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I bought a spare quart of oil and want to check it tomorrow morning. Check it cold or let it warm up and.check it.... Can't find a straight answer. Depending on how the temp is, how full on the dipstick should have the oil
I was always taught to check it cold with all the oil drained back into the sump. It should read full on the dipstick. The capacity is 6.5 qts including the filter
I was always taught to check it cold with all the oil drained back into the sump. It should read full on the dipstick. The capacity is 6.5 qts including the filter
I have checked it cold on all of my vehicles for decades...but my Vette reads at the full line with 7 quarts...maybe I have a 1.5 quart filter?
There are 2 different dipstick "systems" on a C5. Early years read full (6.5 quarts) at the normal fill point at the top of the hash marks.
Later year C5's read full (6.5 quarts) at the MIDDLE of the hash marks (normally this is the half a quart low mark). This is why some people put in 7 quarts, (which won't hurt the engine).
After an oil change with 6.5 quarts of oil, note where your level is. Oh, you drain 4 ounces more oil if you raise the rear end higher than the front when draining oil. The shop manual says to drain oil with the car level, so this four ounces of "old oil" won't hurt anything. I still raise the rear and drain it all, and I only put in 6.5 quarts of new oil.
Last edited by Oldvetter; Jan 5, 2012 at 08:53 AM.
I normally run my 04 Z06 with the oil a little below the full mark when the engine is cold. I figure that the extra oil that drains down offsets the increase in level when the oil is warm and there is still oil up in the engine, so the level comes out right.
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I always check mine cold - that way all the oil is back into the oil pan. If I check it warm, I wait a while until the oil can drain back down to the pan.