I changed my oil

1.8-liter VVTL-i (2ZZ-GE) and VVT-i (1ZZ-FE) engine, transmission, exhaust, intake, and performance tuning discussions
Post Reply
lannvouivre
Posts: 1601
Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 1:00 pm
Location: Texas yay

I changed my oil

Post by lannvouivre »

I have a 2006 Vibe. Earlier today, I changed my oil with my dad (I needed to do it myself to make sure I'd be able to remember how to do it on my own). After we drained the pan and then the filter until each stopped dripping, we added four quarts. The manual said 4.4 quarts for the smaller amount, so we were going to add under that amount, run the engine long enough to get it to go into the new filter, and then measure and add whatever's necessary.We added four quarts, ran the engine for a minute, measured, and the amount that both dipstick readings showed was about double the distance from the end of the stick to the top marking.I read herehttp://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=38006that you only need to put in about 3.7 quarts to be at that maximum. This is a huge relief to know because I previously was not aware that some of the old oil remains in the pan, and thought that something was catastrophically wrong with the only car I've ever had. The driveway that it's parked on is not very slanted (with the incline descending towards the back of my car, if that's important), so I don't know how much that would skew the readings.Anyway, I just wanted to know how far I can drive with it overfilled by so much without causing damage. I've taken it about 4 miles to get home, and might need to drive another 8 or so tomorrow to take my SO to work before I can drain some oil. Also, I can just drain it the same way you normally drain used oil, right? Nothing special?Thanks in advance, and thanks for having an excellent search function for the forums.
"If you don't love me at my diddliest, you don't deserve me at my doodliest." - User ktluvscricket of reddit
sideshowalan
Posts: 425
Joined: Thu Jun 11, 2009 10:27 am

Re: I changed my oil (lannvouivre)

Post by sideshowalan »

4 quarts is perfect.That thread you're' referring to is for the 2nd generation or 2009+ model.
2008 Pontiac Vibe
2008 Toyota Sienna XLE
(Former 2003 5-speed Vibe owner)
blindman10
Posts: 107
Joined: Wed Mar 23, 2011 12:04 pm

Post by blindman10 »

I'll second that. I wouldn't worry about it. If I'm reading your post correctly, you are still under the max level on the dip stick? If so, don't drain anything - you are fine.I add an entire 4 qt bottle and it puts the level in the middle of my dip stick...but I use the larger Toyota oil filter (the one intended for the GT engine).
lannvouivre
Posts: 1601
Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 1:00 pm
Location: Texas yay

Re: I changed my oil (sideshowalan)

Post by lannvouivre »

Quote, originally posted by sideshowalan »4 quarts is perfect.That thread you're' referring to is for the 2nd generation or 2009+ model.The dipstick still says that the engine is overfilled as of this morning. I think I should have made a drawing; the oil is going past both marks by a very, very large margin.
"If you don't love me at my diddliest, you don't deserve me at my doodliest." - User ktluvscricket of reddit
Caretaker

Re: I changed my oil (lannvouivre)

Post by Caretaker »

Sorry for your troubles. I have been changing my own oil all my life and owned both generations of Vibes. I cannot see how the oil can be reading that high on the dipstick, so I throw out this thought. Are you reading the actual oil line on the dipstick or are you seeing oil streaks going way up the dipstick? The reason I am asking is because it is very hard to get a "clean" reading on a dipstick anymore. When you push the stick in, invariably some oil in the tube will rub on to the stick and make it look like the oil level is higher than it is. My one suggestion would be just what you did this morning. Let the car sit overnight and then pull the stick. The oil on the stick should have settled down to a more readable point. If you did that this morning and you are still convined it is too high, I throw one more thought at you. Whenever I change my oil, the very first thing I do is to take OFF the oil fill cap to eliminate any pressure build up in engine and allow the oil to flow out of the filter hole and oil pan hole with ease. I don't know if there is any science/reality to what I do, but I do it to ensure that as little OLD oil remains behind due to a lack of air flow through the engine.If you are still convinced that the oil is as high as you have stated, then yes, get the oil out of there. You cannot run the engine with that much oil over/above the designated amount. Think of the first oil change as a trial run. Twist off the oil filler cap and redrain your oil from the pan. No need to take off the filter again. Also, make sure the car is not titling towards the front. Make sure you change the oil on a small incline to allow the oil to drain to the back of the pan where the plug is. If you live in Nebraska and cannot do that then drive the front wheels up on to a 2x12 so it gives the front end a little lift. Let us know how is all goes for you.
lannvouivre
Posts: 1601
Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 1:00 pm
Location: Texas yay

