Anyone know the reason why a 2007 TL Type-S 3.5 Liter engine would take 4.5 quarts of oil but my Toyota van's 3.0 Liter engine would take 5 quarts.

I don't know much about engines but I would have thought that more liters should equal more quarts of oil. I'm inclined to trust the owner's manual for my TL but don't understand this.

 

You also have to factor in the size of the rest of the system.

 

Correct,
The amount of oil an engine will take really has very little (talking mainstream vehicle here) to do with the "size/displacement" of the engine. For example, your 3.0L Toyota takes 5 qts as does a 5.7L (350 cubic inch) Chevy V8. On the other end, I've seen some exotic 3.0L range engines take as much as 12 qts as well. It all depends on the functionality and needs of the oiling system.

Near all of your mainstream vehicles, whether 4, 6, or 8 cylinder engine (non-big truck/diesel versions) will take some where between 4 and 6 qts..


Cheers

 

Thanks guys. What does the liters measurement for an engine really measure then? Generally liters is a measure of liquid volume but it appears that it is not a measure of the oil capacity of an engine.

 

You're kidding, right?

 

Liters is just the metric conversion of "cubic inches".

Another way to look at it is a 3.5L is also a 3500cc engine. Your Toyota's 3.0L is actually a 3000cc engine

400 cubic inch (CI) engine is also a 6.6Liter engine (6600cc)
350CI is a 5.7L (5700cc)
327CI is a 5.3L (5300cc)
300CI is 5.0L (5000cc)
etc.

Just the old metric to English and/or metric to metric conversions of the engine "displacement". Displacement = factor of the engines bore and stroke.. But that's a whole other lesson..

 

I may be misunderstanding your question, but here goes an explanation anyways....The liters you hear about in engines is the size (also known as displacement) of the engine and not its oil capacity. It is a measure of all the engine's total cylinder's volume. So if you have a 2 inch diameter piston that travels in a cylindrical chamber that is 4 inches in height, that one cylinder's volume is (PI*1^2)*4, or approximately 12 cubic inches. If you have six cylinders, then the total volume is 72 cubic inches..... heres a better explanation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engine_displacement

 

To convert from liters to Cubic in, Multiply by 61

i.e. A TL-S 3.5 L engine has a displacement of 213.5 Cubic in.