NOBY

Hey folks.

How should I check my oil level with the stick, should I have the car running on idle or off? And where on the stick is the normal status?


Regards // Norbert

ElTorrente

Car should be warmed up and turned off. Let it sit for about 10-15 minutes or so to make sure the oil has settled. The stick has an indicator on it showing a normal range area toward the bottom.

1999Porsche911

Car off. Do it in the morning after it has sat overnight. This will give the most accurate level reading.

Tippy

+1

Having a flat motor does not particularly cater to oil drainage back to the pan.

htny

+1 provided you are parked on a level surface!

ryangambrill

How accurate is the computer when checking oil level? My garage floor has a pitch for water drainage. I would think that it would be close enough for getting a accurate reading. Right or wrong?

C4CRNA

I found the computer to be very accurate.My garage has a pitch also. Some times I check the oil with the car facing in sometimes facing out. It varies in difference of one line on the computer.

ivangene

trust the electronic level, but know that it does fluctuate a bit from day to day... an occational check of the dip stick is good, but the electronic is supposed to be the most accurate (so I have heard)

others might say the opposite, lets see....

Jon996

This should be an interesting thread--I was just thinking of almost the same thread. My electronic is quite a bit different than the dipstick. It reads lower than the dipstick. Being kind of an oldtimer, I tend to trust the dipstick. After taking lots of readings, both peak at about 30 minutes, and are quite a bit lower when cold. The manual, of course, suggests reading warm.

To complicate things, when you go in for an official oil consumption test, the readings are done by the dealer cold and they use the dipstick.

Another Don

Just damn! You mean my car has a dipstick to check the oil? Who knew? The things you learn around here.

smackboy1

Pretty much all modern water cooled engine manufacturers design the dipstick to be read with the oil hot, but engine off:
1) The engine should be at operating temp.
2) The car is parked on level ground and the engine is shut off.
3) Wait 5-10 minutes for the oil to drain from inside the engine into the sump.
4) Pull the dipstick and check the oil level.

This way it doesn't matter if the car is in Sweden in the winter or in Death Valley in the summer, the internal engine temp is more or less the same. Plus it allows repair shops/gas stations to quickly check the oil level if the car just pulls up.

IIRC in the old days it used to be read the dipstick with the engine cold and oil cold. But that wasn't as consistent and made it difficult for an accurate oil check at the gas station.

ryangambrill

The reason I ask is because I picked up my car Friday night from my indy shop. I had a bunch of things done to the car including an oil change. I drove it on Sat all day, all was fine. Then last night, for the heck of it, I decided to check the oil level on the computer.

The display showed the very bottom bar blinking. I checked the dipstick and it seems quite dry.

I immediately sent an email and left a voicemail at the shop letting them know what I found.

Just now I went to the garage to check the oil level again with the computer and dipstick. Same as before. Being impatient, I added 1/2 quart of Mobil 1 0w-40. I am waiting before I take my next measurement. There are no oil leaks on the floor in the garage.

On a side note, this same situation happened when the car was delivered to me from the previous owner. I ended up adding 1 quart of oil to the car. After I added that quart, the measurement was 1/2 way between the markers on the computer as well as the dipstick.

What should I do?

1. Wait for the indy shop to call?
2. Add more oil?

Does the X-51 engine hold more oil than a non-X51?

I want to run the car to get it up to temp, but am just nervous that I could cause real damage.

Very frustrated as I just want to drive my car in this nice weather.

-Ryan

ivangene

AWE....

lets see - dipstick is dry, computer shows low and is blinking.....

I dont know

ADD SOME OIL ! ! !

(in my most polite voice, of course)

ryangambrill

LOL....I am overthinking this huh!! =-)

Indy called. Said there is oil in the car. I am going to top it off.

Added a total of 1 quart. Computer still says low. Oil is on dipstick 1/2 in middle of red plastic tip. How far should oil be on tip? On my VW's there are hash marks on metal dipsticks.

chsu74

Have extra oil in the trunk and add if needed. I used to have oil level high and found that AOS works very hard. When I accelerate on the highway right after the engine gets warm, I get a lot of blow by mixing with condensation.

Scared me the first few times. Now the oil level is not as high (middle of the gauage and dipstick) and redlining 2nd gear merging on to highways does not scare cars behind me anymore.