Hi Folks,

Apologies for what seems to be a simple question, but I am getting so many different answers its driving me crazy.

Simply, How do you read the dipstick in a TJ Magna?

The dipsitck in text code :) looks like this:

-----u--------------u----------=====================================Handle
_____N1__________ N2

My understanding is the single dashed area ' - ' denotes 1 litre of engine capacity. Is this true?

Next, the best time to read a dipstick is first thing in the morning when all the oil has settled to the sump, ie to give the best reading. So I would expect the oil to sit at Notch 2 (ie FULL) in the morning.

My TJ (wifes) currently on cold is sitting right on N1 (notch 1). Therefore, I would assume the oil level is low and thus needs roughly 500 ml or so to bring it to N2 (notch 2).

Can someone confirm? I am hearing conflicting reports that when the engine is warm the oil reading should be higher? Plus, some folks say the dipstick represents 2 litres of oil? In all my time, HQ, Camry, Magnas etc, dipstick always represented 1 litre of oil.

Can we help put these myths to bed, and clear this up so I can work out whether I do or dont need to add oil and also how much.

Your responses are always appreciated.

Check engine oil level with it cold, or after sitting for a while.
No idea what the amount oil is needed to go from low to high mark, but it is less than 1L. I just put some in, wait a couple of minutes, dip the stick, and continue.
I never let it go to the low mark, but at times have gone 5 to 10 mm over the top mark without harm.
I've seen Magna engines with the oil level off the dipstick altogether, (needing 3 to 4 L of oil to bring it back to the top mark) without harm, so don't freak out if it is slightly below the bottom mark.

Regarding the diffence in oil level hot to cold, the thermal expansion effect would be negligible. The difference (if any) would be more oil returning to the sump because it is significantly less viscous when hot. The viscosity of most engine oils at operating temperature is similar to that of water, and it drains back to the sump much quicked and more completely that when it is cold.

Thanks folks. I was more wondering how much oil is there between the 2 points, and it seems as MadMax said as well as REPCO when I bought the oil before both said it represents just under 1 litre. If the dipstick represented the entire engine oil, if its off the stick, then you have 0 oil and would explode lol. So its definately representative of 1-1.5 litres of oil depending on the car as they are all different.

So tonight after work, 500ml will go in, run it for a minute, let it settle and recheck tommorow morning and see where it is.

Thanks folks, I'll report back on how much it needed. I'm gonna guess 700 ml ahead of time :)

Generally the difference between MIN and MAX is 1L

Generally the difference between MIN and MAX is 1L

Some of us fill the engine sump to the right level by trial and error - put some in, dip the stick, add more, dip the stick, etc. until you are happy.

No need to run it between top ups either, just pour it in, wait a couple mins, check, and add more if required

Its not an exact science, a fraction over or under is quite acceptable, just dont go to far over, just as much damage can be caused by excessive overfilling as running it out of oil

No need to run it between top ups either, just pour it in, wait a couple mins, check, and add more if required

Its not an exact science, a fraction over or under is quite acceptable, just dont go to far over, just as much damage can be caused by excessive overfilling as running it out of oil

I added 1 litre last night, let it settle overnight, ran car last night for 5 mins, and checked this morning. It came up to just under the full line, so all is sweet.

The difference between the high and low mark on cars is not a fixed volume.

It represents the minimum oil amount that Mitsubishi are approving the engine to run on safely.

It makes very little difference if it is hot or cold, provided you wait a few minutes for any added oil to make its way down to the sump.

Slightly below the maximum mark is always safer than slightly above.

If you have ever opened up an engine/taken the sump off with the dip stick still in it, you will notice two things:

(1) The end of the dipstick comes nowhere near the bottom of the sump, ie oil can be so low it is off the dipstick while there is still oil in the sump. (Not good for the engine, especially if you go round corners and the oil light flashes at you, which is the occasion that some non-mechanically minded people actually bother worrying about the oil level).

(2) The top mark of the dipstick is well clear of the bottom of the crank throws, ie you would really need to overfill a sump for the crank to stir up the oil. Several litres, and you would hear a "gloop gloop gloop" sound from the engine. (personal experience with 4 litres of extra oil in a Toyota engine)

Personally, I don't let it fall lower than half way between the marks, but don't mind going above the top mark by half to a full cm.

Max, would using Oil like Magnatec vary in results. Ie will a portion of oil be clung so to speak to the engine parts, so that its not all completely drained to the bottom or is that just marketing BS?

Max, would using Oil like Magnatec vary in results. Ie will a portion of oil be clung so to speak to the engine parts, so that its not all completely drained to the bottom or is that just marketing BS?

The Magna engines have very hard bores with deep honing, these honing grooves tend to retain oil when the engine is off. So magnatec or not, the pistons don't start dry.

The engine will most likely outlast the rest of the car, so why worry? Besides, this forum hates Castrol oils! lol

What's going on in here? My castrol oil alert notification went off.... You guys aren't talking about castrol are you?

