remove dipstick to change oil? huh?

[wpurple]

I, for the first time, was reading the sticker(s) under the hood and it states to remove the dipstick when adding or changing the oil. Huh? Never did that other than to check the level at the end.....

 

[dogfriend]

Yep. I always thought this was a weird requirement. I do it, but have no idea why they require it.

 

[96eb96]

I, for the first time, was reading the sticker(s) under the hood and it states to remove the dipstick when adding or changing the oil. Huh? Never did that other than to check the level at the end.....

venting to create a good air path to drain all the oil. Oil is thick, and otherwise the pan is in a semi-sealed environment.

 

[POS Camaro]

I normally remove the fill cap for that reason.

 

[dogfriend]

And you pretty much have to remove the fill cap to add oil. Which is one of the times they want you to remove the dipstick.

 

[410Fortune]

oil fill cap is round hole, funnel is round, so sometimes your funnel will burp and spill oil, UNLESS you removed the dipstick

just a pre-caution

 

[96eb96]

And you pretty much have to remove the fill cap to add oil. Which is one of the times they want you to remove the dipstick.

Also, (just a thought) even with the cap off the oil galleries to the pan may not provide enough airflow to completely drain the pan.

 

[Blacksheep Josh]

kidna like the philosphy on the gas cans, you have an opening at the back to let it glide out the front smooth.

 

[JohnJ]

I think that the whole "pull the dipstick before filling the oil" thing is mainly just a general procedure they suggest. On FWD Fords with a 3.8L or 3.0L pushrod engine in a FWD would cause oil to back up into the PCV breather hose and thus into the intake snorkel.

/On some Nissans filling the oil with the dipstick removed causes oil to squirt up out of the dipstick tube and hilarity would surely ensue.

 

[wpurple]

Humm, interesting...I use a funnel, but always pour the oil in fairly slowly, never had an issue, but I will remove the stick going forward...just cause it says so

Whenever I drain the oil, I do remove the oil filler cap as I figure it would help drain the oil letting air in...although there is a hose below the filler cap that would do that.

 

[ThePhoenix]

kidna like the philosphy on the gas cans, you have an opening at the back to let it glide out the front smooth.

kinda like the philosophy of the vented can from Coors!!!

 

[TheJackal]

I've seen this label as well but never figured out why they required it. I had several theories. As some others do I also just remove the filler cap for ventilation.

I guess the filler tube does allow for better ventilation to the pan for draining. As far as refilling it tho, doesn't matter to be because I hold the funnel just slightly off of the top of the filler tube for ventilation.

 

[gijoecam]

I've personally never done it... the crankcase isn't exactly a sealed environment even with the dipstick and fill cap installed. The PCV system (assuming the PCV valve isn't clogged) should allow plenty of air to flow into the crankcase.

Personally, I always pop the hood and remove the oil fill cap before draining it. It's so I can be sure that 1) The hood will release, and 2) the oil cap will come out. There's nothing worse than draining the oil, swapping the filter, then realizing I can't refill the crankcase because the hood release cable is frozen and I can't get the hood open.

-Joe

 

[dogfriend]

There's nothing worse than draining the oil, swapping the filter, then realizing I can't refill the crankcase because the hood release cable is frozen and I can't get the hood open.

-Joe

Actually, last time I went to change the oil, the hood release cable snapped in half because of corrosion where it makes the bend around the corner of the battery. Fortunately, I had a new one ready to install because I noticed it was damaged about 6 mo before.

So its good advice to make sure you can open the hood before draining the oil out.