This is probably a stupid question, but I couldn't find a definite answer in either the owners manual or Haynes book.

How much oil does a 1986 na z31 take and what kind of oil? I just did an oil change and I put in Castrol GTX high mileage synthetic oil 10w-30. I emptied about 2 qts of the blackest oil ever out of my oil pan and I put 5 gts in. Probably too much.

If you can get back to me ASAP that would be great.

 

Found the oil capacity 4-1/4. So I'm 3/4 qts over.

I still don't know the type of oil.

 

Unless you live along the Canadian border or routinely drive across Death Valley, 10W-30 will work just fine. There is chart in the owners manual that suggest viscosity grades based on operating temps.

 

if you are running synthetic don't worry. the 10w-30 is just for show. synthetics have a much wider viscosity range and don't break down with heat. i run Mobil One for 20k and change oil filter every 5K

 

PS any oil you run will be black in about 200 miles.

 

Not true, I can easily go over 5,000 miles and the oil is not black, but looks almost new. If you use synthetic since the car was new, it does not have anywhere near as much sludge in the engine. My BMW X3 goes over 15,000 miles on an oil change. The computer figures out when the oil needs to be changed.

 

Great to hear! My oil gauge on the dash is now working properly and the engine sounds great. I drained the extra 3/4 qt. of oil out. It was pretty brown/black already. There was ruffly half a gallon of old oil in the engine when I did the change. The bad cam seal that I replaced a month ago probably leaked most of the previous oil out. Now, I can have peace of mind for another 5k miles.

Thanks for the input guys!