ok so this may be a really dumb or obvious question but....

I have an 82 Gl wagon with a EA81 and if i check the oil level while it the engine is cool and has not been driven in awhile it shows full

but if i check it at the gas station it shows it needs a quart

Which one do i go off of???

I am running synthetic oil

Maybe it is a Dumb way to Answer, but: The car is Placed in a Flat Ground while you check the Oil Level? ...

I Ask you that, ´cos I knew a case of a boy who checked his Car´s oil level in his Garage, with a 10º on the Floor... :-\

Also: Let your car´s engine "rest" for a While in the Gas Station before check it, it not only lets it cool down a Li´l Bit; it also lets the amount of Oil that will remain on the Valve´s train, to find its way down to the carter again, so You´ll check it more accurate.

Good Luck!

Especially that last part. If you check your oil right after you turn off your car a bit of it is still not in the oil pan, it needs to rest a minute to drain back down. The car should be warm and on a level surface, but not just turned off warm.

ya it was on flat surface

but should it be such a big fluxation of oil just in the valve train if i have just turn it off?

there is only one way to find out. Let it sit for a few minutes, THEN check it. Get out, pay for your gas, pump, finish pumping, then check your oil just before re starting.

 

It is best to check the level when the oil is warm. After turning off the engine, wait a few minutes for the oil to drain back into the oil pan before checking the level.

 

It is a boxer engine, after all, and not an inline.. it takes some time for it all to drip back down.

If it reads full when sitting over night on a flat surface, it has enough oil.

I've noticed it takes longer than just a few minutes for the oil to completely drop back into the pan... more like ten

 

Then again, if you're topping off the good old 16 gallon tank from empty (our gas pumps here get slow some times) its more than enough waiting time, to check oil right afterwards

 

Me personally, I just check it in the morning after the car's been sitting, just to be 100% sure

If it reads full when sitting over night on a flat surface, it has enough oil.

 

+1

that's pretty much the bottom line...

 

~Erik~