86 4runner, Does oil level measure higher or lower when cold. I let dealer do a oil change and suspect overfill.

 

The most accurate reading would be cold --- But checking hot is not innaccurate --(fluctuations of 1/2 quart)

 

I was always taught to read oil with a warm engine

 

Well the question is where does the dipstick read from. I was always under the impression it read from the oil pan, so if the engine is running or just turned off the oil may not have completely drained, therefore it may read low. But the oil should be mostly drained within a minute or two, so checking a warm engine, like after you fill the gas tank, should be fairly accurate. As for over filling, I would not worry if it is just a little over the mark, an extra 1/4 quart of oil will not be enough to blow seals or whip into a foam in your crank case. Now when I was a kid I added twice the oil to a motorcycle, long dumb story, and lets just say I learned an expensive time consuming lesson.

 

oil will register higher on a cold engines dipstick
it drains out of everywhere back to the pan.

 

Oil is always checked with an engine at proper operating temperature...

This per the manual:

 

dealer informs me of leaking gaskets then overfills by almost 2 qt. this cant be helping my leak problem

 

It depends on how soon after you shut down you read it. Immeadialtly it will read lower as the oil is in the block still.

About 5 minutes aftershut down you get a good warm reading which will read higher than a cold reading as the warm oil is expanded and takes up much more room.


Overfilling is not a good idea. Just motiner your oil at the proper level, add when neccessicary

 

on a 22RE, after the engine has been off for5 mins, is the oil level in the pan above, right at, or below the gasket ? I guess I should have stuck my dipstick in while I had the pan off to find out. Just curious.