checking the engine oil... it need to be at running temperature? heat and then cooled down? or cold ?

 

obviously standing level, but ive been doing a few short journeys recently so guessing i might need just to top her up and want to get it right...

 

also i sem to remember the dip stick being difficult to read at the bottom althouh it might just be me...

i do mine cold personally not sure if it's the right way

i do mine cold,that way at least all the oils in the sump not on its way down

checking the oil, do it cold or hot, if the car has been driven you need to wait 5 mins for the oil to settle back into the sump, changing the oil you should warm it up to normal operating temp, then drain.

Hope this helps

Neil

Reading the oil level is not difficult. I recommend pulling the stick out and wiping it then replacing the stick and checking it again for an accurate reading.

cheers guys, heard few different reasons for hot / cold etc, guess it doesnt really matter with uk temperatures anyways (be a bit different if it was -50 outside i guess..)

Should check it cold fella, as oil expands when hot, so when hot it seems you got a lot more than you think, if you are changing the oil and filter then i suggest you run it up till hot to aid the emptying as it will be much thinner and quicker to drain. IMHO.

Hot is for boxer engines (911, Scooby) IIRC. Not sure why they are different.

 

Cold for everything else (and without the engine having been started, otherwise half the cold oil sits up in the cam gallery).

 

Ian A.

Sorry to be different here, but I have always read that oil should be checked on a warm engine. Hence why most car handbooks suggest checking the oil after refueling.

 

The main reason is that many impurities are absorbed by the oil - water vapour, petrol residue etc. All these nasties are in liquid form in a cold engine, dissolved in the oil making the oil level appear higher than it really is. Once the oil is warm, these impurities evapourate leaving a more accurate reading of the oil level. This explains why the reading may appear lower on a hot engine than a cold one.

 

Do note though, that the oil in these engines takes a long while to drain back to the sump though......

 

Richard :smw: