Oil Change ... EMPTY!!!!!!!!!
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New User
Joined: Jan 2002
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From: Royal Oak, Oakland County
Oil Change ... EMPTY!!!!!!!!!
Wife took our 98 expy. to get the oil changed ( was at 4500k) and they told her it was empty! The oil pressure gage said otherwise. 115k miles on it. Anyone experience this? Any ideas? Please respond! We are leaving from Detroit to go to North Carolina and now I am a little concerned!
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Joined: Nov 2004
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From: Louisville, KY
If it was mine ....... I'd load her back up with oil and a new filter ...... put maybe 500 miles or so on it and change it again to flush out the "sludge" and then just say your prayers ........... drive it till it spits out parts .......... then make a decision.
99 Navi Guy ..... (76000 miles - 5.4L 32V - 4X4 - 3.73LS - LLS - 17" Wheels)
99 Navi Guy ..... (76000 miles - 5.4L 32V - 4X4 - 3.73LS - LLS - 17" Wheels)
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Check online for a couple of oil change shops (or if you prefer, a dealership) along your route. Stop in and drop the $25 after a few hundred miles for another oil change, mainly to give yourself peace of mind. Make it a planned stop, grab gas, a bite to eat, pee breaks, whatever. Have you noticed anything at all out of place with the truck in the last thousand miles? Smoke from the tailpipe, rough running, running hot, strange noises, knocking, anything? I'll agree that opening the drain plug after 4500 miles and getting literally nothing out is a bit strange, but I suppose it could be due to some slow burn off past the rings on a 115K engine.
Trying to be an optimist here. Was it truly dry in there? Nothing out of the plug or out of the filter? Maybe the last place skimped on the refill?
Trying to be an optimist here. Was it truly dry in there? Nothing out of the plug or out of the filter? Maybe the last place skimped on the refill?
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I had the same issue with my Expy. After 5000 miles I had the oil changed and the oil only hit the bottom of the dip stick. I waited another 5000 did it again and the same thing. I was told that either is a slow leak somewhere (I had it checked and they found nothing) or these pieces of shiiiiii burns up oil. I just make sure I change the oil every 3500 miles and its good... BTW it's a 00 XLT
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From: Royal Oak, Oakland County
Thanks alot for all the help. I will plan on making a stop along the way.
The dipstick would read "bone dry" but the pressure was good. Baffling. I will just change more frequently and hope for the best.
The dipstick would read "bone dry" but the pressure was good. Baffling. I will just change more frequently and hope for the best.
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From: Royal Oak, Oakland County
To Saltzy...
It runs fine. Very slight ping on start up and then its ok, no smoke or anything. Guy underneath at oil change shop said there were no leaks, and some oil did drain out. Dipstick just read blank.
It runs fine. Very slight ping on start up and then its ok, no smoke or anything. Guy underneath at oil change shop said there were no leaks, and some oil did drain out. Dipstick just read blank.
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It's good that some did drain out. With a dry dipstick, it just means that you were "low" (obviously). The 5.4 engine holds what, 6 quarts of oil? If the truck hadn't had time to let the oil drain back down into the pan, that would account for a little bit. If your last oil change only barely got the oil above the "MIN" mark on the dipstick, that would account for a little more. There had to be some in the filter too, right? And on a 115k motor, it's not unheard of to burn a half quart or more of oil in ~5000 miles. It all might account for the 2+ or so quarts you were probably low, yet still had enough in there to keep the pressure up.
In the absence of other symptoms, if your next change looks good (assuming the dipstick properly reads right now between the MIN and MAX marks) you're probably safe. Good luck!
In the absence of other symptoms, if your next change looks good (assuming the dipstick properly reads right now between the MIN and MAX marks) you're probably safe. Good luck!
