I just changed my oil and put in 6 quarts like the manual said but the oil only goes up to the middle of the hash marks on the dip stick. How many quarts have you all put in your 05 GT?

 

If you changed the oil AND filter (why would you change the oil and not the filter???) then it will take between 6 1/2 to 7 quarts (closer to 6 1/2 quarts). The listed capacity is for the crankcase but the filter holds a bit over a half a quart, so that is where the extra is needed.

 

Incorrect. The owners manual list 6 qts. with filter change. If you weren't changing the filter it would only be 5 1/2 qts.

 

As long you put in 6 qts. as specified by manual, you're fine.

 

Yes, I changed both the filter and the oil. Who wouldnt?? That filter was by far the hardest filter to ever get off. I put in six quarts and it was not full. I called Ford and they told me that the dip sticks are not that accurate. But he told me to try to add another 1/2 quart to see if it would bring it up to the full mark. It did bring the oil to the full mark with 6 1/2 quarts. Why would the manual say 6 quarts if it was really 6 1/2. The dealer said it is better to have more oil in there than less. Is that true? I am confused??

 

Did you give the oil plenty of time to settle into the pan? Also, if the dipstick isn't very accurate as Ford said then it was problably full at 6 qts but showing a 1/2 qt low. I highly doubt there is that much variation in oil pans to be off by a 1/2 qt.

FWIW, I don't even check the dipstick after changing the oil. I know how much went in and that it's the correct amount. I don't see the need in checking the stick.

 

6 to full line on my 5 speed (stick)

 

6 with filter change here as well.

 

Yeah, they REALLY cranked down on mine too. But the great part was how easy it was to access the filter. And how clean it was to take it off. Much easier than my T-Bird.

 

6 qts for mine, and the level came up to the top of the hash marks on the stick.

 

What exactly is the full mark? The top of the hash marks or the top hole? I do not know.

 

It is better to have to little than to much oil in the motor. Think twice before adding more than 6 qts. Dipsticks are not always accurate.

 

The dealer told me that it is better to have a little more than a little less. Which is it?

 

Kluski,

My sister has a '96 T-Bird. Every time she wants me to change the oil I cry.... I HATE that stupid filter location!

Hiflyntdwq,

I can't tell you which is worse in THIS engine, but I can give you a quick run down of the issues with too much and too little oil (both are bad!):

Too much oil: The problem with too much oil in a wet sump system is that the oil level gets too close to the rotating assembly (aka: crankshaft). The crank will hit the oil as the oil sloshes around in the pan. Needless to say, this absorbs HP from the engine (low power, lower fuel economy). Plus, the crankshaft can foam up the oil and the oil will get hotter due to all the extra energy the crankshaft is putting into the oil. The foaming up of the oil is really bad as it increases the volumn of the oil, which leads to even worse foaming. If it gets bad enough, you will end up with foamy oil getting stinked into your oil pump. The air in the oil will colapse under pressure, which causes all kinds of problems with your various bearings (which have VERY high dynamic pressures, much higher than the oil pump pressure). Bad all the way around.

Not enough oil: You have less oil in the pan, so the oil spends more time IN the engine and less time sitting in the pan. The oil picks up heat while in the engine and it dumps this heat (some of it anyway) to the outside while sitting in the pan. In this case, the oil temperature also goes up. The worse thing that can happen occurs at high rpms. The pump is a positive displacement pump, so it pumps (mostly) the same volume of oil for each revolution, no matter what the rpm is (within reason of course!). But the oil drains back via gravity, which is a function of time, not engine rpm. Now, the oil DOES drain back faster the more oil is up top as you are using more and more of the oil drain back galleries. But, it has to hit an equilibrium for each engine speed and the faster the engine is running, the more oil that will be up top and the less in the pan. IF you have too low of a oil level in the pan, at very high rpms, you can pump ALL the oil to the top of the engine. Bad things happen when the oil pressure drops to zero... Your oil is also being subject to higher rates of "wear" because the engine is producing soot particles at it's normal rate but you have less oil to dilute it into.

So, you want to have the RIGHT amount of oil in the pan. And this is determined by a LOT of design factors (oil pan depth, oil pump volumn, normal and max engine speed, oil drain back velocity, etc.). But in general, it is safer for MOST engines to run too low than too high. Unless you are running your engine at redline all the time...

 

Thanks for the info. I am going to go to ford and tell them I want a dip stick that is not 1/2 a quart off. With todays technology you would think that they can make something as simple as a dip stick pretty darn accurate. Do you think that I should drain 1/2 a quart out of my engine? Whats weird is that when I got my car from the factory the oil registered at the full mark (top hole) but when I put six quarts in my car it registered at the middle of the hash marks. Does that mean that they too put 6 1/2 quarts in my car from the factory? Let me know what you all think. Thanks for the replies!

 

I wouldn't worry so much about the dipstick if you're changing your own oil. If you're doing it yourself, you know for a fact that 6 qts is going in. Just take note of where it falls on the dipstick so you know where it shows as full.

 

Not true........never overfill at least on purpose :nono:

 

nope it’s always over 6 quarts with filter the manual says 6 with filter but it’d always 6 1/2 -7 to hit the top dot

 

Hello,

Ricky Bibby

Welcome to Tms! If You Like, We Would Love to Have You Post Some Pics of Your Car in Introductions and Tell us about it. Just for Future Reference Be Advised of Dates on Posts as This Thread Has Not Been Active since 2005! No Harm No Foul Just Your Op Quote has Not Been Active Since 2019.

KC

 

That is absolutely 100% incorrect! You always go by the owner's manual specifications which is 6 quarts with the filter... Anything over 6 quarts is overfilling the crankcase... It is also recommended to run the engine for up to 1 min after each oil change, then recheck the oil level again after 5 minutes which gives the oil time to settle back down into the oil pan... You should then be able to notice the oil level at the full mark.