.. Put 4 quarts in a single cam by mistake.

[import_racer87]

Long story short, I work at a nissan dealer part time and bought a beater 90 240 just for kicks. changed the oil, but didnt know how much oil the single cammers took. mechanic says put 4 quarts in, parts guy says put 4 quarts in, so thats what i did. oil sits in the HOT area when completely cold, looks like it needs 3.5 im guessing. should i try to drain out some oil (big pain) or is 4 quarts ok? I really dont feel like doing it, but i dont feel like having it mess something up.

[LongGrain]

umm, do you have an aftermarket oil temp gauge? because the temp gauge on the cluster isnt for oil, its coolant temp. i have no idea why adding too much oil would make your gauge read hot, but i put 4 quarts in my sohc whenever i change the oil and nothing bad has ever happened, it doesnt even read too high on the dipstick.

[import_racer87]

the car does not run hot it goes over the H on the dipstick. I guess this might mean "high" but i always thought it was "hot" because when oil is hot it expands and usually covers that area on the dipstick.

[RPS13FREAK]

3 and 3/4's is what I used to put in my KA24DE.

Drain a little bit out check the level, and see if it drops. it should be in the middle of the L & H.

[garagelu]

Actually the two marks on the oil dipstick is high and low. You want the oil level in between the two. As long as its not abover the high mark, you are ok. I would never put more than what is recommended. It isnt even possible to check the oil when its hot because a lot of the oil is still in the oil galleries and circulating in the engine.

When you overfill too much, the crank is in contact with the oil. When the crank turns, it sort of churns the oil and can turn the oil into a bubbly layer on the top. Therefore it thins out the oil and can cause bearing faliure. This is why they have that tray in between the oil pan and the crank. Of course this is worst case scenario. A lot of the time, overfilling just a little wont cause any problem.

[babowc]

Is it different for SOHC and DOHC?
I always put 4qt. in my DOHC..
no problemo.

Shouldn;t you be able to look it up on nissan database?
Last time I went to the autoparts store, they looked it up for my daily.

[sideview_180sx]

it is 4qts including the oil filter.

[racepar1]

My twin cam takes 3.5qts including filter. Maybe some KA's have different pans, but I doubt it.

[Irukandji]

i always put in 4 quarts. Didn't really care, nothing bad happened

[racepar1]

Ya, with 4 quarts the level should only be slightly overfull. A little extra oil is actually a good thing as long as it is not so high that you end up sucking it into the engine.

[WERDdabuilder]

wait wait..you dont know what the L/H on a dipstick ment?

when i had my sohc, ive alway put 4 and that sat right in the middle of H/L.

[Skullavera]

I always use about 3 3/4 quarts. You should be fine. If you're really worried about it, just drain a little.

[KingKong8247]

wait wait..you dont know what the L/H on a dipstick ment?

Haha that made me laugh

But yea I always put 3 3/4 in my SOHC

On the back of the FSM for a 89 it says:

With oil filter: 3.5 liters/3-3/4 quarts
Without oil filter: 3.2 liter/3-3/8 quarts

[jackjack]

i'm always around 3.5 as well.

[MURPHY]

you obviously aren't a tech, i hope not...

i put 4. but um yea h deff don't mean hott on a dipstick lol

[B Love]

You should still be fine with 4 in there. and I think he got confused with the l and h becasue with alot of auto tranny dipsticks has hot and cold because you are supposed yo read trany fluid levels at specific temps. If your oil is hot it will show a higher reading than when its cold

[projectRDM]

If you're really serious and thought 'H' meant hot, then please tell us what the 'L' means. I'm dying to hear this one.

[B Love]

If you're really serious and thought 'H' meant hot, then please tell us what the 'L' means. I'm dying to hear this one.

Yea I was thinking that too. I just had to give him a break since everyone else was flamin

[projectRDM]

Yea I was thinking that too. I just had to give him a break since everyone else was flamin

Quit doing that. People like that doesn't deserve a break.

