Since I don't really drive my Mustang very often (it's a weekend car, when I have a weekend off), I only really check the tire pressure and I haven't really ever checked the oil since it doesn't get driven very much and I haven't ever noticed oil spots or burning oil from the exhaust. (and the fact that it's a new car, I just haven't really bothered with it). It's only got 7,000 miles on it since I got it in February (this includes 3 trips from Los Angeles to Phoenix and back, about 1000 miles each trip). Yea, it's probably not good that I'm not checking the oil, I'm going to make apoint to do that more often now.

Any way, back to my point. I'm getting ready to drive to Louisiana (from Los Angeles) this christmas, and I figured I'd check the oil to see where it's at before I change the oil. I park the car on the flattest area I can find (my neighborhood is on a hill, so nothing is really perfectly flat). I check the oil and this is something like what I see. It's up to the "full" mark, but only on one edge of the dip-stick. The car is level front to back, but it's leaning a bit towards the passenger side due to the street. I checked it several times and got this every time.

I'm going to check it at a gas station or somewhere that's more flat when I get a chance.

Is this normal? Does it mean something else? I'm used to always seeing a solid film of oil on the bottom of the stick from all my old car, not this little sliver of oil on one side.

 

Can't say I've ever seen anything like that before...how often are you changing your oil? And did you try and recheck it?

 

The oil was changed at 4000 miles (I believe the maintanence manual required 5000, but I did it early). I re-checked it 2 more times right then when I first checked it, I'll go back and check it again after it has sat for a while. I'm also going to try and move it to another location that is more flat and check it again.

When do yall usually check, after it's warm, or when it's cold?

 

I check mine cold in the morning before I start it. I don't have a level area to check it on , so I made a mark on the dip stick after my first oil change. Right after the oil change you know the oil level is at it's maximum , regardless of where it is on the stick. I always check it against the mark I made ...

 

The dipstick is getting "wiped" off on one side when you pull it out. Wiped by what? I am not sure, but obviously some part of the dipstick tube. It's really not as weird as you think... if it concerns you, you might want to apply a short burst of compressed air to the dipstick tube to try to clear it out, if you think it's foreign matter that's blocking the tube- you can bet that this is exactly what the dealer would do. I would also dissconnect the PCV breather line when doing this. Good luck!

 

Try rotating the dipstick as you insert it to get it into another position.

In the future, after you change the oil and add fresh 6 qt + new oil filter, start up the motor and let it idle for about 5-10 minutes. Shut it off and wait 2 hours for the oil to drop back into the pan (as much as it can). Pull out the dipstick, wipe clean, and re-insert it. Pull it out again and mark or make note of where the oil level is at and exactly where the vehicle is parked. In the future, compare your dipstick readings with this benchmark and you'll know if it was consuming engine oil. Ford has been notorious for using the "wrong" dipsticks. In our 89 300 I6, the full mark was about 1/2" above the "FULL" arrow and the owner's manual made note of this. Nowadays, Ford dipsticks generally have a much larger tolerance for the ADD to FULL range.

 

I have had the same problem with my '01 Vette (besides the '01 LS1 engine is notorious for burning oil)...the only way to really get a good reading is to check it first thing in the morning (on level ground)...the oil will not read as high (because it's cold and it's been sitting all night)...but this will give you an excellent indication as to how much oil you have. Checking it hot after 10-15 minutes of sitting really doesn't give the oil a chance to drain into the oil pan.

 

Thanks Mark. I'm actually having the oil changed this Wednesday, so that will be my bench mark after that. :-)

Yes, chevy's seem to eat oil. My old camaro ate about 1 quart every few weeks on a relativly new crate engine. And that was with new valve seals, and almost no dripping!