Oil Change & replacement oil amount

revhigh · Jul 29, 2004

Changed my oil for the first time at 1200 miles, had the car up on car ramps with the oil nice and hot. I always let the oil drain till it stops, then replace the filter, again letting it drain till it stops. I put 4.25 qts in and the level was barely at the low mark. Started adding and checking and the bottom line was that the motor needed close to 5 qts to fill it up.

I know the manual says 4.25 with a filter change, and I've seen others talk about confusing amounts of oil required.

Anyway, mine needed about 150 ml short of 5qts. I've checked it several times and it's right at the FULL mark... perfect.

I wonder if my procedure of using car ramps and letting it drain completely caused the extra oil to be needed. Actually, I'm kind of happy that ALL the oil came out, I'd hate to leave .5 qts of the dirtiest oil in the car when changing the oil

Anybody else experience this ???

REVHIGH !!!!!!!!!

fir0070 · Jul 29, 2004

Why did you change the oil at 1200 mile?

BigRedNJ · Jul 29, 2004

No personal experience with this car yet (only have 700 mi on mine) but I'd be wary of changing oil that soon. Technically break-in is done at 1200 as per manual, but you really want the original oil in there long enough to make sure the engine is fully broken in. Otherwise, I think there's the risk of things like piston rings not fully seating against the cylinders. Maybe someone else can shed more light on this.

I plan on driving the car break-in style (low rpm, varied driving...etc) at least until 2400, then doing first oil change with dino at 3500, then going with syn starting at 7k. I figure anything to help get the most life out of the engine.

Sorry, I know this doesn't answer your question, but hopefully is good for other readers.

fir0070 · Jul 29, 2004

Yes, that was my concern when I saw that the oil was changed at 1200 miles.

revhigh · Jul 29, 2004

In my opinion the 1st 1000 miles is when engine breakin occurs for the most part. There is absolutely nothing magical or special about the oil that came with the car. It is standard motor oil in all respects. Any debris that was or may have been in the engine from the manufacturing processes I do not want in my engine for 3750 miles.

Certainly there is nothing to be 'wary' about in changing the oil that soon, if anything it could be called unneccesary or excessive or unneeded. Be that as it may, my point was that the amount of oil needed was not what the manual said it would be so beware of this if you change your own oil.

I've changed oil in my vehicles for 25 years and probably 300 times, so there is definitely nothing to be concerned about regardging an early oil change, as some seemed to suggest. The myth about special break in oil always makes me laugh. Certainly if that were the case, the manufacturer would warn NOT to change the so called special oil until the first oil change for that very reason.

REVHIGH !!!!!!!!

EdMPT · Jul 29, 2004

This is my second new car. My first was a 2002 Jetta. In the Jetta's owners manual it stated something to the effect that it is normal for the engine to burn or lose oil for the first 3000 miles or so. I am assuming that it was normal until the rings seated and sealed as people have stated occurs. I think the recommended oil change was at 5000 mile but I made the first change at 2000. And as stated in the manual it was down nearly a quart after 2000 miles. I thought it was a bit odd, but it was my first car and I figured it was normal. Well it ended up the car would burn a quart of oil every 3000 miles until it reached approx. 18,000 miles. After that it stopped. I don't know why, but you could possibly assume it was because of the too soon oil change. However I did the same with the Murano, and have not had any problems losing oil what so ever and I now have about 15,000 on it. So a little bit of evidence to support both theories. Maybe others have more to add....

Add edit: By the way the Jetta had almost 50,000 miles on it when I traded it, so it had over 30,000 miles of no oil loss. Anyone else experience anything similar?

Eric L. · Jul 29, 2004

I too think the 4.25qts is conservative. Strangely, I've been finding that the amount of oil I need to add during an oil change is variable, it could be as low as 4qts, or as high as 4.75qts. I do keep the oil at the very top of the hash marks (top off) in between oil changes, so this is not because the engine is consuming oil. I do not use ramps but I do put the front of the car up on jackstands, so its the same effect. The oil drain plug is facing backwards, so tilting the car back probably gets that extra bit of oil out.

I think for the quickie lube places where they take only 5 minutes to drain your oil, 4.25qts is accurate. However, if you are a finicky do it yourselfer like me, then letting it drain longer may require a large quantity to refill. For your reference, the total capacity of the engine is 5.2qts (for a dry engine overhaul). So, I am not surprised the "specs" of 4.25qts is a bit low.

That said, NEVER overfill your crankcase people - having too much oil is as bad as having too little oil. Keep it within the hash marks on the dipstick.

