1994 Plymouth Acclaim oil missing?

I've been changing oil and filters on cars for 40 years and never had anything like this happen. I bought a used plymouth acclaim about a year ago and changed oil and filter a couple of times as it isn't driven a lot. Today after I drained the oil and replaced the filter the oil filler cap started slipping like a locking gas cap and the top part finally popped off. I put a funnel in and then realized the actual cap was still screwed in and unscrewed cap with pliers and added 5 quarts of oil. I cranked the engine and looked under the car for leaks and then let car idle, I noticed a little smoke from around the back of the engine below the valve cover but figured I spilled a little oil which I figured would burn off in a few minutes. After about 5 minutes I shut the engine off to check the oil with the dipstick. To my surprise there was no oil on the dipstick, I checked again but no oil. Moved vehicle and checked for leaks on grass and there was no leaks. It was getting dark so I will check it out tomorrow. My question is where is the oil, maybe pooled up in the valve area, but wouldn't this cause the oil light to come on or valve chatter or other abnormal sounds. TIA

Reply to
tango
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tango wrote in news:Xns93F6C8D00A6911999586@216.168.3.44:

This is a 2.5 engine.

Reply to
tango

tango wrote in news:Xns93F6C8D00A6911999586@216.168.3.44:

Checked oil this morning and it is ok on dipstick. It was definitely not showing on dipstick last night. I'm concerned about some kind of blockage as this never happened on previous changes.

Reply to
tango

Very likely. The manifolds are back there.

Well, it'll always read low if you check it immediately after shutting off the engine -- a 5-minute draindown period is needed to get an accurate reading.

How much oil did you put in?

It would have to be one hell of a blockage, because the 2.5 or 3.0 litre engine in your Acclaim (you don't mention which one you have) has plenty of internal oil drainage.

DS

Reply to
Daniel J. Stern

"Daniel J. Stern" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@alumni.engin.umich.edu:

Thats what concerns me, it is a 2.5 and I added 5 quarts. Normally the oil level will be below full but not by a lot, but I wiped dipstick with paper towel and ran dipstick between index finger and thumb and there was no oil. Sometimes fresh oil appears clear on the dipstick but this was not the case. I will idle it a few times before driving it to make sure everything is ok.

Reply to
tango

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