Been working on my own rigs since about 1973…Do ALL my own oil changes.
Never been any hassle (unless I drink one too many beers and forget the drain plug HAHA)/.
Anyway, have an '02 Lincoln Ls, an '03 Toyota Camry and an '08 Toyota Prius.
Used to be that I’d pull the dipstick, look and know exactly where the oil level sits.
But with the “newbies” it seems that for the first hundred or so miles after an oil change, the oil is all over the dip stick. Above the max line, below the min., etc…And it is so “light-colored” it is hard to see anyway.
All changes and checks done on level ground, car sits for at least an hour, etc.
So, anyone else experience this…I KNOW when I drain the oil (and allow it to drain for 2 hours) that it should be pretty empty…
Oil changes on our Subaru (2.5 Impreza), do indeed cause me the same kind of doubt - that maybe I put too much oil in. The owner’s manual does have a warning about thermal expansion, and the dipstick has a second (higher) mark to indicate the max level taking expansion into account. Just the same, i feel like I’ve drained all the old oil and poured in the correct amount of new oil, and shazam! I’ve gone over the max without knowing it. It seems like the warm engine will act on the oil even without starting it. Does it have anything to do with the diameter of the dipstick tube? Some capillary action? Do not have the same problem with my jeep 4.0.
My method is to know what the cars stated capacity is and put exactly that much oil in,then make reference where that much oil sits on the stick.If I am sure I put the correct amount in I rest easy about what the stick shows.