Tonight I changed the oil in the daily driver, my '85 MR2. The engine holds about 3.6 quarts. This is the first oil change since I dropped the pan some while back to fix some serious oil leaks. I have been very pleased to find that it no longer uses oil even with 258,000 miles on the clock. I checked the oil about 200 miles prior to this oil change and it wasn't down a drop.

When I drained it tonight, I probably didn't even get two quarts out! It has been running fine and the oil gauge has been showing pressure at all times. It is certainly not leaking any more, so where did one and a half quarts go in 200 miles?! It certainly didn't burn it because it has never done so before and certainly isn't making any plumes of smoke now either. This happened once before about 2-3 years ago and I've never figured it out. The oil filter is way to small to be holding more than about a half pint of oil. It does have an engine oil cooler but it is very small, probably only holds about a pint at any given time.

Where did the oil go?

On the other side of the coin, I changed the oil in the wife's Prelude the other night and had a hard time getting it full! It holds just under 5 quarts. I got 5 in and it still wasn't to the top of the dip stick mark. I put in about 5.25 quarts in all before it registered full. I checked it the other day after she had driven to work a couple of times and now it registers slightly over full. I wonder if I have a drainback restriction of some sort? I've never been inside the engine any further than a timing belt.

?????

Tonight I changed the oil in the daily driver, my '85 MR2. The engine holds about 3.6 quarts. This is the first oil change since I dropped the pan some while back to fix some serious oil leaks. I have been very pleased to find that it no longer uses oil even with 258,000 miles on the clock. I checked the oil about 200 miles prior to this oil change and it wasn't down a drop.

When I drained it tonight, I probably didn't even get two quarts out! It has been running fine and the oil gauge has been showing pressure at all times. It is certainly not leaking any more, so where did one and a half quarts go in 200 miles?! It certainly didn't burn it because it has never done so before and certainly isn't making any plumes of smoke now either. This happened once before about 2-3 years ago and I've never figured it out. The oil filter is way to small to be holding more than about a half pint of oil. It does have an engine oil cooler but it is very small, probably only holds about a pint at any given time.

Where did the oil go? Maybe you have a new leak, but only when the engine is running. Did you check underneath the car?

On the other side of the coin, I changed the oil in the wife's Prelude the other night and had a hard time getting it full! It holds just under 5 quarts. I got 5 in and it still wasn't to the top of the dip stick mark. I put in about 5.25 quarts in all before it registered full. I checked it the other day after she had driven to work a couple of times and now it registers slightly over full. I wonder if I have a drainback restriction of some sort? I've never been inside the engine any further than a timing belt.

????? Could be a drainback restriction of some sort. Was the car level? Was the engine cold when you poured the oil in? These could have a effect too.

Did you change the oil when the engine was warm? Perhaps the oil is inside the engine and hasnt drained back down completely. Quick lubes see this kind of thing all the time.

On the MR2 the engine was hot but it had sat for about 15 minutes (had to let the dogs out, read the mail, etc.) so it had more than enough time to drain down. It was on a level surface inside my garage. The MR2 is completely dry underneath. Ever since I dropped the pan and resealed it I've been paranoid a new larger leak would occur, but none has. The engine has a belly pan that covers much of the engine so if it was leaking at any point it would show on the belly pan. Absolutely no spots on the driveway where I park it.

On the Prelude it was cold but level. Cold or hot I've never had to wait more than a few seconds for new oil to register on the dip stick. But being cold (it was still 85 degrees out) perhaps it took a little longer to drain down. I can understand this one, but the MR2 issue still has me baffled. I checked the oil again and it is not overfull as it might be if I hadn't gotten all the oil drained out. In fact, after I started it after the oil change I checked the oil again 30 minutes later and it was a little low so I added more to get it to the top dipstick mark.