engine oil
How much engine oil does my car need? Whether you’re an expert DIYer or just starting out, there are some important questions we all ask ourselves every now and then, and Solution Oil is here to lend a helping hand!
You can estimate how much engine oil your car needs by counting the cylinders.
A four-cylinder engine consumes about 3.5 – 4.5 liters of oil
A six-cylinder engine requires about 4.5-5.5 liters of oil
An eight-cylinder engine consumes about 5.5 – 7.5 liters of oil
However, this is only an approximation.
To find out exactly how much engine oil your car needs, do one of the following:
Check the manual
Get the owner’s manual on your phone or get the paper version out of your glove compartment and find the information. It is usually listed under the routine maintenance section.
Buy Solution Oil motor oil
Check the Solution Oil product guide
You can skip the hassle and use our product guide to find out how much oil your car needs. Simply enter your vehicle information and under the engine oil recommendations you will find the engine oil capacity (circled in red below).
What if the oil level is too low?
This could be due to a number of issues including not enough oil added during the last oil change or oil usage. There are several reasons for oil consumption. But here are a few of the most common.
Leaking seals or gaskets – your engine uses seals in several places to ensure that oil stays in the engine while contaminants stay out. A good example is around the crankshaft, where it protrudes from the engine and connects to the transmission. Gaskets seal the uneven metal surfaces between parts to partially help keep oil in the engine. The cylinder head gasket is a remarkable example.
If the seals and gaskets become worn, brittle, or deformed over time, this can lead to oil leakage. The engine oil level will drop depending on the severity of the leak.
If your engine is leaking oil, go to a mechanic and have it repaired!
Volatility – engine oil can evaporate when exposed to heat. The less stable the oil is, the faster it will evaporate. While the engine is running, a thin film of oil will cover the cylinder wall and piston shell. Given the proximity of the fiery boiler in the combustion chamber, the oil in this part of the engine can easily volatilize or evaporate. The by-products can leave the exhaust as emissions. But they can also form harmful carbon deposits in the engine that reduce efficiency and eventually lead to engine failure. Synthetic motor oil is more resistant to volatility than conventional oil, so use a good quality synthetic oil to reduce oil consumption due to volatility and to keep your engine clean.
What should I do if the oil level is too high?
Just too much oil was added the last time the oil was changed or topped up.
Too much engine oil is a bad thing. The rotating crankshaft and rotating engine parts blow air into the oil, which can cause foam. The tiny bubbles travel between moving parts, where they rupture. When they do, there is nothing left to protect metal surfaces from wear and tear. Foam also increases heat, causing the oil to break down chemically more quickly.
If the crankcase is overfilled, drain the excess engine oil until the correct level is reached.
Increased oil levels can also be due to fuel dilution. This is when fuel enters the crankcase and contaminates the oil. In severe cases, enough fuel can enter the crankcase to increase the oil level noticeably. This is bad. Very bad. Fuel dilution leads to sludge, paint and engine wear.
The presence of coolant in the oil can also increase the oil level. Again, this is bad. Anytime something is present that shouldn’t be in your engine oil, the wear protection suffers. Coolant in the oil is likely due to a bad head gasket, which is a costly repair.
One last piece of advice: check your oil at least monthly to ensure the correct level. Make sure the vehicle is parked on a level surface to get an accurate reading. Finding out that the oil is too low or too high before something goes wrong can save you a lot of grief in the long run.
Solution Oil is ready for you
Would you like free advice on how much engine oil your car needs? Then feel free to contact our experts. We would love to help you.