I have always been used to checking my engine oil level after getting the car out of the garage and waiting about half an hour for the oil to drain down. I was reading somewhere - was it here - that the level should be checked with the engine hot.
To-day, after returning home, I left the car on the drive for about a half hour and then checked the level. I was amazed to find that the oil level was above the full mark on the dipstick.
Previously, I had thought my Accord was a tad heavy on oil.
Is this the correct way of checking the oil level on diesel engines?
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It's different from engine to engine so should be checked via the instructions in the handbook. Check when hot after a few minutes does seem to becoming more and more popular though.
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To-day, after returning home, I left the car on the drive for about a half hour and then checked the level. I was amazed to find that the oil level was above the full mark on the dipstick. Previously, I had thought my Accord was a tad heavy on oil.
After a long run, the oil will still be hot, even after half an hours rest. Like all liquids, I would assume that this heat will have made it expand, hence the sump seems to have been 'overfilled'.
In matters such as this, referral to the owners? handbook is the best way to resolve your question.
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Forgive me fellahs, I got the impression that the car is usually brought out of the garage and then allowed to stand for half an hour before the oil level is checked. Does that mean driving it out? That would push all of the cold oil up into the engine, and it would take a very long time for it all to get back down to the sump. Silly thought!!
I always try to do it cold, obviously before starting the engine.
Was the car on level ground? If it is on even a minor slope, either fore and aft or side to side, it will cause a difference in the reading.
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If you drive a cold engine out of a garage and park, there is no guarantee all the oil will have drained back in under 2 hours. (look at dishes on a sink waiting to dry. Oil is much more viscous than water and it's cold...)
madf
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I may be being dense here, but why drive out of the garage to check the oil - surely it could be checked inside the garage?
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I may be being dense here, but why drive out of the garage to check the oil - surely it could be checked inside the garage?
Well, I'm not dense. I took it as read that I checked the oil level before driving off.
I don't have an enormous garage - about a couple of feet longer than my car - so it's not easy to squeeze in front of the car to open the bonnet.
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One of my oil level checking instructions.
"run the engine for one minute at tickover without blipping the throttle, stop the engine and check the level".
Another says "run the engine for a few minutes to warm the oil, stop the engine and check level after one minute".
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>Like all liquids, I would assume that heat will have made it expand<
True, but the amount of expansion would not be detectable on a dipstick. The other effects mentioned by the other posters would be much more obvious.
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The sump would have got warm and expanded too! What effect would that have?
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Varies from engine to engine.Most cars i have owned have required the engine oil level to be checked when cold.More recent vehicles including my Mazda 6 require checking 5 minutes after turning off the engine(up to working temperature).I usually check in an evening just after having driven home,although upon checking regularly the level hasn't altered in 12000 miles of motoring.Quite impressive,
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My Focus handbook is not too specific on this subject. It says "wait some minutes for the engine oil to drain back into the sump......in cold temperatures or when the engine has not reached operating temperature this might take longer. Hot oil may exceed the max mark by some millimetres due to thermal expansion."
I check mine cold after the car has stood overnight (well, it doesn't specify exactly how long you should wait, and overnight is "some minutes"!) and I take the reading after taking the dipstick out the first time. I find this is the easiest because the dipstick is then clean above the oil level and there is no confusion as to where the oil level is. If you do as the book says and pull the dipstick out, wipe it, re-insert it and then pull it out once more then you drag oil up the tube on the first withdrawal and this gets onto the dipstick above the oil level and confuses the reading.
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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>>>> I take the reading after taking the dipstick out the first time.>>>>
For some inexplicable reason, if I was to follow the above procedure on my BMW 320d, the dipstick would show no oil whatsoever on its initial inspection. I have to wipe the dipstick with a cloth and re-insert and then take a reading, which then fortunately never varies from the full mark between oil changes.
If anybody knows the reason for this peculiarity, I would very much like to know.
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I have to wipe thedipstick with a cloth and re-insert and then take a reading, which then fortunately never varies from the full mark between oil changes.
