A question for Jeep owners

[NoBanStan]

I'm looking at a 2010 Wrangler Unlimited Mountain Edition that's owned by a family friend with 76k miles on it. It's in great shape, drives well, 4 wheel drive works. Not a single pop clank or shimmy to be heard (trust me, I tried).

 

My only reservation is when I checked the oil. It had been sitting on flat surface, cold, for hours. The dipstick was almost bone dry after several re-dips. When I turned the engine on and let it idle for a minute, the oil is now about 1/4 up the dipstick. I asked the owner and he just said "yeah, that's how it does, it scared me the first time I checked it, but there's 7 quarts in there". He said that he's due a change on Tuesday and the Jeep dealership service sticker show's he's right over 3,000 miles.

 

Anyone ever notice this on a Jeep? Perhaps it's a quart low and that's not enough to register on the dipstick cold? I just don't want to buy this thing and find out it's burning oil. It's certainly not leaking out, I know where he parks it and there's not a drop on the driveway.

 

Also I realize we have a sister Jeep site, but I don't know those guys :)

[TGO David]

Unless someone has changed the oil pan to something with a deeper than OEM sump, or has replaced the dipstick, that Jeep with the proper amount  of oil in it should show oil in the "SAFE" zone on the dipstick even when checked cold.

[peejman]

Yep, engine oil doesn't expand that much when warmed up. 

 

Stick your finger in the tail pipe.  :stunned:     If there's oily residue, it has a problem. 

[NoBanStan]

Unless someone has changed the oil pan to something with a deeper than OEM sump, or has replaced the dipstick, that Jeep with the proper amount of oil in it should show oil in the "SAFE" zone on the dipstick even when checked cold.

I've never seen a vehicle that behaved any different than what you just said. I was hoping it might be a jeep thing.

I guess I could take it to a mechanic to see if it's been damaged. I really want it to work because it's very clean and he only wants $16,000 (Blue book value is $24,000) but not if the engine is jacked up.

[hkusp40cal]

Not sure if this is still the case but the owners manual states for the JK:

 

"Checking Oil Level
To assure proper lubrication of your vehicle’s engine, the engine oil must be maintained at the correct level. The engine oil level should be checked five minutes after a warmed up engine has been shut off."

[TGO David]

Not sure if this is still the case but the owners manual states for the JK:

 

"Checking Oil Level
To assure proper lubrication of your vehicle’s engine, the engine oil must be maintained at the correct level. The engine oil level should be checked five minutes after a warmed up engine has been shut off."

 

 

All manuals state that.  Oil should still show on the dipstick if it's the appropriate level.  When you warm the vehicle up, the oil level actually DROPS on the dipstick because oil has been pulled up into the crankcase.

[Shorty]

Not sure if they fixed it in newer 3.8L, but some older JKS had a sepage issue due to the aluminum they used for the timing cover being too porous. He could have very well filled it properly and now it's low. There was a TSB about it. http://project-jk.com/jeep-jk-tsb-recalls/tsb-38l-engine-oil-seepage-due-to-front-timing-cover-surface-porosity Edited September 11, 2015 by Shorty

[TNWNGR]

It's a concern but not a deal breaker as I've seen low oil readings before that varied due to environmental conditions. Check the tail pipes, valve covers and crawl up under it and look for leaks. Then for peace of mind pay a good mechanic to check it out.

[bersaguy]

I have an older Jeep Cherokee with the 4.0 High Output engine and my manual says to check the oil before startup first thing in the morning to get accurate oil level reading. The only oil leak my jeep has ever had was once I had a leak at the oil filter adapter. O'Ring was leaking. Had my son fix it and has never leaked since. I do also know that with some of the newer synthetic oils on the market, they do not react like Fossil base oils and do not expand as much. You might want to find out what brand of oil he is using in his Jeep..............jmho 

[NoBanStan]

It's a concern but not a deal breaker as I've seen low oil readings before that varied due to environmental conditions. Check the tail pipes, valve covers and crawl up under it and look for leaks. Then for peace of mind pay a good mechanic to check it out.

 

I took a crawl underneath with my flashlight looking for drips and runs. I didn't see anything at all. I told the owner this is a concern for me. He's due an oil change anyways so he said he would have it checked out for me.

[bud]

. Edited September 28, 2015 by bud

[EssOne]

$8,000 off book......that's a 33% price reduction on a very popular car......I second what bud said.

[hipower]

Heck, even if you pay for the oil change, it's worth it to be sure on the vehicle.

[NoBanStan]

To conclude this topic, the owner took the jeep in for service. The mechanic's report shows that it was 1 quart low and says "advised customer that jeep has technical bulletins pertaining to oil consumption of these vehicles". 

 

Regardless, I'm spooked and passing on it. 

[NoBanStan]

So I left out that I found a new Jeep and i'm picking it up tomorrow.

 

This left me with the task of cleaning out my 14 year old Ranger. I've complained about driving it for years. It's beat up and not much to look at. Frankly I'm surprised I can trade it in While cleaning it out I found the original booklets in the glove box and that sparked the memory of how I got it. I was 22 years old and I was getting married in July. The only credit I had was when I bought my fiance an engagement ring. I didn't even have a career. My first car from when I was a teenager was falling apart. My Dad told me that I needed to get a new car. Something that would last me awhile. My fiance was scared to death that I was taking on a car payment right before the wedding. But my dad insisted, did the haggling and co-signed for me.

 

I lost my dad back in 2006 to a massive heart attack. So here I am, at 36, just now preparing to trade off this truck that my dad helped me buy. He was always there for me, but that was the last major thing that he helped me with before I went off to learn what adulthood meant. 

 

It's time to move ahead and while I know it's just a truck,.. it's like I'm giving away a piece of my history.

 

Thanks dad, I miss you.

[WarPig]

JK's do that. My TJ wasn't as bad but it ALWAYS showed little to no oil in it unless the engine was warm. Design flaw I guess. I changed the oil on mine myself every 3 months (it didn't get 3-4k a quarter) and even with a little extra oil than recommended to test it and it still showed there wasn't much in when the engine was cold.