Strange Oil Change Issue - SR20DET - Zilvia.net Forums | Nissan 240SX (Silvia) and Z (Fairlady) Car Forum

zreader · 09-06-2016, 12:29 AM

have a 96 silvia k's, sr20det, also probably relevant, the car has an hks r-type oil cooler with filter relocation. did my first oil change since getting the car and ran into an odd issue...

if i've read correctly, an oil change should be about 3.7L of oil, and the oil cooler system could be another 0.5 to 1L or so all by itself, so i was expecting to drain 3.7-4.7L of oil. only about 2.2L came out...

ill describe my process, hopefully someone can let me know where i've gone wrong or what im missing. first i fired up the car and let it run for about 5 min to let it warm a little bit as i drove it up on to ramps and then jacked the front of the car up and placed the jack stands. my understanding is that this to warm up the oil and so it thins out and flows easier when draining. maybe i could have let it warm up to operating temperature? idk?

after shutting it off, i opened the fill cap then got under the car and undid the drain plug and oil filter and let it drain for a bit until there was a very slow drip. proceeded to jack up the rear of the car to get it even, it drained a little more for a bit until a slow drip again, lowered the rear and brought the jack over to the side opposite the drain hole and lifted that side and a little more oil drained out for a bit until a slow drip again. overall it was draining for a good bit of time, idk 15-30 min?

i actually contacted hks since i've never owned a car w/ an oil cooler before and it came on my car, they advised that the oil change process doesn't change and the oil cooler drains into the sump anyway.

anyway i proceed to put in the new oil filter and oil drain plug and put in some fresh redline 10w50. after 3 qts, or about 2.8L i decide to check on the dipstick and wtf its way over the H line! how can this be?? by the way i also confirmed w/ hks that the oil cooler and filter relocation kit won't affect my dipstick reading so that should still be reliable, but i should need to add about 0.5-1L more oil than standard.

at this point thinking through the process i go ahead and check out how much oil came out and discovered only about 2.2L was drained. even if i had let the car sit for another day i don't think im going to make up that 1.5 to 2.5L of oil...

anyways that's my saga. its my first SR20DET, my first car w/ an oil cooler on it, so im definitely a noob in a couple of ways and i dont want to f this thing up. my expectation going into this was that it shouldn't be any different from any other oil change i've done, but something is definitely not right here, or maybe it's just been too long since ive last done an oil change (it has been a long time) and hopefully it's something obvious.

thanks for reading! please help!

Kingtal0n · 09-07-2016, 04:50 PM

I avoid coolers for lots of reasons (unless its absolutely necessary and then I would want an accumulator). This might be one of them. It sounds like something with the cooler is installed wrong. Usually at least 3Q will sit in the pan, and come running out (3 to 3.5Quarts) within 30 seconds to a minute when I do my changes.

Nissan2nr22 · 09-08-2016, 11:04 AM

I mean if youre worried about burning oil check your dipstick every day at the end of the day and see if in a month you're seriously low.

If youre worried about leaks, check under the car where its parked.

Thats your solution for "oil disappearing" assumption

If its not the problems above its clearly getting stuck inside the car and not draining, you can buy more oil and run it through if youre OCD and want 100% clean oil

I usually just do oil changes every 3000 miles with OEM filters and not worry about anything like it getting stuck there or not flushing eventually itll run through

zreader · 09-09-2016, 02:47 AM

thanks guys for the responses!

hadn't thought about burning oil or leaking either. only 2.5qts came out but 3qts went in and according to the dipstick, the oil level was a bit over the high mark whereas it was normal prior to draining.

not so much worried about clean vs dirty oil, just that i've never done an oil change where relatively so little oil came out during draining. is that just normal for the sr20?

09-06-2016, 12:29 AM	#1
zreader Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: Japan Posts: 4 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	Strange Oil Change Issue - SR20DET have a 96 silvia k's, sr20det, also probably relevant, the car has an hks r-type oil cooler with filter relocation. did my first oil change since getting the car and ran into an odd issue... if i've read correctly, an oil change should be about 3.7L of oil, and the oil cooler system could be another 0.5 to 1L or so all by itself, so i was expecting to drain 3.7-4.7L of oil. only about 2.2L came out... ill describe my process, hopefully someone can let me know where i've gone wrong or what im missing. first i fired up the car and let it run for about 5 min to let it warm a little bit as i drove it up on to ramps and then jacked the front of the car up and placed the jack stands. my understanding is that this to warm up the oil and so it thins out and flows easier when draining. maybe i could have let it warm up to operating temperature? idk? after shutting it off, i opened the fill cap then got under the car and undid the drain plug and oil filter and let it drain for a bit until there was a very slow drip. proceeded to jack up the rear of the car to get it even, it drained a little more for a bit until a slow drip again, lowered the rear and brought the jack over to the side opposite the drain hole and lifted that side and a little more oil drained out for a bit until a slow drip again. overall it was draining for a good bit of time, idk 15-30 min? i actually contacted hks since i've never owned a car w/ an oil cooler before and it came on my car, they advised that the oil change process doesn't change and the oil cooler drains into the sump anyway. anyway i proceed to put in the new oil filter and oil drain plug and put in some fresh redline 10w50. after 3 qts, or about 2.8L i decide to check on the dipstick and wtf its way over the H line! how can this be?? by the way i also confirmed w/ hks that the oil cooler and filter relocation kit won't affect my dipstick reading so that should still be reliable, but i should need to add about 0.5-1L more oil than standard. at this point thinking through the process i go ahead and check out how much oil came out and discovered only about 2.2L was drained. even if i had let the car sit for another day i don't think im going to make up that 1.5 to 2.5L of oil... anyways that's my saga. its my first SR20DET, my first car w/ an oil cooler on it, so im definitely a noob in a couple of ways and i dont want to f this thing up. my expectation going into this was that it shouldn't be any different from any other oil change i've done, but something is definitely not right here, or maybe it's just been too long since ive last done an oil change (it has been a long time) and hopefully it's something obvious. thanks for reading! please help!

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09-07-2016, 04:50 PM	#2
Kingtal0n Post Whore! Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: South Florida Age: 41 Posts: 4,829 Trader Rating: (17) Feedback Score: 17 reviews	I avoid coolers for lots of reasons (unless its absolutely necessary and then I would want an accumulator). This might be one of them. It sounds like something with the cooler is installed wrong. Usually at least 3Q will sit in the pan, and come running out (3 to 3.5Quarts) within 30 seconds to a minute when I do my changes.

09-08-2016, 11:04 AM	#3
Nissan2nr22 Nissanaholic! Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: USA Posts: 1,627 Trader Rating: (30) Rides Gallery: Nissan2nr22 Feedback Score: 30 reviews	I mean if youre worried about burning oil check your dipstick every day at the end of the day and see if in a month you're seriously low. If youre worried about leaks, check under the car where its parked. Thats your solution for "oil disappearing" assumption If its not the problems above its clearly getting stuck inside the car and not draining, you can buy more oil and run it through if youre OCD and want 100% clean oil I usually just do oil changes every 3000 miles with OEM filters and not worry about anything like it getting stuck there or not flushing eventually itll run through

09-09-2016, 02:47 AM	#4
zreader Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: Japan Posts: 4 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	thanks guys for the responses! hadn't thought about burning oil or leaking either. only 2.5qts came out but 3qts went in and according to the dipstick, the oil level was a bit over the high mark whereas it was normal prior to draining. not so much worried about clean vs dirty oil, just that i've never done an oil change where relatively so little oil came out during draining. is that just normal for the sr20?