Gonzo · Jul 29, 2004

RevHigh,

Funny I noticed the same exact thing with my first oil change. I use ramps too. You'll notice that after the first oil change the oil is still fairly clean and very very difficult to determine the level accurately. After the first one it has been pretty stable and its about 4 -4.25 QTS. I keep my level just below full.

I would simply rely on the dip stick and if it wants more add it. I think you'll find that on your next change you will be more in the ball park. Now that my MO has "stabilized" in changes and I made a label that I put in the engine compartment to remind me of the quantity since I was always fogetting. :4:

I just love how easy it is to change the oil in this car. I love having the oil filter at the bottom of the engine.

revhigh · Jul 30, 2004

Gonzo,

That's an interesting tidbit. I'll remember that when I change it at 3750. I can't see why it would be like that but I'll take your word for it and look out for it.

Like I said I use ramps and let it drain till it stops completely. I'm sure that's part of it. I too keep the level at the FULL mark. That way if a car I own does by chance use some oil, it will still have a good reserve of a quart before it's below LOW. Truthfully though, I haven't had a car use oil since 1992. I have a 1992 Acura Legend with 201,000 miles that uses about 1/3 quart every 3000 miles. I wait until about 10,000 to switch to synthetic with all my cars... never had a modern car use a drop of oil, but I'm meticulous about oil, and filter changes and maintenance in general.

It'll be interesting to see what experience others have had. I usually don't have any trouble reading the level even when it's clear, you just have to look closer in the right light.

REVHIGH !!!!!!!!!

Gonzo · Jul 30, 2004

Yea my pervious car, a Nissan with 225,000 barely dropped level between changes amazing. I never used sythentic in either just changed it every 3K. I suspect I'll get the same results with the MO.... my concerns lie in the CVT.

BeerBrewer22 · Aug 2, 2004

Heh... guess you haven't driven an American car lately

My V8 used to lose/burn a quart every 3-4k miles.

There's nothing special about the "break-in oil" from the factory. Getting the first oil out of there @ 1k miles cleans out any metal or adhesives etc. from the assembly process.

On the synthetics topic, I'm a big believer and have used them for the last 10 years with great success. I've had 2 brand new vehicles that started on Dino oil for ~10k miles then only synthetic. They kept their compression ratios @ 100k miles. Several racers / mechanics recommended early on that you avoid synthetics till at least 10k to allow for a full breakin period (ring seat mostly). It's too slippery to let the rings scratch a good seat into the cylinder walls if used too early.

If you're not using synthetic, you should consider it after breakin. I have extended my change interval to 10k miles (with a new filter every 5k) and the cost is the same as changing dino oil at 3.3k if you are a DIY'er.

BigRedNJ · Aug 5, 2004

OK, you may be right

I double checked the manual, and while I could have sworn there was something about oil break-in additives, there's no mention of it. So, being that you have about 24 years more experience than I with changing oil, I'm going to follow your advice.

So what's the best recommendation? Change with dino at 1500 then syn at 5000? Or change with dino at 1500 and 5000, then syn at 8500??

I want to flush out all the crap, but still give it time to seat the rings properly before switching to syn.
I have to do this at the dealer. Did anyone's dealer give them a hard time changing the oil early?

Thanks.

Eric L. · Aug 5, 2004

I've heard rumors about Hondas using break in oils, but not Nissan.

I suggest changing the oil first at 3000 miles, then again at 7000 miles, at which point you can go to synthetic. Of course, changing your oil more often will not hurt the car, its just unnecessary since modern oils are much better than oils from as recent as 5 years ago.

SugarRushMurano · Aug 5, 2004

ERIC L wrote:
I suggest changing the oil first at 3000 miles, then again at 7000 miles, at which point you can go to synthetic. Of course, changing your oil more often will not hurt the car, its just unnecessary since modern oils are much better than oils from as recent as 5 years ago.

That is exactly what i did. At 3K, i use the dealer's dyno oil.
At 7K, synthetic. Use valvoline synpower.
Now at 12K and the car feels smooth. I know most ppl use mobil1

But, my dad swears on valvoline. I used mobil1 one my other car and i need variety, hence the valvoline.

BigRedNJ · Aug 5, 2004

sounds like a plan

So once you go synthetic, what change interval do you generally stick with? Is 10k too ambitious?

Eric L. · Aug 5, 2004

With synthetic, 5000-7500 mile intervals are fine as long as you use a good filter (like the nissan oem).

Oil Change & replacement oil amount

revhigh

fir0070

BigRedNJ

fir0070

revhigh

EdMPT

Eric L.

Gonzo

revhigh

Gonzo

BeerBrewer22

BigRedNJ

Eric L.

SugarRushMurano

BigRedNJ

Eric L.

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