No oil on HiLux dipstick

Submitted: Wednesday, Oct 24, 2012 at 17:30

ThreadID: 98702 Views:10194 Replies:7 FollowUps:3

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CraigB

I went away with a few mates on the weekend. Paul had just sold is meticulously maintained 2008 turbo diesel HiLux to Brendon the week before. Brendon has known Paul for years and knows that Paul always serviced the HiLux regularly every 5,000km and knew that it was serviced last less than 1,500 kms ago so he didn't bother to check under the bonnet before he left for the weekend.

Anyway to cut a long story short a cigarette socket stopped providing power for the GPS so Brendon parked on a level spot on the track, shut the engine off and opened the bonnet to check the fuse.

When he opened the bonnet his heart nearly sank lower than his ankles when he saw what he thought was oil splashed all over the engine bay.

So the first thing he did was to check the oil level on the dipstick - it didn't even register a drop! Panic started to set in.

Paul came over to see what was happening and as to why the bonnet was up on his previous pride and joy. In the 4 years Paul had owned it nothing had ever gone wrong.

Paul being the sort of mate he is even though the deal had been done with Brendon and the money paid had the car completely detailed inside and out just before Brendon picked it up. This included the engine bay.

Anyway after several checks of the dipstick (the one on the car) it indicated that there was no oil.

After checking underneath and all around no source of a leak could be found and no smoke was blowing out the back

Luckily another mate kept 4 ltrs as an emergency.

About a ltr was added - still nothing on the dipstick.

Another ltr was added - now just showing on the bottom mark of the dipstick.

So another ltr was added - the dipstick now indicated 1/2 full so it was left at that.

Anyway as soon as the car got home it went straight to the mechanic who was told of the dilemma.

He checked everything - no leaks but said it was now overfilled by 3 ltrs and that the "oil" sprayed all over the engine was a way over abundance of spray that the detailer used to make it look pretty.

The oil was drained and the correct amount was put back in the engine.

The question is why would the dipstick not show the correct amount of oil when it was checked out on the track an is this a common problem with HILux's?

Cheers
Craig

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Reply By: Rockape - Wednesday, Oct 24, 2012 at 18:05

Wednesday, Oct 24, 2012 at 18:05

Graig,
I saw the same thing happen to an old harvesting contractor at Richmond. He had a 4.2l turbo Patrol ute and had the exact same problem.

He had owned the ute for years and checked the oil when hot. No oil showing so he put 3 litres in to bring it up to half way on the dipstick. Drove to Richmond and the next morning he checked the oil and found it way over full. Guess what? He had to drain out 3 litres of oil.

RA.

AnswerID: 497287

Reply By: Tim R2 - Wednesday, Oct 24, 2012 at 21:06

Wednesday, Oct 24, 2012 at 21:06

Hey mate. I am a mechanic and let me tell you it is the same with all the later model hilux's. I have no idea what the reason is but it is incredibly frustrating!!!

AnswerID: 497306

Follow Up By: Member - David M (SA) - Wednesday, Oct 24, 2012 at 21:24

Wednesday, Oct 24, 2012 at 21:24

Something rings a bell about the dip stick housing being loose.
Dave.

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FollowupID: 773116

Reply By: Member - Joe T (NT) - Thursday, Oct 25, 2012 at 01:47

Thursday, Oct 25, 2012 at 01:47

The hilux D4D has a ridicules long dipstick that goes through an S bend, so when you pull the dipstick out it wipes itself clean, you need to carefully check both side of it.
On the first I got mine I asked the dealer if it was possible to change it to a straight dipstick, they said it was impossible to do it, I nearly asked for my money back.

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AnswerID: 497326

Follow Up By: CraigB - Thursday, Oct 25, 2012 at 08:26

Thursday, Oct 25, 2012 at 08:26

Another thing for the unwary is that when you have a dual battery set up in the D4D engined HiLux the positive terminal of the 2nd battery is pretty close to the housing for the dipstick.

So one needs to be pretty careful with the end flapping around of the long dipstick is when it is being withdrawn or inserted and to male sure that you have a protective cover over the terminal and its connections.

FollowupID: 773154

Reply By: Siringo - Thursday, Oct 25, 2012 at 10:38

Thursday, Oct 25, 2012 at 10:38

Years ago I put a hole through the sump of my Hiace van (we were out camping in the Grampians) Anyway, we stopped for a few minutes and i noticed oil dripping on the ground.

I looked back up the track and couldn't find any oil on the track anywhere.

My thought was that oil was only leaking when the engine was turned of as no oil was being sucked up out of the sump, so there was no oil in the sump to drip out as we drove along. I reckon if his sump was only half full, he may not have got a reading on the dipstick until after a while when all the oil had dripped back down through the motor and back into the sump.

That's why they always tell you to check engine oild cold.

AnswerID: 497345

Follow Up By: CraigB - Friday, Oct 26, 2012 at 08:41

Friday, Oct 26, 2012 at 08:41

No doubt checking the oil level when the vehicle is cold is the ideal way. But when you're on the side of a track after cliimbing a hill things are not always ideal.

Still by the time the engine was shut off and the first reading was taken certainly a few mins had passed which for most vehicles is sufficient time to let the oil settle and get a reasonably accurate reading.

However, it would have been at least 15 mins by the time the last reading was taken before the decision was made to add extra oil.

And after that amount of time still nothing was registering on the dipstick.

FollowupID: 773256

Reply By: SDG - Thursday, Oct 25, 2012 at 21:26

Thursday, Oct 25, 2012 at 21:26

On my bike it has a sight window to check oil. When cold the level of oil can be seen. When hot, empty. The oil is doing its job running around the engine, still enough in the sump, but not enough to register.
Could this be the same with the Hilux?
I have always been told to wait a while after turning engine off before checking levels. Give the oil a chance to seep back down into the sump where it can register. Might be designed to be slow, so as to keep the top lubricated.

AnswerID: 497397

Reply By: madfisher - Friday, Oct 26, 2012 at 22:13

Friday, Oct 26, 2012 at 22:13

The d4ds luxs are the worst vehicles to check oil levels on, quite often you also get diff readings on ea side of the dipstick.
Cheers pete

AnswerID: 497469

Reply By: Member - G.T. - Monday, Oct 29, 2012 at 13:07

Monday, Oct 29, 2012 at 13:07

The only way to check your oil level accurately is to leave overnight after using and then check on level ground before starting. Any other way can result in a inaccurate reading.

Many engines can `hide` the oil in nooks and crannies, and take a long time to drain back. OHC engines need a lot of oil up top. I had a M.G.C. (3 litre push rod engine) it would display the same symptoms as you have described after a run. The dip stick in most engines do not go into the engine far enough to give you a complete reading of how much oil there is, only indicate the upper level. Your oil pump pick up is still below the oil level in the sump. Also the oil pressure light or oil pressure gauge would be indicating that you have oil pressure or not! Regards G.T.

AnswerID: 497572