Re: I changed my oil (Caretaker)

Post by lannvouivre »

I'm reading the actual oil (the dipstick is actually fairly clean, so it's easy to tell). We did take the oil cap off when we were draining the oil since that's how Dad was taught to drain it, so no worries there. I think the positioning of the car during draining may have caused the plug to be up higher than what would have been optimal.I wanted to make sure oil didn't splash up into the pipe that the dipstick reads from before draining. This was very strange to us since we used the same procedure last time we changed the oil and 4 quarts was between the two indicator marks on the stick. I also wanted to make sure my car didn't have anything horribly wrong with it--I can't really afford to get anything major fixed, and the Vibe has 57,700 miles on it (38,000 as a rental, too).
"If you don't love me at my diddliest, you don't deserve me at my doodliest." - User ktluvscricket of reddit
beemerphile1
Posts: 505
Joined: Tue Jul 14, 2009 12:12 am
Location: NE Ohio

Post by beemerphile1 »

I read recently where someone drained the transmission when they thought they were draining the engine. After they added engine oil they had eight quarts of oil in the engine and zero in the transmission!
NE Ohio - home to the most successful Pontiac drag racing team in history - Bill Knafel's "Tin Indian" and also home to Summit Auto Racing.
2009 Vibe base 1.8L auto towing 2009 Aliner Sport hardsided pop-up
lovemyraffe
Posts: 4288
Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2007 3:08 am

Re: I changed my oil (lannvouivre)

Post by lovemyraffe »

When I change my oil, I usually add 3.75 quarts. I rarely get 4 quarts in, and definitely not 4.4.
March 2011 MOTMFebruary 2010 MOTM My GenVibe garage
lannvouivre
Posts: 1601
Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 1:00 pm
Location: Texas yay

Post by lannvouivre »

The oil issue was fixed after some draining. The next mission is to maybe put in a radio that has the auxiliary plug-in that you can hook an iPod up to.
"If you don't love me at my diddliest, you don't deserve me at my doodliest." - User ktluvscricket of reddit
sideshowalan
Posts: 425
Joined: Thu Jun 11, 2009 10:27 am

Re: (beemerphile1)

Post by sideshowalan »

Seconding the idea that maybe the auto trans was drained and not the oil pan. Did you drain a lot of motor oil out and is the trans fluid right?
2008 Pontiac Vibe
2008 Toyota Sienna XLE
(Former 2003 5-speed Vibe owner)
lannvouivre
Posts: 1601
Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 1:00 pm
Location: Texas yay

Re: (sideshowalan)

Post by lannvouivre »

We actually ended up changing the transmission/transaxle fluid as well since TX summers tend to be over 90 degrees F, my car is close to the 60,000 miles mark, and it was a rental in Houston or Dallas before we bought it. It was nearly black, so I think this was a good idea.Getting the transaxle fluid to the right level took forever (we didn't want to put too much in at once), but it was a very educational experience.
"If you don't love me at my diddliest, you don't deserve me at my doodliest." - User ktluvscricket of reddit
djkeev
Posts: 1357
Joined: Sat Mar 14, 2009 8:51 pm

Post by djkeev »

