Really concerned about how much oil is represented by L to H span on dipstick...

[diitto]

Hi... I asked a similar question a few weeks back and got a couple of responses... But now I'm even more concerned than I was before about some new measurements I have taken that indicate that the difference between the low and hi oil marks on my dipstick represents NOT 1 quart of oil difference but instead something more like TWO quarts of oil. I did a lot more than what I will say here but to cut to the chase I was at a situation where my oil level was 1/3 of the way between the L and H marks (closer to the L mark). I then began adding oil slowly and making measurements and ended up adding a FULL QUART of oil and it STILL is NOT full, but instead is only 5/6 full... Well, the 1/3 starting point above is equal to 2/6 and the 5/6 ending point minus the 2/6 starting point equals 3/6, meaning 3/6 or 1/2 of the difference between L and H was traversed by adding 1 quart of oil... That would say it would take TWO quarts of oil to traverse the entire span of L to H... This is very important to me because if that L to H distance represents one quart, I have an oil consumption of about 3500 miles to the quart... If that distance represents two quarts, it is half that value or only 1750 miles per quart... I posed this question to the dealer and after having to ask around in the service department (which didn't give me a very warm feeling that they actually knew) they told me that the L to H span equals one quart... But I have more than just the above measurement that tells me there is no way that can be true... Or I would sure love for someone to tell me where I am going wrong... I have decided I am going to start watching oil consumption by not assuming anything about what the span represents but instead just determine how much oil it takes to keep the level at a certain mark (like H) over some number of miles and figure oil consumption from this single mark approach rather than trying to make sense out of the span. But I would still like to know the real answer about how much oil it takes to cover the span from L to H...

So does anyone really know the answer to "how many quarts does it take to move the oil level from the L hash mark to the H hash mark on the 3.5 liter, 298 horsepower engine in the G35 coupe (mine is a 6MT)????" Any help would be very much appreciated... thanks... bob...

[Omegamerc]

Refer to the users manual, they have settings for oil change with and without filter. Of course always do an oil change with a cold engine because of expansion/compression issues.

[C-Kwik]

Every motor I've worked on is 1 quart from L to H. This includes the G35 I had. The G35 is pretty quirky when you measure the oil. Make sure your first measurement ws correct. Oil poured into the head and oil in the head through normal lubrication drains partially to the pan through the dipstick hole. As such, if you pull the dipstick out shortly after running the motor or adding oil, the measurement wil generally be off. Best thing to do is after filling the oil or turning off the car, pull teh dipstick and wait a couple of minutes before inserting the dipstick and checking th elevel. Take the measurement at least a couple of times to make sure there are no errors. Also, I don't recommend pulling the dipstick before adding any oil as oil may come out of the dipstick hole. This is one thing I'm glad to hear they changed with the new VQ design.

[telcoman]

I believe you are correct that the oil required between L & H is two quarts and not one quart?I check my oil weekly and very often when the level on the dipstick was between L & H it took a full quart. I have only let the oil go down near the L level once and that was when I first got the G35. I did not initally realize that this engine used oil (2006 Sedan 6sp manual) It took two quarts to bring the oil level up to the H level. There have been many posts on oil consumption on this forum. It seems many G35's do use oil. My 92 Lexus never used a drop!I change my own oil every 3k miles with a factory filter. With 22k miles now, I have always had to add oil between changes. After adding oil, you have to wait about 10 minutes otherwise there is so much oil on the dipstick that you cannot obtain a true accurate reading. If others are also experiencing oil consumption on their G35's I'd be interested in hearing of their experiences.

Telcoman

East Brunswick,NJ

[infinititech1]

i believe its around one quart somewhere

[joe603]

Just remember that underfilling oil is far less dangerous than overfilling. I wouldn't add any until its around or below the "L".

For me, by the time it approaches being low it's time to change the oil anyway.

[diitto]

Thanks to all, especially Telcoman... What you report is precisely in line with what I am now almost 100% sure is the case, that the L to H span represents more like two quarts... Bummer as that means my oil consumption is half of what I previously thought it was when I assumed that difference was one quart... I have decided to ban the idea of paying attention to span and instead strive to keep the oil right at the H mark all the time and record over time how much oil I have to add to keep it there... If you do that, you don't care what the span is because you're not using that at all in your measurement... The only reason I didn't do that before is there is always the possibility of overfilling the engine if you aren't really careful but since I am just that, careful, I have decided to add oil slowly over a day or two to get it right at the High mark and then measure the oil usage over time that way... Thanks for the input...

Now, does anyone have dealer or Infiniti information about what Infiniti really considers to be excess oil consumption???? I have certainly heard words to the effect of under 1000 miles per quart is definitely a problem but what about something more like what I think I am seeing now that I have halved all my previous readings, which would be about 1800 miles per quart??? I don't mind adding oil... I just want to know if I have a defective engine while it is still under warranty.... I currently have 6500 miles on my 06 G35 Coupe, 6MT... Any input on that would be much appreciated... thanks... bob...