I recently bought a 2003 Intrepid with a 2.7 liter engine. I noticed that the oil was low. I changed it and the owner's manual says it takes 5 quarts with a new filter. After adding 5 quarts, it needed another quart according to the dipstick. I added a 6th quart. Has anyone run into this? Do I have the wrong dipstick in the engine?

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74LT 350/4spd Midnight blue metallic w/black interior

Some engines might take a bit for the oil to drain back to the pan. I'd simply check it first thing in the moring to see how overfull it is.

Those cars usually hold anywhere from 5.25-5.75 qts. When you pour oil out of a bottle, you won't ever get 100% out of them. At my shop we usually warm the empty bottles which makes the oil "let go" of the inside the bottle and you can get more out of them.

what I always do with my LeBaron is to put enough oil in to get the oil between 'add' and 'full' on the dipstick, then start the motor and let it idle for a minute to check for leaks, make sure the filter is full, and check that it still builds pressure. Then, I come back the next morning and add oil to get it to the full line. That way I know I've got the right amount in there. Just put the jug of oil on the drivers seat so you don't forget!

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-'77 Camaro - 357, home-ported heads and intake, Q-jet, headers, hyper flattops, ~8.5:1, 3.42 gears, 214/224 cam, 112LSA, rear discs coming soon
-'92 LeBaron LX sedan - all family owned, great daily driver and highway cruiser. 52mm TB, rear discs swapped. 5-sp swap in the works.
-'70 Camaro - 350, 4-sp, needs work, lotsa fun
-'65 Nova - 230 I6, 3 on the tree, nothing power. HEI swap. 5sp and 4 wheel discs in the works.

Although I let the bottles drain pretty well, there's no way the oil clinging to the side could account for a quart. In the hundreds of oil changes I've done on different vehicles, I've never used more than 5 quarts. What GoldenOne says makes sense. I just don't understand why the owner's manual says 5 quarts. Well, I'll just use 6 quarts for an oil change. No big deal, it just seemed strange.

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74LT 350/4spd Midnight blue metallic w/black interior