17 Tundra....oil dip stick not showing correctly

Hi Guys

I own a 17 Tundra with 24k miles on it. The dealer changed the oil on the truck for most of its life and I always argued with them why the oil dip stick showed oil above the high mark on the dip stick. They kept telling me that they put 8.5 quartz with an oil and filter change. I changed the oil myself and added 8.5 quartz of oil as specified by factory and also changed the oil filter. In the morning I checked the dip stick and it showed oil level above the high mark.
Is this normal? Anyone else have this problem?

 

should be 7.9/8QT on a 5.7L engine but it varies. It is possible the dipstick is not correct. can you compare with another tundra owner ?

 

I know of 8.5 qt with a new oil filter. I have a friend with a 2010 tundra that has 5.7 in it.

 

Did you run the engine?

in my experience, 8 gets it between the dots and 8.5 gets it to the top.

 

No I did not run the engine. Just in the morning cold. Dealer said 8.5 qrts. I could be wrong.

 

At first I thought the dealer added 8.5 qrts without changing the oil filter. But after I changed the oil myself I get the same thing.

 

I misread your initial post so disregard the question about 7.5. If you’re sure you put in 8.5 run it up to temp, let it sit 30 minutes and check the level. Should be right at the top assuming you got it all drained before refill.

 

Ok I'll do that. I thought a good reading was after sitting for a couple of hours.

 

IDK. As long as it sits long enough for all the oil to drain down to the pan is good enough for me.

If the engine hasn’t run the filter is still dry.

 

Ok thx the advice guys. I have been having this problem since I bought the truck. Dealer argued with me that the oil change procedure and amount of oil put in was up to specs. The dip stick always showed more.

 

Try 8 next time.

 

Yeah I will. I'll have to drain some oil now. Any way I can do it from the top?

 

Not from the top. The filter would be the easiest but it will likely still make a mess unless you have this drain attachment.

https://www.motivxtools.com/pages/tundra_oil_service_tools

I’d see how high it is after to run it and then decide. Look up fumoto valve and buy one to install during your next oil change.

 

I changed the oil and filter in my 2017 4.6L yesterday, and paid particular attention to the oil level because of previous threads.

I carefully measured out 7.9 quarts (specified capacity with filter change), poured as much as I could into the filter/filter cap, replaced the filter and drain plug, then poured the rest in the top. Without starting the engine, the oil level was 3/16" above the lower dot mark. Acceptable, but maybe low after starting the engine, and filling the oil filter. Measured out another 0.6 quarts (total now 8.5 quarts) and poured that in. Started the engine, checked for leaks, shut it off and waited 5-10 minutes. Oil level now showed 1/8" below the top dot mark.

Two schools of thought on this:

(1) Engineers specified how much oil to put in the engine, but in some cases, that specified amount does not show full on the dip stick. Conclusion: Dipsticks are inaccurate, wth?

(2) Different engineers provided the dipstick design such that owners/technicians could check and monitor engine oil level. If you can't depend on the dipstick to be 100% accurate, what are owners/technicians supposed to do? Conclusion: If the oil level is maintained between the two marks on the dipstick, the amount of oil in the engine is acceptable to Toyota. The precise amount can't be that important, or they would correct the problem of inaccurate dipsticks.

Solution:

You can accept Thought School (2) and not worry about it. Put in 8.5 quarts (or whatever it takes) to put the oil level near the top mark. Filling ABOVE the mark is not recommended.

OR, you accept Thought School (1), and re-calibrate your dipstick to show an accurate "full" mark using the oil volume specified by the engine designers. Carefully measure out exactly the specified volume for the change with filter (7.9 quarts). Do not use the volumes stamped on the containers, fill levels are subject to error. Complete the oil and filter change, start the engine, shut it off after a minute or so, then wait 15 minutes and check the oil. The level shown on the dipstick is the correct oil level...carefully mark it and then file a notch on the dipstick.

I have previously experienced inaccurate dipsticks, but the difference between specified and measured "full" has never been more than about a half quart. I have used both solutions above without ill effects. Since 8.5 quarts is a nice round number, I'm using Thought School (2) this time. My oil level will be 1/8" below the top mark when full. If Toyota is happy, then I'm happy.

 

Thank you for a long explanation.

 

Very long.

