How much oil does a 1997 Rav-4 hold?

[srivett]

I was having a hard time figuring out how much oil to put in my parents Rav-4 last night. I usually only get 3 litres to come OUT but I always put in atleast 5. The problem is that last night I couldn't see if there was oil on the dipstick after 5 litres so I gave up because it was too dark to see what was going on. I didn't want to over fill it and I knew 5 was more than it usually has in the sump.

The Rav has a 4 cylinder with a baby oil/coolant exchanger. I imagine it is the basic engine as this car is the base model without AWD.

Also, what is holding the valve cover on? It appears to be leaking quite a bit at the back of the engine but I don't see any fasteners. Are they down in the sparkplug holes somewhere?

Thanks, Steve

 

[Bogatyr]

srivett,
Our 1997 Rav4 specifies 4.3 quarts for an oil change where the filter is also replaced.

Hmm, not sure about the valve cover now that you mention it...I do recall seeing some oily wetness on our intake manifold back there, which I attributed to someone being sloppy pouring the oil in before I started maintaining it...last time I checked it was pretty dry back there...wonder if that's your problem...

Bogatyr

 

[srivett]

Yeah, I think it probably is about 4.3 litres. I had to drain atleast a litre off the following day.

Some of the stuff on my parents intake manifold is actually salt water. I was probing down there thinking it was a pool of oil but luckily it wasn't. Some of the mess is definately spilt oil but it looks like the oil is all the way across the back of the engine.

It's amazing how good these Ravs really are, it's a first year model and we have had very few problems with it. The shocks have worn out a couple times but other than that 230K km of smooth sailing. It still has the origional exhaust on it! Our entire family hates the thing because of how uncomfortable it is but we are going to keep it until it dies.

Steve