giosoccer20

I bought my '00 z28 m6 in august. Had the oil changed by sears right away at around 12.5k miles. It's now been 3k miles since the change, and tonight, out of nowhere, when I started the car after work at 8pm the low oil light came on.

I want to note that tonight has been the coldest temperature I've had to start the engine. The car runs great, oil pressure is good. What could be the problem? I checked the oil level like 30 min ago, on a somewhat warm engine, and it was in fact low. I'm thinking that there is a good chance that Sears effed up, and never even put the proper amount of oil in the first place? Since my oil pressure is fine, should I go ahead and use 5w30 synthetic to top up, and not bother with going to a thicker oil? Coolant was flushed with the oil change back in August, and minus some brown stuff on the dipstick, the coolant looked bright green and not contaminated. I've also noticed no leaks significant enough to cause a dramatic enough loss of oil to trigger the low oil light, if enough oil was actually put in. I'm starting to really hate Sears auto, they couldn't do a damn wheel balancing right...and now I'm thinking they did this poorly as well

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

After 3,000 miles its pretty normal to see 1/2 to 1 quart low. That low sensor won't trigger a light till you are like 2 1/2 quarts low. Maybe the sensor took a ****. It happened to me once. Put a new sensor in to make the light go out.

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blackbirdls1

iTrader: (5)

Could just be normal LS1 oil consumption, this happens to me if I Drive it past 4k on synthetic. Btw a lot of big shops like that do so many oil changes in a day, that little details sometimes aren't paid attention to, just saying.

giosoccer20

hmmm.. that's all very interesting stuff right there. obviously i'll be checking the oil on a truly cold engine tomorrow morning. Would there even be any oil on the dipstick if I were 2 1/2 quarts low on oil?

giosoccer20

if i take it to my mechanic for an oil change, I should specify 5.5 quarts correct? 6 is overfilling

blackbirdls1

iTrader: (5)

5.5 with the normal filter, you can squeeze 6 in there with the truck sized filter, a little over 5.5 won't hurt though.

JDEP162

took it to sears for an oil change? are u a housewife in 1983 whose husband is out of town?

ZEEYAL8R

LOL, just one more reason why i always always do my own work, and if its a big job, over my head, i do it with the guidance of someone who knows better. nobody cares about your car like you do. BUT my wife changed my oil in the z a few weeks ago while it was on the lift and i was working on something else.... =-)

giosoccer20

Hahaha yeahhh yeahhh laugh it up. I've never been able to change my own oil because I've never had jack stands, believe it or not. I do my own work though. Just replaced the window motor this weekend, and have done plenty of other things on my previous cars/bikes. So, I'm no housewife!!! Loll. No offense taken

giosoccer20

Just added a quart of oil. Oil low light Is gone, so the sensor is good. Also checked the coolant and it is clean, so I don't have a hg problem because I have no other symptons of any sort of head gasket failure. After the added quart, it is In the operational range, but only just. I'm thinking that Sears didn't put quite enough in, in addition to the normal oil consumption of these cars. Regardless, I'll be keeping an eye on the oil level

And, YES, I will finally invest in jack stands and start to change the oil myself

lt1pwr1

iTrader: (1)

Just be thankful these cars have low oil lights. 99% of cars these days do not.

Also, you really should be checking your oil more than every 3K miles anyways. Make it a habit to check it once a week.

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

Sure you have an LS1 oil dipstick in there.....?

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JDEP162

good i meant no real insult, that line just came to me and i had to say it. i take mine to places sometime for **** i dont have tools for too.

giosoccer20

ummm, I believe so? it has a small yellow circle handle. feels like it corckscrews in nicely and fits snug