Oil level rising

[BearDog]

My Dad was a drag racer. Had 3 mechanic shops when I was growing up, so I've been a hot rod guy my whole life. This is a first for me...

I check the fluids in my vehicles often. I just did my truck after about a month. Damn oil dipstick is about 3/4" over full. Truck has been sitting about 2 hours. No, coolant is not present...and radiator level is at the top as well. We've had a hellacious heat wave in east Texas the last few days with heat index above 110. Not a first for us, but a first for oil level variance like this.

Does the dipstick on our trucks sit inside a small tube or something? I've never seen this. Heat wave supposed to end in about a week, so will check it again. Just odd to me.

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[ShadowsPapa]

My Dad was a drag racer. Had 3 mechanic shops when I was growing up, so I've been a hot rod guy my whole life. This is a first for me...

I check the fluids in my vehicles often. I just did my truck after about a month. Damn oil dipstick is about 3/4" over full. Truck has been sitting about 2 hours. No, coolant is not present...and radiator level is at the top as well. We've had a hellacious heat wave in east Texas the last few days with heat index above 110. Not a first for us, but a first for oil level variance like this.

Does the dipstick on our trucks sit inside a small tube or something? I've never seen this. Heat wave supposed to end in about a week, so will check it again. Just odd to me.

Like all others, it's in the sump area and wouldn't matter anyway because liquid always seeks its own level.
Check the oil first thing in the AM before starting the engine.
Only other thing is if it's gaining due to crazy amount of fuel contamination but that's really doubtful because the O2 sensors would see the error and it would either flash a code or try to correct it, besides running poorly and having a smell out the exhaust.
Did you check the oil after the last oil change and it was ok? (meaning could too much oil have been put in to begin with?)
Always let the thing sit and cool off before checking - I only ever check a cold engine.

 

[SupermanWV]

Your oil pan isn’t dented is it? If it is the displacement of oil could make it read higher on the dipstick.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Would be a heck of a dent to raise it 3/4", not to mention what it would do to the pickup screen inside.
The pan would likely need to be shoved up well over 1" to raise the level 3/4 because as the oil moves up, it can spread out.
Man, he'd feel that one plus there's a lot of stuff in the way.

 

[BearDog]

Like all others, it's in the sump area and wouldn't matter anyway because liquid always seeks its own level.
Check the oil first thing in the AM before starting the engine.
Only other thing is if it's gaining due to crazy amount of fuel contamination but that's really doubtful because the O2 sensors would see the error and it would either flash a code or try to correct it, besides running poorly and having a smell out the exhaust.
Did you check the oil after the last oil change and it was ok? (meaning could too much oil have been put in to begin with?)
Always let the thing sit and cool off before checking - I only ever check a cold engine.

I always check after the change when I get home and after its cooled off. I was on tractor tonight brush hogging (damn hot when sun is out). I'll check it at 6:00 in the morning before I leave for work. Just weird.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I always check after the change when I get home and after its cooled off. I was on tractor tonight brush hogging (damn hot when sun is out). I'll check it at 6:00 in the morning before I leave for work. Just weird.

We've not hit 110 yet this year but we've had more upper 80s and 90s this year so far than any time I can remember (and in a drought, too)
Hope things cool off a bit down there!

 

[Skull]

Both my jeeps 3.6L show over full when sitting for awhile but they only get 5qts during oil change and immediately after the change and a short idle they show normal…head scratch.

 

[BearDog]

Well, it was at normal level this morning when it was cooler out. I'll check it at lunchtime again.

This is odd.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Both my jeeps 3.6L show over full when sitting for awhile but they only get 5qts during oil change and immediately after the change and a short idle they show normal…head scratch.

Mine always show a bit over the top of the cast part of stick onto the flex portion. 5 quart bottles of oil and it's never at the depression in the cast part, it's always above it onto the wire part of the dip stick. I figure they just got it wrong when they changed capacity and re-did the stick. To me, full if about 1/4" above the upper part of the flat in the bottom piece.
In my mind I've just adjusted myself to seeing full as onto the wire, and if it were low, it would be on the lower cast part.
Mine have never - not even after 3,000 miles, shown into the flat of the bottom part of the stick.

 

[JTDay]

I personally think the dipstick on these engines sucks. Maybe I'm pulling the stick out too fast or something but I always get a higher reading on one side of the stick than the other. I just stick with whichever is lower. I also let my oil drain for like 30 minutes before putting the plug back in and then I dump the 5 quarts in and tbh, I rarely measure it between 5k mile change intervals. My previous truck had an issue with fuel dilution and even at concentrations as low as 2% in the oil, it would reek of gasoline. You can look up 5G ranger fuel dilution and read that until you're blue. If you think it may be fuel dilution, that would be worth looking into further.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Luckily these aren't DI so won't have the fuel dilution issues that DI engines can have. I'd be really totally surprised as heck if anyone found these with dilution even to a point of "questioning it". If you think about it, to raise these to the point of appearing 1 quart over full would mean an extra 32 ounces and that's 20% of the oil volume in these. 5 times 32 ounces (32 in a quart) so you'd be adding a crazy amount of fuel - and looking at engine destruction if you ignored the MIL and codes before it reached that point.

Here's pics of the dipstick from my current 2022 JT (keeping in mind I also had a 2020 and it always followed exactly as this one as far as oil level/dipstick readings)

Mine typically reads almost as far right as the red line here. When full, shortly after an oil change it will read pretty much to the red line. I've never seen it into the right-most pencil line and it's certainly never read onto the "flats" of the lower portion of the dipstick. My 2020 may have read onto the flats after 5 or 6K miles but that's as low as I've seen.

And this is today - 3,500 miles and after pulling 4 ounces out for an oil sample.

3,500 miles, 4 ounces taken out.
So it's 5 x 32 ounces per quart for a total of 160 ounces, minus 4 for an oil sample, it's sitting at 156 ounces or 4.875 quarts in theory.
It's still just above the taper on the lower part of the dip stick.
If this followed through to its logical conclusion and I do an oil change at 5,000 or more, I'm looking at never adding any oil between changes. That's how my 2020 was as well.

I suspect these sticks weren't properly calibrated after the engine's pan and oil cooling system was redesigned for 5 quarts in the JT.

Many dipsticks that are flat have a twist in them so it doesn't "wipe" the inside of the dipstick tube going down and back up to allow a more accurate read. Always read from the lowest dry spot on the stick, not the highest wet spot - but I bet 101% of all people here know that anyway.

 

[Gvsukids]

Always read from the lowest dry spot on the stick, not the highest wet spot - but I bet 101% of all people here know that anyway.

Wait, we have to know how to read a dipstick? I thought that's what we paid the dealership for.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Wait, we have to know how to read a dipstick? I thought that's what we paid the dealership for.

You'd better know how because we've seen that ............ well, you know.
Honestly, though, I've seen too many pull out the dipstick and simply look at the wet spot and don't bother turning it around and keeping the bottom end down.
Iv'e seen people pull the dipstick out of the engine and tip it up, the while time warm oil is running up the dipstick making it look more full.
Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I think some may need how do check your oil 101 as a college course.

 

[Gvsukids]

Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I think some may need how do check your oil 101 as a college course.

Like needing to retest drivers on their driving skills?

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