no oil on dip stick=

[jamesmetairie]

1998 base lumina 3.1 litre.
240,000 miles . Usually runs great.
burns almost no oil between oil changes.

most recent change was about 3500 miles ago.
Yesterday when I checked the dip stick it had just a little oil showing on the bottom of the dip stick.
'I ran the motor and checked it a few more times. same thing.
Then I put about 2.5 quarts in it and drove about 25 miles.
Then when I checked it appeared to have about 2 quarts too much on the dip stick.
Question = would a bad oil filter cause that or what?
Check engine light is on. Auto Zone says the "EGR" is messed up.

I changed the oil and filter today and the stickl level looks ok now.
I did notice the used oil was very dirty.
Thanks for any advice.

[maxwedge]

Possible clogged oil returns in the upper engine?

[jamesmetairie]

would marvel mystery oil or a similiar product clean it?

[maxwedge]

Chancey, if the engine is sludged up you may be loosening up the gunk and now you would have a worse problem.

[Schurkey]

Originally Posted by jamesmetairie

'I ran the motor and checked it a few more times. same thing.

How long after the engine was shut off did you wait?

Was the vehicle on level ground when checking?

[Blue Bowtie]

Originally Posted by Schurkey

How long after the engine was shut off did you wait?

Was the vehicle on level ground when checking?

I hope the wait was no more than a few seconds. The dipstick on the 60° V-6 probes into the edge of the oil pan. That's the same place the oil pump pickup resides. Driving along at 65 MPH at arguably 2,100 RPM the oi pump will move almost 6 GPM. Given that the stock sump is supposed to have 4½ quarts that means the oil pump empties the pan every 11 seconds. Of course, the oil pump never empties the pan since oil is constantly draining back. If it takes more than 11 seconds to drain back the oil pump would suck air and the engine would eventually seize.

If the oil cannot be reliably checked as soon as the hood is opened and dipstick wiped off, there is a problem. Using a cleaner may help, but cleaning can be accomplished with routine oil changes using good quality oil, good oil filters, and a functioning PCV. If there are severe deposits it is safest to remove the rocker covers and manually remove the accumulations and cleaning of the drain passages through the head drains and into the lifter valley. Removing the intake to clean the lifter valley would require a lot of effort for minimal gain since the valley is opened to the sump at several large locations around the lobes making it almost impossible to fill them with sludge.

[rhandwor]

I would plan on upgrading your vehicle before repair costs start going up drastically.

[j cAT]

THE DIP STICK HAD OIL ON THE BOTTOM THAT WOULD MEAN 1.5qts LOW. you put 1QT too much . if the oil takes like 30 min to drain back on level ground or more to get a accurate reading this may mean the head drain back holes are dirty. using dino oil on too long oil changes will do it. also if the engine temp is too low and a bad PCV system as this sucks out the moisture created in the engine esp in cold temps with high humidity. put some MMO in it like 5 OZ. see how well it runs and check the oil for discoloration ..if the oil gets dirty after the MMO then change the oil again to remove the sludge. worn engines do this from the worn piston rings and other stuff..

[jamesmetairie]

update=
I changed the oil and filter.
Then did a 1000 mile road trip, running up to 80 mph.
no problems and got usual good mpg,s (29 hwy.)with a/c on.
burned about a 1/2 quart of oil.

no smoking visible at any time.

LOL
I,ll settle for that.