Why is it considered such a good thing to have a zero oil consumption?
A modest oil consumption will ensure that fresh oil is added during the period between oil changes. A good idea, I submit.
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>>>>Why is it considered such a good thing to have a zero oil consumption?>>>>
I think you have missed the point completely, the subject being discussed are the variable procedures required with different engines to get an accurate dipstick reading.
As for a vehicle not burning any oil, I thank H.J. for his advice for properly running an engine in from new, which I followed dilligently and believe has a great influence on its future oil consumption. Furthermore with Castrol SLX synthetic oil at over £11 per litre, I am delighted that my oil consumption is negligible.
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On my Corsa it says let the engine get fully up to temperature then wait 5 minutes then check the oil. It emphasises that it must be up to temp.
Ben
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>>>>Why is it considered such a good thing to have a zero oil consumption?>>>> I think you have missed the point completely, the subject being discussed are the variable procedures required with different engines to get an accurate dipstick reading.
I haven't missed the point at all.
The subject being discussed is taking oil level readings and a number of posters seemed to be pleased that their engines don't use any oil. They made an ancillary point and I also made an ancillary point. Perfectly valid thing to do. If we didn't broaden the discussion ocassionally this forum wouldn't be as lively as it is.
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>>>> I take the reading after taking the dipstick out the first time.>>>>
<< I have to wipe thedipstick with a cloth and re-insert and then take a reading, which then fortunately never varies from the full mark between oil changes. If anybody knows the reason for this peculiarity, I would very much like to know.
Here's a possibility.
If the dipstick is sealed to the tube at the top (say, with an O-ring), and if additional air gets into the tube when the engine is running and the oil is swishing about then this air might remain there after the engine is switched off and hold the oil in the tube below the level that it is in the sump. Removing the dipstick once would vent the excess air and allow the level of the oil in the tube to equalise itself with the level in the sump. Just a possibility. (I'd beter check my dipstick for a possible seal, otherwise I might be doing it all wrong!)
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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>>>>If the dipstick is sealed to the tube at the top (say, with an O-ring)>>>>
L`escargot - I think you could be spot on as the BMW has in fact two `O` rings at the top of the dipstick, so your theory seems totally plausible.
I must confess to not even noticing the `O` rings before your explanation and actually ran a thread on a BMW forum for a reason for this oddity, but nobody came up with an answer. Thank you.
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L`escargot - I think you could be spot on as the BMW has in fact two `O` rings at the top of the dipstick, so your theory seems totally plausible.
I've just checked and mine has one O-ring.
I hate it when instructions say do such and such without telling you why.
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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I have been trying to solve this for years. Even the main Merc dealer has not given me a definitve answer. a friend who is a diesel expert reckons you should have the engine hot the switch off for 5 minutes and check it then. My stick gives different readings when the engine is hot to when it is cold by large amounts....help..... anyone really know!
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All my oil burners have suggested a 5 minute cooling off period before dipping regardless of maker.
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I've just checked the handbooks for my two MBs:
* Both remind you that level ground is needed.
* One says full operating temperature is required, the other "a warm engine".
* The W126 handbook says the engine should have been left "for quite some time". The W124 handbook says leave it for five minutes before checking.
The Golf VR6 handbook says much the same thing.
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* Both remind you that level ground is needed.
I wonder what the people that haven't got a level garage/drive/road do. Presumably they have to drive to somewhere that is level before they can check the oil?
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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Since the general rule seems to be to check with the engine hot, but after a decent interval, then it will hardly matter if it is checked cold before use, since it must have been warm previously and has had ample time to drain. The heat expansion issue is almost irrelevant, as the effect is trivial compared to other variables, so perhaps the instruction should simply be NOT to check it immediately after stopping the engine, especially if you've only just started it!
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The Honda handbook is a tad ambiguous. For the diesel engine it says to check with a warm engine after leaving it for a few minutes. A few paragraphs later it says to check with a cold engine.
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As mentioned above, these amount to much the same thing, so you can sleep easy...
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