Engine oil level reading issues

Tech discussions on the 3.6L V6 motor (LFX) used in the 2012 & up Caprice.
Post Reply
User avatar
elc32955
System Manager
Posts: 2718
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2012 10:32 am
Location: East Central Florida
Contact:

Engine oil level reading issues

Post by elc32955 »

Well, I screwed up somewhat today - although it will be an easy fix. It was a little over 4000 miles since my last oil change and I was neglectful on checking the oil level. So, I ran the car for about 30 miles this morning, cut it off, waited a few minutes and checked the oil level. It showed oil at around the mark on the dipstick one up from the cross-hatch area low. So, I add appx. 3/4 quart to it to bring it up to the full mark. The 2015 V6 car has the very weird dipstick that looks like a bullet on the end of a stiff speedo cable. So I wait a few minutes after checking the oil and upon rechecking I can't tell what it's reading - as there are drips on the stick all the way up & down the bullet. At that point I'm saying some soft nasty words at the inept GM design of this dipstick such as it picks up residual oil everywhere & obscures the reading.

After this I did some research in the interim on the dipstick & reading the same, turns out there's a few different versions of the LFX dipstick - most of which have a flat blade in lieu of the bumped-up bullet deal. But I saw a recurring theme from the Camaro forums - the oil takes quite a while to drain down into the pan after engine shutoff, to get an accurate reading you have to wait a few hours for the car to cool off & for the oil to get back into the pan. I wait about 3 1/2 hours and do a new check, and...... DANGER WILL ROBINSON! The oil's showing overfull on the stick, filling the cross-hatch overfill area. So it must have actually been full and I just overfilled it 1/2 quart or more. Apparently a lot of Camaro owners have been running overfilled as well due to the slow drain-back time, they have 6 quart capacity and some people have been reporting overfills of 1 quart or more. Our LFX cars have 7 quarts capacity due to the oil cooler, so I must be over 7 1/2 quarts currently.

So, tomorrow morning I made an appointment for an 8:30 AM oil change, that'll drain it all out & reset the level with nice new oil. I have about 4200 miles since my last oil change so it's not too early. Just easy driving in the morning to get it to the shop, no high RPM's allowed :)

I won't make this mistake again for sure! So, learn from my ignorance folks. No need for anyone to foam out a motor here running overfilled. Or bust open a seal and turn your car into Mr. Drippy!

Thanks
Eric
System Manager and your tour guide for the day. 2015 Caprice w/LFX, former NC DPS staff car. Partial hybrid G8/SS/Camaro SS interior mods, SS MyLink radio upgrade, 2016 Camaro V6 rims, GMPP Malibu chrome exhaust tips, otherwise bone stock for now.
User avatar
Mooseman
Posts: 1075
Joined: Mon Jun 12, 2017 11:35 pm
Location: Ottawa, ON Canada
Contact:

Re: Engine oil level reading issues

Post by Mooseman »

Good catch. As for the differences in dipstick types, some have had issues with the flat blade type where the rivets broke off and let the tip fall into the pan. GM changed it to this cable and bullet type. Much safer but more difficult to read. I have replaced mine with the newer version as a preventive and it hasn't been that bad to read but then I have the L77. I also check my oil before running it for the day as you don't need to wipe and reinsert it and getting a perfect reading.
2011 Caprice PPV, former RCMP test vehicle, never put into service
Build Thread: http://www.newcaprice.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2419
s/c'd cav
Posts: 1382
Joined: Mon May 30, 2016 3:12 am
Location: PHOENIX AZ

Re: Engine oil level reading issues

Post by s/c'd cav »

some pans have more than enough room in them to carry that extra qt , in fact its common place on the trailblazers to run a extra qt or 2 in the V8s , because of the front sump

also in the SS sedan world , they ditch the twisted metal dip stick for the cable with the bullet at the end
StevenJay
Posts: 60
Joined: Sat Oct 28, 2017 10:43 pm
Location: Lake County Illinois

Re: Engine oil level reading issues

Post by StevenJay »

I did the same thing with overfilling. Some online service manuals say 6.7 quarts, some say 6. I obviously should of been waiting and checking the dipstick to see what was full. I used a oil extraction pump that I got off of Amazon to pump out the extra oil through the dipstick tube. The bullet style dipstick is confusing because you would think the oil should be to the cross hatched area on the top..nope. From what I have read repeatedly on camaro groups and the owners manual the oil level should be in the middle of the cross-hatched areas. When something works it shouldn't be changed, like the end of a dipstick. 3 holes and a full mark like every other engine is too much to ask.
Steven J.
-2014 Chevy Caprice PPV Pre-Production Pilot vehicle RPO code-Switchblade silver metallic purchased 11/2017
-2017 Chevy Caprice PPV- Switchblade silver metallic-GM Show Car RPO code. purchased 1/2018
Post Reply