Oil level on dipstick: why different readings on either side?

OK, so the member that asked about putting too much oil into the crankcase got me thinking.....so I parked over at the church up the street (with permission) where it's actually pretty flat. I waited 40 minutes then checked the oil level.

The side of the dipstick with the concave marks (indentations for oil level) shows "halfway" but the other side (convex or raised marks) shows overfilled.

I hate to drain the whole crankcase and start over so which side do I go by and why is it showing a difference? I rechecked about 5 times, wiping between checks.

 

Post a picture of your readings. How much oil did you put in?

 

I can try. Just did an oil change a week ago and it's nearly impossible to see.

This pic, showing the level above that stamped number.



This pic, showing at the upper dent.



*I "confirmed" level by touching the towel to the dipstick. I know it's hard to see with the eye, gotta be worse looking at a picture.

 

I asked what I assume is AI, here is the reply:

why does an oil dipstick show different levels on either side - Search

If "copilot" is correct then the oil level is perfectly "full" and I'm doing it right OR I'm overfilling and she burns a lot of oil.

I'll watch her closely.

Still.....replies?

 

Looks like this is discussed on all forums
The search function does work a little bit

 

Did you put in the correct amount of oil for your 2006 Tundra 4 door? Seriously. If it's a V8 it should be 6.5 quarts with filter. V6 is 5.5 quarts with filter. If you put in the correct amount for your engine, read the side that shows correctly and monitor that. Don't overthink this.

 

These dipsticks are notoriously hard to read, especially with new oil. I do my own oil changes and go more by the amount of oil I put in than trying to get an accurate reading off the dipstick. As long as it shows oil in the general range it should be in, I'm happy.

 

Weird. I thought my truck's OEM dipstick had a hashed section thru it to help hold the oil, and that's the side I usually read. The side with the holes, not the divots. But maybe I'm wrong.

I'm more interested to know if you put a full 6.5qt in. Because that looks to be a solid quart low. And if you put 6.5qt in, do you see evidence of leaking on the filter, or at the drain plug? You are running a drain plug washer, and changing it ever couple of OC, right?

 

All that AI is doing is scraping the forums and facebook for the same answers that have already been posted here, but it bases its answer on how often something has been posted, not by if it's actually correct or not. Use AI as a reference at best, but don't trust it for anything. I guarantee you Microsoft doesn't have a team of engineers making sure that their AI is giving correct responses for a 20 year old Toyota truck.

 

I thought the same thing. I actually went out to check, and sure enough, there's no cross-hatched section. I think there is on the 4R, which is why I was confused.

 

I do 7 quarts
Every time
Regardless
I run a lot of big equipment, Caterpillar has "standards" on all their oil capacities and its made me sort of rethink how things go.
The engine oil gets xxx gallons [but if] the equipment is ran on slopes the engine gets xxx + x gallons
The transmission fluid gets xxx gallons [but if] the equipment is ran on slopes the transmission can hold xxx extra gallons
6.6 quarts is really close to 7 quarts.... Just do 7 quarts and forget about the line.

Another good example is any sort of fluids, engine oil in an oil pan, gasoline in a gas tank, ect ect. When you have a gas tank that is 40" long, 18" wide and you "think" you are out, you actually have about 5 gallons in the tank. BUT.... That 5 gallons is only about 1.6" deep. When you stab the gas at a red light, or park on a hill, that 1" runs to the back and you can easily starve the pump. For every 1/8" of depth in this tank you are gaining about 0.3 gallons. Doing the exact math, in this size tank (1) entire gallon raises the level inside the tank 0.314"
The same thing in the oil pan, going from 6.6 quarts to 7 quarts is likely less than 1/8th inch of height of oil on the dipstick and nothing worth worrying about.

 

Same thing for race engines, except way less oil is used when it's expected that you're going to be changing it at least once every race weekend. Those oil guide lines are just based on normal usage and they're going to error on the side of caution on when it's going to be changed.

 

Wow, took a shower and BOOM 7 guys replied! Thank you!

I found more or less, the same AI answer in a suggested "Tacoma World" forum or some other page the search pulled up, so yes, it's just searching forums and suggesting what those guys said.

Last oil change, I put in 6 quarts, took her for a drive to the local gas station, got permission to let it sit at a pump (under the canopy as it was raining), waited 15 minutes, then slowly topped it off. I think it took 7 quarts or maybe 7.5 before it read level with the top dent.

I know my truck uses oil, as I (lazy) didn't check it after the first oil change and 3,000 miles later it was reading at the lower dent. I read the manual (Shifty will be shocked to learn I actually read the manual ) and it stated "normal to use oil and the lower dent is 1.5 quarts low." I topped it off at the gas station.

I'll check it one more time here in a moment and add if necessary but we need to haul off a load of garbage to the landfill today.

 

If you're having to add oil a week after doing an oil change, I'd expect either a bad leak or smoke coming out your exhaust, or you're focusing too much on getting the oil level right to a line that's really not that accurate. I've got over 260K miles on my engine, add the standard 6.5qt at each oil change, and it doesn't lose any noticeable amount of oil in the 5-6K I usually go between changes. That dipstick is notoriously hard to read, just pulling it out depending on how it's oriented in the tube can effect the level it shows, there are threads about it on here. Check it periodically and make sure it's in the same general spot, don't just start adding oil because you checked it once and it was low.

I've seen way too many blown engines over the years from people adding too much oil when they think it's using oil and they get in the habit of blindly adding oil periodically.

 

Maybe you just need to practice pulling out?

Insert directly as shown after wiping stick and pull without twisting.

 

Ditto.

 

Same 7 qrts everytime

 

I wasn't going to say anything about pulling out/inserting technique, but mine comes out and reads the same on both sides every time. Same as you've shown.

 

I think we have magical dipsticks compared to everyone else or so it seems.

 

I'll watch it more carefully from now on.

I notice when the dipstick goes back in it tends to rotate or it binds and won't go in any farther.

 

That’s the problem right there, it shouldn’t be rotating at all. If the dipstick is slightly bowed like mine on the flat end, point that bowed out end away from the engine block and place back in the dipstick hole.

 

My 2000 gets 6 qts and shows full.

 

I do not believe the dipstick is bent at all. It's a bit late in the day (getting dark fast) but I'll have a look at it tomorrow before we go out.

 

It’s entirely possible. Mine is that way primarily because I always keep it oriented in the same direction each time it goes in and out of the dipstick tube which travels inward at the bottom to get to the oil pan.

 

I installed a Valvomax oil drain plug with the crush washer that came with it last oil change. I'll start throwing a cardboard under the truck when I park and see if any drops fall down. Oil could leak from the filter area into the skid plate though.....ugh...don't want to have to remove that to check there!

ValvoMax Oil Drain Valve

 

You can see the filter and the skid plate from the top of the engine. No need to pull the skid plate to see if there's oil on it.

 

I have the Votex, can’t wait to do my next oil change!

 

Just seems like oil being dragged from hitting the side of the tube on one side.

 

I think so too. Seems to be the consensus when I look online.

 

If you look at the dipstick tube it has a bend in it. The dipstick must bend with the dipstick tube in the proper orientation as shown in post#15. If you attempt to insert the dipstick otherwise it will "bind" in the tube and will have to rotate to the proper orientation to bend with the tube and fully insert. Dipstick will read the same on both sides. Good luck.