Weird oil symptoms
 

Well for starters it’s really cold right now and that could be a part of it.

I changed my oil in August. Reading has been near the top of the digital gauge but it’s been getting slightly lower since. I haven’t been driving the car often for winter break. I drove the car on wendsday and noticed oil was a little low. One bar above the line on the digital read. I assumed it was just the cold weather and went for a drive however had a pretty big white puff of smoke on startup which I know can be normal on these cars and happens every few months for me anyways however it seemed a little thicker than usual this time.


Didn’t check oil level after the drive but next time I went to drive the car I noticed the oil was off the digital gauge all together and on the dipstick was right beneath the lower level line. I put about a quart in up to the point of it being 7/8 of the way up to the top line on the dipstick. Digital readout has it about 3 bars above the line. Still a little low. I went for a drive and the read remained at that level throughout until I got gas on the way back from town. Each start up while running errands had no smoke. However the later readings off the chart it was a lot colder outside. But the engine was warm.

Parked back in the garage on very level ground to be sure and the oil level is still off the digital gauge.

Where is my oil going??? It’s not on the garage floor, did I really burn a quart or two on that one startup?

No cel or weird symptoms of driving conditions. It is very cold out though.

AOS may need to be replaced

The car has cooled a bit now. Oil is at the third bar. And halfway on the dipstick. Replaced the aos in 2014 with about 92k miles on the car. Now at 103 so aos should be fine I’d assume?

There have been bad AOS parts right out of the box. They can fail at any mileage.

Oil filler cap removal test results?

Hello Jake, you may want to get a manometer to check the vacuum, I believe this will tell you the health of the AOS...

Also thanks to BYprodriver.. now I do let the engine idle for 30-45 sec before shooting it down to allow the oil from the heads go back to the sump, allowing you a more accurate level reading.

Regarding the weather.. right now is really cold, like 59-60 :p

Nice tip Gilles, I'll try it as 'm experiencing similar oil level gremlins, with a new AOS.
Are manometers pricey?

The manometer that I have cost around $40.

Then get a spare oil cap and epoxy a tube though the cap. Connect to the manometer and you'll have a nice measurement tool.

many thanks, also for the oil cap tip, i'll try it.