Yes keep us posted.
I'd like to know where it all went an so fast with no sign.

 

Excellent plan.

 

I have concluded after time that maybe I was not losing oil after all. Originally, when I thought I was losing oil was when I pulled into a gas station to check my oil. I did not fill up on gas, so the truck did not sit very long before I pulled the oil dip stick and found it to read at least a quart low.
Normally, on my car, I can stop for gas and fill up the tank and then check the oil after filling the tank. This is usually long enough for the oil to drain into the pan enough to get a fairly accurate oil level reading. However, with my truck I did not allow much time for the oil to drain back into the pan. I waited about five minutes before checking the oil, but evidently this was still not enough time for the oil to return to the pan for an accurate reading and I ended up adding and over-filling the oil. I thought five minutes would have been ample time for the oil to drain back to the pan for an accurate reading, but evidently not. The 4.7 V8 must require more drain time back to the oil pan.

 

yes, always check after it's been sitting for a couple hours and cold.

If you check it hot, that can also give you a false positive since hot oil expands.

When we cook the oil in the blown alky car, we'll boil off a good 3/4-1" of fuel, then it will drop another half inch or so from when it's hot to when it cools down. That's in a standard 12-13" stockpot.

 

Yeah, you can check warm just to make sure there is oil actually in the thing, but for true accuracy, checking cold first thing in the morning is best. I run a slight overfill myself as a buffer against any eventualities.

 

Speaking of engine oil...
My owners manual says that my 4.7 V-8 for my 2001 Dakota requires 6 quarts of oil. I change my own oil and filter when the engine is at operating temperature and on level ground to make sure as much of the oil will drain out as possible.
I first drain the old oil and replace the filter and then after waiting an hour or so I will slowly add the first four and a half or five quarts. I then start the engine and let it run for a few minutes so that the new oil will circulate and fill the new filter. I then shut the engine off and wait till morning and then slowly top it off with more oil, checking the level on the dip stick until it is at the full mark. However when doing this I notice I do not need a full 6 quarts, only a little over five. If I added all six quarts it would read way past the full mark and I'm afraid of over filling the engine.

 

Six qts is about right. Why do you wait? Believe it or not, dry starts following an oil change is probably some of the worst wear your engine will ever see. When you drain oil and remove the filter, your oiling system loses prime. Waiting hours before adding oil then starting it, only exacerbates the dry start that your engine will experience. You should drain warm/hot, fill it up right away and start it while the innards are still coated with an oil film. You should also prime the filter (fill about halfway with oil).

Draining on a level will yield less oil than having the front high up. If you don't believe me, jack up the front end after you've drained it level and you'll see more flow out. The portion that fails to drain, adds to the six qts and may be why you experience over fill. Just run it up on ramps and pull the bung. Don't wait to add oil and remember to prime the filter.

 

Makes sense. Thanks for the tips Dodgevity.