Sorry to post a stupid question, but here is my scenario. I recently changed the oil in my wife's 2006 S40 2.4 NA and added the reccomended 6.1 quarts of oil and noticed the dipstick was showing low. Seeing how I had just changed the oil I assumed the dipstick was showing low because the head was retaining oil. After several days I rechecked the oil (after sitting overnight and on a flat surface)and it is still showing 1qt low. Am I missing something? (besides 1qt of oil). It is not leaking and I am positive I added 6.1 qts. What shall I do? The obvious answer is add a qt but I wanted to make sure I wasn't misunderstanding something. I am just a little gun shy to add 1qt w/out making sure I wasn't misunderstanding something. Thanks in advance.

 

Since you did the oil change yourself, I would assume that you followeda proper procedure when checking oil.
I had my toyota truck (3.4L V6) that required 5.5 quarts of engine oil with filter. I put in about 5.5 and I started the engine and turned it off after about 2 minutes. I checked the oil level and it was low. I was thinking this can't be happening. I added about 0.7 quart more. It was at full. I drove the car for a while and check the oil level and it was more than enough. So I had to drain a little bit.
If you added the recommended 6.1, test drive it and turn off the engine and check the oil level.

When you checked the oil after sitting over night and on a flat surface, did you happen to start the engine?
when I check my oil in the morning without having started the engine, it shows one quart low.

 

The correct capacity is 6.1 quarts with approx 1 quart difference between Max & Min.One thought would be that the dipstick is the wrong one for the car. That would be highly unlikely on a car of its age.

On the one occasion I did have this problem I drained the oil into a clean container and re-measured it. I had made a mistake.

I have been driving since 1961, don't profess to know everything about cars but find it hard to understand how the oil quantity in the sump increases by starting the engine. If the engine has been run then 10 - 15 minutes must elapse after switching it off before checking the oil to get an accurate reading. If it is checked before that time then you will get a false low reading, or, if you are not wiping the dipstick clean and re-dipping it you will get a false high reading.

 

The oil quantity does not increase by starting the engine. When I check the oil level in the morning before I start the car, It's at low mark. After the engine is warmed up, it's at full mark. The difference between low mark and full mark is about 1 quart. For certain vehicles, you don't have to wait 10 to 15 minutes to get the accurate reading. You can warm up the enigne, turn it off, then check the reading.
And of course, you get a false reading when you just take out the dipstick for the first time and measure the oil level. You have to wipe it out and dip it again and take it out and then measure the oil level.

 

by the way, 2.4l 5 cylinder engine that takes up about 6 quarts is news to me.

I have 2.9L 6 cylinder 960 and it takes 6 quarts.

I thought 6 quarts for 2.9 6 cylinder was high compared to my other 3.4l 6 cylinder toyota engine that takes up 5.5 quarts but I guess it's normal for volvos.

 

Here is some helpful info for you Click Here

Hope that helps you

Rich

 

I just changed the oil and filter on my '05 S40 2.4. After putting in 6 qts. it was still low, I added another 1/2 qt. started it and ran it for a few minutes, shut it off and let it sit and it was still showing 1/2 qt low on the dipstick, I added another 1/4 qt and drove it around a bit to get it hot, shut it off and let it sit for a few minutes and it was showing about 1/4 qt low, I added the last of the 7th qt and it not shows full on the dipstick. The car has been running at the full level on the dipstick, this is the first change since I have owned the car, I will measure what I drained out but I assume I will find pretty close to 7qts. I saw this post with the same problem...does anyone who has a 2.4l engine that holds the 6.1 qts know the length of the dipstick? maybe a measuremement from where the plastic handle bottoms out to the full line?

 

from the flat on the plastic handle that contacts the dipstick tube to the full line I measure 19.75 inches.

I did measure what I drained out of the engine and it was 7 qts.

There are no leaks on this engine and for most of its driving which is around town and short highway runs I never have to add oil. I have noticed that when I do take long runs, several hours or more on the highway running 80mph (130 Kph speedlimit) I do use about 1/4 of a quart per tank/300 miles?

 

I found this Swedespeed Forums - How-To: Volvo S40 2.4i Oil Change Tutorial (Pics Included))
Which makes me feel better, I did not like the idea that I might be running the engine 1qt over full, so maybe the capacity for the '05's at least is a full 7 US qts....