[thejapino]

if "H" is hot,

then "L" is lukewarm?

[mrpeepers]

Long story short, I work at a nissan dealer part time and bought a beater 90 240 just for kicks. changed the oil, but didnt know how much oil the single cammers took. mechanic says put 4 quarts in, parts guy says put 4 quarts in, so thats what i did. oil sits in the HOT area when completely cold, looks like it needs 3.5 im guessing. should i try to drain out some oil (big pain) or is 4 quarts ok? I really dont feel like doing it, but i dont feel like having it mess something up.

:down: this is why nissan techs are the fail

[Irukandji]

if "H" is hot,

then "L" is lukewarm?

:keke: :keke:

[babowc]

rofl.
i just saw that..
haha.. oh boy.

[Dirty Habit]

the car does not run hot it goes over the H on the dipstick. I guess this might mean "high" but i always thought it was "hot" because when oil is hot it expands and usually covers that area on the dipstick.


:eek3d: I have nothing more to contribute.

[breakindrifts]

god damn.

putting 4 quarts is fine.

the "H" on the dipstick means HEY! shove it down your fucking throat.
"L" = Loser, just slit your wrists.

[g6civcx]

Drain. Refill several ounces at a time. Wait several minutes and check on flat ground. Repeat until the oil level reaches the full mark on the dipstick.

Question answered.

[jim1234664]

Drain. Refill several ounces at a time. Wait several minutes and check on flat ground. Repeat until the oil level reaches the full mark on the dipstick.

Question answered.

the problem i have with doing this is when they oil is really new it wont show very well on the dipstick

[koukimonster139]

overfilling it wont hurt it lol


engineers compensate for retards who cant put the right amount of oil into an engine.

[g6civcx]

the problem i have with doing this is when they oil is really new it wont show very well on the dipstick

Clean the dipstick really well and use a flashlight. With the light at the right angle it will show.

[Howard92884]

LMAO you work at a dealer and you don't know how to read a dipstick? Apparently dipsticks aren't idiot proof.

[g6civcx]

LMAO you work at a dealer and you don't know how to read a dipstick? Apparently dipsticks aren't idiot proof.

To the poster's defense, there are hundreds of job at a dealership. Not just technicians.

[ayuaddict]

like janitors.

[4thHorse]

The guys that wash the cars is another non tech job.

to stay on topic drain out a bit.

[DOOK]

hell.... I'll go with the different answer... throw in another fuckin quart... what's a little more oil ehhh... more lube baby

[WERDdabuilder]

You should still be fine with 4 in there. and I think he got confused with the l and h becasue with alot of auto tranny dipsticks has hot and cold because you are supposed yo read trany fluid levels at specific temps. If your oil is hot it will show a higher reading than when its cold

you cant get confused because he isnt checking the level for the tranny. they are diff sticks.

[import_racer87]

thanks for the help guys. I obviously know that L means "low", but I have always thought that the H ment "hot" because whenever I have checked my oil, the level is just over the H when the car is warm. I really have no excuse for it, thats just what i always thought. I'm a part time "service advisor assistant" while i'm in college. I work mostly in the service lane doing paperwork, etc.

Anyway, the oil is level is just over the H (covering it) I would think that the level should be under the H. I really dont care if it doesnt hurt anything, but on such an old car i didnt want to do anything that will make it fail any faster.

[Dream240]

If you're really serious and thought 'H' meant hot, then please tell us what the 'L' means. I'm dying to hear this one.

"L" is for "lubricated" :boink:

I can't believe this thread went to two pages...it's funny cause everyone chimes in when it's a simple oil dipstick thread.

But when it's a thread about wiring, fuel system probs, CEL, etc............................................... .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ............WHERE'S ALL THE FUCKIN POSTS NOW!!!!

God sometimes I'm sad about how far the average Zilvia member's knowledge has fallen.