Oil Level Varies on Dipstick - 97 Outback

[ZigZag97]

Checking the oil is a no-brainer, except in my son's 1997 Outback. For example, this morning he checked the oil before a road trip. The car had sat, level, over night. Dipstick reading: almost none on the dipstick -- about 1/4 of an inch on the tip. He put in a quart, which bright it up to half-way between full and low. That's all the oil we had, so he drove 3 miles to the nearest store, bought some oil, and -- before adding any -- checked the level again. Reading: Right at the full mark. He did not add any oil. After driving 75 miles, and letting the car sit, level, for 15 minutes, the level was way over the full line.

 

This nothing new to me. I've noticed this "Subaru feature" since 1999, when I bought the car. In searching this forum and others for an answer, I've found a couple of folks who think this variable oil level reading is related to the sealing of the dipstck tube.

 

Anyone here have the same problem? And an answer?

[Numbchux]

Well, since you are dumping oil in at the top of the valve cover, it takes some time for it to settle in to the oil pan. The trip to the store re-circulated it, and was not likely long enough to get it up to temperature, so it would have taken some time for it to settle in the pan again. The 75 mile trip, however, was enough to get the oil up to operating temperature, so it settled almost immediately once the engine was off.

 

 

 

That does seem like more than a quart difference, but not impossible.

 

 

Really, the only other explanation I can think of, is that there is another fluid getting in the oil that was not there before......which would probably mean the head gasket blew on that 75 mile trip.

[Rooster2]

I am concerned that oil passage ways are clogged up, so oil is not circulating properly. Is it possible that oil was not changed regularily in this car? If so, the old oil turned to a semi-solid crud, and preventing good oil circulation. I would advise removing one of the valve covers to see just how clean the inside of the engine is.

[ZigZag97]

The oil in the Sub was changed maybe 2,000 miles ago. This isn't a new phenomenon -- dipstick readngs have always been odd. I've been checking the oil in various cars since my first one, a 1964 pontian Tempest wagon, and I still have a 1970 International Harvester pickup and a 1992 Ford Explorer. (My wife has a 2012 Subaru Outback -- very nice!) In all of my cars except that 97 Outback, checking the oil is elementary.

[Gloyale]

May not be the whole issue but hot oil expands about 1~2 %

 

Otherwise I think the oil you put in stayed in the valve cover, and didn't all flow to the pan until after the trip.