In all seriousness though. Mal got my on to Penrite and since them my engines have been running so much smoother. Not sure if it was butt dyno but I noticed that the engine would rev happier since changing over from years of castrol oils.

All in all, the different between the low point and the high point isn't much, probably about ~1-1.5 litres, a car can run even if it's off the dipstick, but mind you make sure you check it on a level surface and after the car has been sitting there for a few minutes. Our engines are pretty over engineered in terms of fail safes and baffling in the sump so oil can't go to far when we're going around corners, so to seize one of these engines you would have to be pretty silly indeed.

The whole check dipstick, fill, check again thing can be unreliable as the oil has to make it's way down through all the galleries. If you have oil disappearing from your sump then I suggest you have a greater problem on your hands...

Yea anyway, just my 5c.

Makes sense, and yeah I use Magnatec on both rides and was more trying to understanding the specifics of the dipstick in relation to the magna engine. I always fill, and wait a decent time. I never used to worry about checking the oil generally as the car simply doesn't loose any, but approach 200,000km's and with normal ageing you do loose a little. This is not excessive, doesn't have any issues just wanting to ensure its filled to teh correct spot.

Just get off Magnatec & onto Penrite HPR5, Mobil1 or even Shell Helix Ultra. 6G7 motor's valve stem seals tend to harden with the use of Magnatec.

I only use Penrite HPR 5W40 or 10W50 - car is at 185k - doesn't use oil - it's changed every 7.5k (filter and Wynns oil flush every 15k) have done this since I bought the car at 19k - Still drives like new. I would avoid magnatec (as per ADM above).

Ok I'll try Penrite HPR 5W40 seems like a good option. Mitsi do my car every 7,500 and I supply hte oil, plus they flush every time, so I'll change the oil then, see how it goes. I'm not loyal to any brand, just carried on from the previous owner essentially. Without starting WW3 or 4, whatever were up to, do most of you use Penrite?

Boosty,

Lots of threads on here about 'best oil for Magna/Verada/380/6G74/6G75', and like most things opinions vary all over the place.
But Mal swears by Penrite HPR, I used it for the last 100,000k on my 380, I'm using it now on my Jag (albeit a special diesel version), and both motors love it.
The main choices are full syn or semi syn, and what grade or "weight" to use. Some say 'gotta be full syn', others say 'no need to spend extra on fulll syn, semi syn is good enough'. I always used full syn. Some say 5W30 or 5W40, others say 10W40 or 10W50, depending on the age/ks of the motor, but again Mal usually recommends 10W40 or 50 for 6G7X motors.

Boosty,

Lots of threads on here about 'best oil for Magna/Verada/380/6G74/6G75', and like most things opinions vary all over the place.
But Mal swears by Penrite HPR, I used it for the last 100,000k on my 380, I'm using it now on my Jag (albeit a special diesel version), and both motors love it.
The main choices are full syn or semi syn, and what grade or "weight" to use. Some say 'gotta be full syn', others say 'no need to spend extra on fulll syn, semi syn is good enough'. I always used full syn. Some say 5W30 or 5W40, others say 10W40 or 10W50, depending on the age/ks of the motor, but again Mal usually recommends 10W40 or 50 for 6G7X motors.

I'm happy to trust Mal and his expertise in this area, seems the way to go. Given I run a 10/40 now, I'll stick to the same gradient for the VR-X and will go Penrite, just gotta decide full synth or not depending on price. Would Mal recommend the extra coin for Full Synthetic?

I had a VS Commodore company car from new (1996), it had an oil consumption problem. That was a common problem for the VS. After many complaints to Holden their fix left me in fits of laughing at the service manager in front of lots of customers, their fix was a red-designed dipstick so the measurement between the low and high marks became 1.5litres instead of 1 litre to give the illusion that oil consumption had reduced... Holden engineering at its best.

I went to buy the oil today folks, however, there were two choices:
Penrite HPR 10 Full Synthetic 10W-50
Penrite HPR Everyday Plus Semi Synthetic 10W-40

I was running Magnatec 10W-40

Car has 135,000Km's on it.

Should I stick with same gradient ie the 10W-40, cause I presume the Magnatec is or was a Semi Synthetic.
Or jump to the 10W-50?

Thoughts?

Semi synth is good enough. I'd go for the HPR 10W-40.

We have 4 cars in the family that will need an oil change in December. The newest one, a 2011 Lancer, uses 10W-30, so I will be stocking up on Nulon (or similar) 10W-30 soon when it is on special. Makes it easier to do all of them with the one oil. (2 Magnas, 2 Lancers)
supercheap nulon semi-synthetic 5w-30 is $27.49 at the moment.
autobarn nulon semi-synthetic 10w-30 $29.99 at the moment.

Stuff semi synth - Go either Penrite HPR5 fully synthetic (5W40 - the one I use) or if you must, HPR10 (10W50) fully synthetic for hard driving/hot weather. You obviously care about your car and you want the oil to be as good as quality as possible between changes. A quality full synthetic with a bottle wynns engine flush between oil & filter changes, will keep the internals looking like new & give you optimal protection.