Edit: The tool @AZBoatHauler references above works by depressing a small valve plate under the filter that is preloaded by the spring that also maintains pressure to keep the filter element seated. If you do not own the tool, you can probably still drain out some of the excess oil by simply removing the filter housing drain plug (no oil should come out) and pushing up against the valve plate slightly to allow a little oil to run out. When released, the valve plate should reseat, and all oil draining out should stop.

 

If you know another tundra owner, try a different dipstick and see if the result is the same. I just can’t imagine dipsticks having enough variation to show a half quart different level. Seems like a lot. Im thinkint all the oil wasn’t out when they finished draining

 

Hi guys
Today I took some oil out.
This is how it showed before taking the oil out:


Tool I used:


Took about 0.25 quartz out


Oil level now

 

Nice work. I accidentally poured too much one time as well and used that same drain to remove. It’s the one time not having a can filter is useful

 

Yeah lol. Thank you guys for all the helpfull comments.

 

I usually will never put the full amount listed in the manual when changing my oil...mostly because I don't have the time or patience to allow the engine to fully drain all it's oil.

If you didn't make sure the truck was on a flat/level surface and the engine was shut off and cooled down for a significant amount of time before changing the oil it is likely all of the oil did not drain.

My 2 cents is that the extra .25 of a quart...one won't harm the engine...two is probably the amount of oil that was sitting up on the top end of the engine when you drained the pan. So when you thought you drained the oil completely and added the recommended 8.5 quarts, you actually had 8.75 quarts in there now.

 

I totally agree with you. Then the dealer must've done the same thing. After they changed the oil it showed over the top line as well. Problem with this tundra I have is that right after the oil change the dipstick is deceiving and shows low oil. That's why I added.

 

Oil level readings are a thing on this truck.

problem 1 is confusion. Some "3rd gen" trucks call for 7.9 qts and some call for 8.5.

Sources of error beyond this are

dipstick not accurate...could be set for 7.9 qts, but when putting in 8.5 it shows overfull. I think I'm in this boat along with OP. I changed oil and put in 8.5 and checked level on flat surface next morning and it was easily 1/2 qt overfull. Solution is put 8 qts in or put 8.5 in and live with erroneous dipstick reading.

 

I believe there was a recall for the dipstick. I read some Tundras came with the wrong size dip stick from the factory. I would look into it.

 

The only "official" engine oil capacity I've discovered for the 4.6L/5.7L is in my 2017 Owner Manual, Section 9-1, Lubrication System, page 521...7.5 quarts without filter change, 7.9 with the filter change. (What technician measures out engine oil in tenths of a quart? ) I found nothing in the SRM, and nothing in a detailed technical paper describing the 4.6L.

There is an interesting footnote under the owner manual oil capacity chart: "* The engine oil capacity is a reference quantity to be used when changing the engine oil. Warm up and turn off the engine, wait more than five minutes and check the oil level on the dipstick". Toyota's use of the word "reference" makes me think that they're telling the owner to start with 7.9 quarts; if 7.9 quarts works, then fine. If not, then you add until the level is correct per the dipstick.

Have other owners actually reported 8.5 quarts as being recorded in their owner manuals? I assumed the 8.5 quarts was anecdotal information determined by owners and technicians.

 

Yes...my 19 PRO lists 8.5

 

You're right! WTH, Toyota? PROs might be special, but the oil capacity is NOT!...This from generic 2019 Tundra owner manual! They must have revised the capacity based on dealer/owner feedback. And, then, it doesn't work ALL the time. Not to mention it's a lot harder to adjust your oil level by draining than it is by adding.

Like I said before, a half quart one way or the other can't be too important, or it seems they would fix this.

 

My factory fill looked just right. The first fill at the dealership was about .25-.50" above the top mark. I thought they over filled it, maybe adding 9qts because the mechanic was too lazy to measure. But when I changed the oil and filter myself and used a measuring cup for all 8.5qts, it was right at the same .25-.50" mark (after a warm up and rest cycle).

I'm not going to worry about it. I honestly don't think dip sticks are that accurate anyway. I know how much is in the block, it matches the manual...good enough for me.

 

Thank you! I too put 8.5 quarts in and my oil level was exactly where yours was before draining the 1/4 quart. The question always is how much excess oil does that represent as it's not necessarily linear as you move up the dipstick. We now know that your predrain dipstick level represents less than 1/4 quart above Max and I am not at all concerned that this is enough to cause issues with foaming/loss of oil pressure. An extra 1/4. quart is nothing.

 

You could have just left it until the next oil change. A little over one time is not going to hurt anything.