4.5 or 5 quarts of oil?

[gunman_sr5]

Do you put 4.5 quarts or 5 quarts of oil in for an oil change?

[ZX2Fast]

5

[powder]

5 in my wrx and 5 when i had my zx2. Provides a little bit of safety factor just in case.

[zxtwou2]

5...why not put the whole 5 qt jug in?

[jdrzx2]

It calls for 4.25 quarts of oil, most shops fill it with 4.5. My car uses almost 5.5 quarts.

[powder]

No shit turbo... lol i made a funny.

[Beodude123]

I go with 4.5. Going extra on a wet sump can cause parasitic losses when the crank has to dip down into the oil and lift it up until it falls off. Not saying this happens when you only go half over, but you get the point.

[Twiggy2cents]

i use 4.5 5 can cause leaks at seals from being to high

[ZX2guy19]

5

[TTFOWIA]

4.5. reasons already mentionned.

[iceracer]

4.5qts is the amount specified. 5 qts. is overfill. From reports of those using 5, apparently it doesn't cause a problem.
A Miata will put out more power if run 1/2 qt. low. Don't know if it would apply to the Zetec.

[TTFOWIA]

so you're telling me that if we run 4 instead of 4.5 it COULD put out more power?

[joshalabama]

Makes a little sense, could also cause more wear obviously.

[jdrzx2]

The only reason you would need to run more than 4.5 quarts in a zetec motor was if you were turbo and you need it for the extra lines or you have a remote oil filter. My owners manual says 4.25 and that's what I stuck with before I put the turbo on my car.

[zxtuner98]

Well is the zx2 5 qt's w/ filter? I never prefill my oil filter. Ive put in 4.5 forever.

[jdrzx2]

I'm pretty sure the book states 4.25 with filter. I could go dig it from all the cobwebs in glove box and check.

[jdrzx2]

Correction, 4.25 capacity. 4.5 with filter
http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/9133/img1059ec2.jpg

[gunman_sr5]

4.25 liters or 4.5 quarts. Thats with the filter.

[jdrzx2]

I guess quarts now that I look at it again. I didn't see quarts in parenthesis, I just posted.

Self failure!

[gunman_sr5]

No biggie. Not everyone notices it. I am guilty of just skimming for numbers to.

[Beodude123]

Makes a little sense, could also cause more wear obviously.


The only way it would be able to cause more wear would be if the oil wasn't getting to the sump drain, or whatever you want to call it. With at least 2 or so quarts sitting in the bottom, removing a little bit wouldn't cause wear. Maybe with some extremely hard cornering it could possibly get away from the drain, but I doubt it.

Does anybody have pictures of the oil pan, so we can see where the baffles are to stop hard cornering movement?

[gunman_sr5]

The pan has no baffles. The tray on the bottom half of the block has slits that flow to the pan, thee are no baffles there either. I should have taken pics when we rebuilt the last motor.

[raider]

5

[Buster]

I do it right. 4.5 quarts.

[raider]

Too much oil does not hurt anything but too little oil will.

[Buster]

Wrong.

Overfilling oil can be bad for your engine. It can turn the excess into a foam-like substance that won't lubricate your engine well and you'll lock up the engine. Overfilling is WORSE than underfilling.

Half a quart is unlikely to cause this but a whole quart or more extra will can leave you looking for a replacement engine.

Also, if you have weakened seals or gaskets, they will fail faster.

The manufacturer lists the recommended capacity in the manual for a reason.

[joshalabama]

Wrong.

Overfilling oil can be bad for your engine. It can turn the excess into a foam-like substance that won't lubricate your engine well and you'll lock up the engine. Overfilling is WORSE than underfilling.


QFT, how I blew my grand cherokee.

[raider]

I'm talking about .5 quart, i'm not adding 2 or 3 quarts.

[Buster]

I guess you ignore spark plug gaps too.

[raider]

I guess you ignore spark plug gaps too.
.54

[ZX2Fast]

I go with 4.5. Going extra on a wet sump can cause parasitic losses when the crank has to dip down into the oil and lift it up until it falls off. Not saying this happens when you only go half over, but you get the point.

With the windage tray in the way, the crank won't dip into the oil pan and at 5 quarts it isn't so high it is in the windage tray. I've put 5 quarts in my car for 8 years without any issue what-so-ever.

[JohnP]

When I did the first oil change in '97 , I put on a remote filter , uses a FL-1A . With the lines and filter(takes a qt.) it takes 6 quarts . My daughters Z has always used 5 quarts , getting close to 200K .

[powder]

When I did the first oil change in '97 , I put on a remote filter , uses a FL-1A . With the lines and filter(takes a qt.) it takes 6 quarts . My daughters Z has always used 5 quarts , getting close to 200K .

I believe him over Buster.

[mechtech]

Neither.
4.5 liters is more than 4.5 qts.

[iceracer]

4.25 liters = 4.5 qts

[TTFOWIA]

Neither.
4.5 liters is more than 4.5 qts.

yeah so true... I use 4.5L... I think. I'll double check.

[Buster]

I believe him over Buster.

Yeah, I just dreamed people have ruined their engines. :D

joshalabama is a liar too. :biggrin:




Like I said, 1/2 a quart is not likely to kill your engine, but why risk it?

[joshalabama]

joshalabama is a liar too. :biggrin:


lol! I didn't say I blew it by just adding 1/2 quart...I was a little bit more stupid then that. I don't really want to get into it but this was before i knew anything about cars except how to drive and add washer fluid/coolant. I barely knew how to change a tire. Thanks though!

[powder]

Yeah, I just dreamed people have ruined their engines. :D

joshalabama is a liar too. :biggrin:




Like I said, 1/2 a quart is not likely to kill your engine, but why risk it?

I guess i'm just a risk taker.

I did run 5 quarts in my zx2 for 90k before i sold it. Now been running five in my WRX for 50k.

[zxtwou2]

Yeah, I just dreamed people have ruined their engines. :D

joshalabama is a liar too. :biggrin:




Like I said, 1/2 a quart is not likely to kill your engine, but why risk it?

JohnP > * > Buster on this subject...sorry, but .5qt's isn't going to ruin your engine.

[Buster]

JohnP > * > Buster on this subject...sorry, but .5qt's isn't going to ruin your engine.

Sorry but you can't read. :)


Wrong.

Overfilling oil can be bad for your engine. It can turn the excess into a foam-like substance that won't lubricate your engine well and you'll lock up the engine. Overfilling is WORSE than underfilling.

Half a quart is unlikely to cause this but a whole quart or more extra will can leave you looking for a replacement engine.

Also, if you have weakened seals or gaskets, they will fail faster.

The manufacturer lists the recommended capacity in the manual for a reason.

[zxtwou2]

^you don't understand i was talking about your snip at johnP

[Twiggy2cents]

also im not positive but im sure oil expands with temp. like trans fluid