Dipsticks are NOT perfect!! Mass produced, factory tolerances.They are good for a general feel of the level but are not the end all and be all of indicating the proper amount of oil in an engine.Here is a link to your owners manualhttp://www.genvibe.com/images/...e.pdfPage 5-96 either 4.4 or 4.7 qts depending upon your engine code. with new oil filter. And yes, some oil does stay in the engine but it is minimal, it is stored in the passages for lubrication at start up.Good LuckDave
(o ! /o) (o)=I=(o)
star_deceiver
Posts: 5800
Joined: Fri Jun 05, 2009 1:49 pm
Location: Airdrie, AB

Re: I changed my oil (vibedrivermatt)

Post by star_deceiver »

When I changed my oil a couple of days ago I added 4.5L and it was a little over the top dot. Worst case scenario I can forsee is that the crankshaft makes contact with the oil in the pan which may cause a slight decrese in mileage... The last tank of gas came back with 36mpg so I'd say I'm fine!
2019 Ram 3500 4x4 CCSB srw 8HP75
2016 Ram 3500 4x4 RCLB Dually w/stick (traded in - 05/10/19)
2012 Chevy Silverado 1500 Cheyenne 4x4 (Traded in - 03/30/16)
2009 Vibe. (Traded in - 12/12/12)
wallyuwl
Posts: 74
Joined: Fri Jul 09, 2010 5:05 am

Re: I changed my oil (lannvouivre)

Post by wallyuwl »

Assuming you changed the oil and not transmission (the oil drain bolt screws into an angled part of the oil pain and is on the passenger side, the transmission bolt pulls down directly perpendicular to the ground and is on the drivers side), you are probably fine.I read a month ago or so that some Matrixs of this vintage had a dipstick that wasn't correct. Presumably some Corollas and Vibes are the same way. Even at the full mark (oil goes all the way up to the second divot in the dip stick) it wasn't the opimal amount of oil. Toyota was saying to add another half quart of oil. It sounds to me like you might have an engine with one of these bad dip sticks. I put in a little under 4.5 quarts and it is always just at the full mark on the dip stick.
micbarric
Posts: 190
Joined: Sat Apr 16, 2005 11:22 pm

Re: I changed my oil (wallyuwl)

Post by micbarric »

Quote, originally posted by wallyuwl »I read a month ago or so that some Matrixs of this vintage had a dipstick that wasn't correct. Presumably some Corollas and Vibes are the same way. Even at the full mark (oil goes all the way up to the second divot in the dip stick) it wasn't the opimal amount of oil. Toyota was saying to add another half quart of oil. It sounds to me like you might have an engine with one of these bad dip sticks. There was a Toyota TSB released in 2008 which mentioned an 'upgraded' dipstick to increase the oil level:

Attached files 1ZZ-FE_ENGINE_OIL_LEVEL_SPECIFICATION_UPDATE_T-SB-0134-08.pdf (167.5 KB) 
2005 Frosty
wallyuwl
Posts: 74
Joined: Fri Jul 09, 2010 5:05 am

Re: I changed my oil (micbarric)

Post by wallyuwl »

Thanks for that. I have been filling with 4.5 quarts, which is above the "full" line on the dipstick. It looks like the engine is supposed to take 4.4 quarts, so I'm glad I've been "overfilling" by .3 quarts (the "full" mark is 4.2 quarts).
09vGT
Posts: 1457
Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2009 10:36 am
Location: Little Rock, AR

Post by 09vGT »

On my 09 its always quite a bit up past the second dot. I've assumed its over filled, but at this point I'm at 80K miles. The dealer changes it, so if the engine blows within the next 20K miles then they can replace it.
Cougar Vibe
Posts: 412
Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2005 3:03 am

Re: I changed my oil (micbarric)

Post by Cougar Vibe »

Micbarric,It's late and I'm on various prescribed drugs right now, so correct me if I'm wrong...After reading that '08 TSB, are we supposed to be adding 4.4qts of oil when we do an oil change (as opposed to 3.7) on our '05's? Because that difference is not an insignificant amount considering how small the capacity was to begin with (conversely, my Mazda5 2.5l holds 5.3qts). BTW: I won't be too happy w/GM if they failed to pass that info onto us owners while the car was still under warranty (and thus we were easy to locate and advise). So am I'm missing something here?Thanks,CV
wallyuwl
Posts: 74
Joined: Fri Jul 09, 2010 5:05 am

