy's who only changes their filter like every other time!? Consider switching to purolator "pure one" filters, not the purolator standard, or fram filter in the mean time. Then pay attention to the color of the oil at the 3,000 mile mark and see if you don't notice oil closer to the original honey color at change time. I do actually jack the front of my aspire up enough to place jack stands under when I do my change, then lower it for the filter replacement and subsequent refill.
Take some time to view the thread debating the pro's and con's of synthetic vs dino oils.
In it you'll find some pictures of engines that have been heavily sludged up, you may be doing more desludging of this engine than you realize as you're doing "more" regular oil changes then pehaps the po did.

If anything is wrong with the dip stick reading, I would expect it to be the placement of the tube it goes into. That is what determines how far down into the oil the stick goes.

I always change filter, Wix, with every oil change.

I was happy to find a way to change the oil and filter without having to lift the car. But, maybe, if I did the draining with the front on stands this problem would not exist.

I'm using Mobil 1 High Mileage 5W/30.

Your's isn't the only one. Mine has a dent in the oil pan but even without it I don't see how it could hold over 3 quarts. 3.5 quarts put it up 1/2 inch higher than the full line. But I wouldn't rule out the 5 quart jug having a little more than it should. Changed the oil in the Festiva this morning and put in 3.5 quarts based on the jug and by the dipstick I put at least 1/4 maybe more than I should of. With the Aspire's and the roller-rocker setup it'll be easier on the oil and 3 quarts shouldn't be a problem.

The second time, I used a measuring cup to get the amount of oil exactly right.

Thanks for the suggestions.

John Gunn
Coronado, CA

[ericsmith32]

Huh I used M1 HM 10w30 this morning. Also almost 1/2 quart sets up in the valve area... might be a little more. You would of thought that they would of put that in the equation. The dipstick tube could be pushed in to far. I had to replace one on the 91 Festiva engine I put in the 94 Aspire. The old broke tube broke right at the engine block.. when I put the new one I just used it to knock the old one thru to the oil pan. So there's nothing stopping it.

[JohnGunn]

Huh I used M1 HM 10w30 this morning. Also almost 1/2 quart sets up in the valve area... might be a little more. You would of thought that they would of put that in the equation. The dipstick tube could be pushed in to far. I had to replace one on the 91 Festiva engine I put in the 94 Aspire. The old broke tube broke right at the engine block.. when I put the new one I just used it to knock the old one thru to the oil pan. So there's nothing stopping it.

Thanks Eric. All useful comments which will be added to the mix as I continue to wrestle with this.

Since you have an Aspire and do your own oil changes, you can probably tell me exactly how much oil you have to add to get the level up to the "F"ull mark. Also, when you drain the oil is the front of the car lifted? These facts would be of great help to me in figuring this out.

Thanks in advance.

John Gunn
Coronado, CA

[kartracer46]

I would see if the car has the correct dip stick. There are several different lengths that look the same. The PO may have lost the original one and replaced it with one that is to long. Not sure but I will be glad to check for you. Should be a number embossed on the yellow plastic part the reads B376 or something to that effect. Let me know what the number is and I can see which one you have.

[ericsmith32]

John I'm not sure how much it takes yet. Only put 1k on it since I got it. It's leaking from somewhere so probably won't have to change it anything soon. I'd bet you have something off.. I was trying to think how much my 95 took. I don't recall anything but putting 4 quarts in it. Measure your dipstick and tube lengths and maybe someone on here can compare. I'd do it but I'm leaving for a week on vacation.

[JohnGunn]

I would see if the car has the correct dip stick. There are several different lengths that look the same. The PO may have lost the original one and replaced it with one that is to long. Not sure but I will be glad to check for you. Should be a number embossed on the yellow plastic part the reads B376 or something to that effect. Let me know what the number is and I can see which one you have.

Thanks for the offer kartracer. I just went down to take a look. The number is B675.

Unfortunately, I'm not the original owner. Found it on Craig's List and bought it last August from a woman up in Redlands, CA. Had her send lots of high resolution pictures and answer lots of questions before sending a $100 deposit for her to hold it for me. Took the bus up there and brought it home. It had only 78,000 miles and was just about completely original. No signs of any repairs, but anything is possible.

John Gunn
Coronado, CA

[kartracer46]

Thanks for the offer kartracer. I just went down to take a look. The number is B675.

Unfortunately, I'm not the original owner. Found it on Craig's List and bought it last August from a woman up in Redlands, CA. Had her send lots of high resolution pictures and answer lots of questions before sending a $100 deposit for her to hold it for me. Took the bus up there and brought it home. It had only 78,000 miles and was just about completely original. No signs of any repairs, but anything is possible.

John Gunn
Coronado, CA

I will look it up this morning and post it up for you. They are easy yo find on Mazda's and the PnP yards. I have a tube full of them here I have aqquired and only a hand full will work on a Festiva or Aspire.

[TominMO]

Thanks for the offer kartracer. I just went down to take a look. The number is B675.

Unfortunately, I'm not the original owner. Found it on Craig's List and bought it last August from a woman up in Redlands, CA. Had her send lots of high resolution pictures and answer lots of questions before sending a $100 deposit for her to hold it for me. Took the bus up there and brought it home. It had only 78,000 miles and was just about completely original. No signs of any repairs, but anything is possible.

John Gunn
Coronado, CA

My dipstick also has "B675" on it FWIW. I am the second owner, and have no reason to think this is not the stock dipstick.

[JohnGunn]

John I'm not sure how much it takes yet. Only put 1k on it since I got it. It's leaking from somewhere so probably won't have to change it anything soon. I'd bet you have something off.. I was trying to think how much my 95 took. I don't recall anything but putting 4 quarts in it. Measure your dipstick and tube lengths and maybe someone on here can compare. I'd do it but I'm leaving for a week on vacation.

Thanks for this idea, Eric. When I read it, it seemed so right. That impression lasted until last night when I went down to actually measure the tube. Unfortunately, it's not a straight tube and has a support that prevents closely following the contour of the tube. But worst of all, it is in a pretty cramped area. The retractable tape measure I took with me was not nearly flexible enough to do the job with the requisite accuracy. I'm thinking even small differences in the accuracy of the measurements would serve to confound the results. Unobstructed access to a straight tube would be a whole different matter and definitely worth trying.

John Gunn
Coronado, CA

[JohnGunn]

My dipstick also has "B675" on it FWIW. I am the second owner, and have no reason to think this is not the stock dipstick.

Thanks for this confirmation, Tom. Looking at my car there are no signs that either of the two previous owners would have bothered with any unnecessary changes or additions. If it were somehow lost they would have replaced it, but how often does that happen?

Since you own an Aspire, you can probably tell me how much oil you have to add, after a complete drain and filter change, to bring the level up to the full mark on the dipstick. And do you lift the front of the car during the draining?

John Gunn
Coronado, CA

[TominMO]

Thanks for this confirmation, Tom. Looking at my car there are no signs that either of the two previous owners would have bothered with any unnecessary changes or additions. If it were somehow lost they would have replaced it, but how often does that happen?

Since you own an Aspire, you can probably tell me how much oil you have to add, after a complete drain and filter change, to bring the level up to the full mark on the dipstick. And do you lift the front of the car during the draining?

John Gunn
Coronado, CA

In fact I will be changing the oil the weekend after this one, so I can tell you for sure then. And yes, I do drive it up on ramps when I change the oil. I typically add 3 quarts, then start it and drive it down the ramp, then turn the motor off to let the 3 qts settle, then top it off in stages until I hit the full line. I'll let you know how much.