Re: I changed my oil (Cougar Vibe)

Post by wallyuwl »

My impression is the required amount of oil is 4.4 quarts. I don't know what the manual says, as I haven't looked recently. When I first got the vehicle and got the oil changed at the dealer the first time, they put 4.2 on the air box to symblify it needed 4.2 quarts. That still is a bit low apparently. Since I've been changing it (about three years - lived in apartments before then) I've been putting in 4.5.
Cougar Vibe
Posts: 412
Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2005 3:03 am

Re: I changed my oil (wallyuwl)

Post by Cougar Vibe »

Quote, originally posted by wallyuwl »My impression is the required amount of oil is 4.4 quarts. I don't know what the manual says, as I haven't looked recently. When I first got the vehicle and got the oil changed at the dealer the first time, they put 4.2 on the air box to symblify it needed 4.2 quarts. That still is a bit low apparently. Since I've been changing it (about three years - lived in apartments before then) I've been putting in 4.5.I had heard this as it pertained to some '06 models (that is, some had the old dipstick, some the new) and newer, but this is the first time I've seen that TSB where it referenced previous 1ZZFE engines.Just as a bit of follow up, I emailed a pretty respected moderator over at BITOG who has a '05 Corolla w/~220K miles. He said he knew of the TSB but continues to use 3.7qt recommendation; w/that sort of mileage, I think I'll stick w/that too (though I use the larger filter for the 2ZZ engine, so it's 4qt in my case).Anyway, thanks for the reply.C_V
micbarric
Posts: 190
Joined: Sat Apr 16, 2005 11:22 pm

Re: I changed my oil (Cougar Vibe)

Post by micbarric »

Quote, originally posted by Cougar Vibe »Micbarric,It's late and I'm on various prescribed drugs right now, so correct me if I'm wrong...After reading that '08 TSB, are we supposed to be adding 4.4qts of oil when we do an oil change (as opposed to 3.7) on our '05's? Because that difference is not an insignificant amount considering how small the capacity was to begin with (conversely, my Mazda5 2.5l holds 5.3qts). BTW: I won't be too happy w/GM if they failed to pass that info onto us owners while the car was still under warranty (and thus we were easy to locate and advise). So am I'm missing something here?Thanks,CVI haven't been adding the extra half quart when I change my oil. It's just easier to use an even 4 quarts, and I don't think there will be any harm as long as I keep the level at the full mark between oil changes.
2005 Frosty
User avatar
vibenvy
Posts: 7121
Joined: Wed Apr 15, 2009 5:38 am
Location: Sandwich, IL

Re: I changed my oil (micbarric)

Post by vibenvy »

Both of our 09 GTs have always taken exactly 4 quarts to be right at the top dot on the dipstick.
Image
2009 Liquid Platinum Metallic Vibe GT - 5-Speed Auto – Garage
2009 Steel Blue Metallic Vibe GT - 5-Speed Auto – Garage
Charles (in GA)
Posts: 40
Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2011 12:02 am

Re: I changed my oil (micbarric)

Post by Charles (in GA) »

Quote, originally posted by micbarric »There was a Toyota TSB released in 2008 which mentioned an 'upgraded' dipstick to increase the oil level:Thanks for the TSB. I looked at my dipstick last night and it doesn't have the "dark square" or whatever that mark is that signify a new and improved stick ('04 base model one owner till I bought it) so I went by the Toyota dealer today and he ordered one, $20 and some change. It bothered me that it only held 4 qts, I'm used to 5 qts or more. So long as this doesn't affect the oil consumption or gas mileage (from the crank whipping the oil). It gets hot in the summertime here in the south and you need all the oil you can to help keep it cool(er).Charles
Post Reply