DTi oil level checking?

[Vectra_Power]

I have a 2002 Vec C 2.0 DTI and have tried checking the engine oil level recently.

I have tried it on a warm engine, a hot engine and a stone cold engine - but each time the dip stick, no matter how clean it is when I poke it in, comes out completely black!! No way can I check the level!

I have never had this, am I missing something??!

Cheers!

[OilBurner]

The proper procedure is to check with the engine warm, 5 minutes after turning the engine off. Always do it on a level surface too.

The oil will be very black, even if recently serviced. As long as the mark is between top and bottom and isn't going down quick, you're fine.

[Graham]

how long ago was it since you changed the oil. I would add some engine flush and then drain out the old oil and start again. At least that way you know where your up to.
I have a 2.2dti and it dosn`t blacken the dipstick, but i do change the oil every 5000 miles.

You don`t say how many miles the car has done. I just think it needs a good flush.

[Vectra_Power]

Cheers guys

I bought the car about 4 months ago with 101,500 on the clock and it now has 106k on it.

When I poke the dipstick in clean, it comes out black for the bottom 3-4 inches, hence why I can't read the scale.

The reason I'm checking this is that the low oil warning light came on last week, checked it immediately and had the above problem. I poured a small amount in and the warning went off.

I think I best do a flush and oil change.

Silly question - can I pour the flush in myself and the take the car to get the oil change done shortly afterwards? I'm thinking Kwik-Fit!

Cheers,
Chris

[solorider]

Cheers guys

I bought the car about 4 months ago with 101,500 on the clock and it now has 106k on it.

When I poke the dipstick in clean, it comes out black for the bottom 3-4 inches, hence why I can't read the scale.

The reason I'm checking this is that the low oil warning light came on last week, checked it immediately and had the above problem. I poured a small amount in and the warning went off.

I think I best do a flush and oil change.

Silly question - can I pour the flush in myself and the take the car to get the oil change done shortly afterwards? I'm thinking Kwik-Fit!

Cheers,
Chris

you want to trust kwik fit?i wouldnt let one of their fitters any where near my car,you need to make sure you get the correct oil and i doubt they would use the right stuff,also you shouldnt drive with a flush in and all diesel oils will get very black very quickly

[Vectra_Power]

I just phoned them and they said flush was a bad idea and 'not recommended'. They also said that with the warning on the dash, the engine would have had 'way less than a litre left' and would be 'badly damaged'. That didn't sound good.

Going to phone around for more quotes for the oilchange, they quoted £24 for the oil and filter.

Cheers,

[VauxVeteran]

I just phoned them and they said flush was a bad idea and 'not recommended'. They also said that with the warning on the dash, the engine would have had 'way less than a litre left' and would be 'badly damaged'. That didn't sound good.

Going to phone around for more quotes for the oilchange, they quoted £24 for the oil and filter.

Cheers,

That is correct, flush should only be used in engines that have always been flushed, doing it in an engine with 100k on it will result in lots of muck being moved and usually it doesn't come out of the drain hole, and can settle in other places that then cause other problems.

Also the oil reading should be done cold, it takes a while for the oil to drain back to the sump on these engines, and if not careful you can think you are low on oil and overfill it, resulting in blown seals.

[OilBurner]

Also the oil reading should be done cold, it takes a while for the oil to drain back to the sump on these engines, and if not careful you can think you are low on oil and overfill it, resulting in blown seals.

The manual states that it should be done warm, but with 5 minutes wait to allow the oil to settle back in the sump.

Always worked for me on both 2.0 DTI and 1.9 CDTI.

If you don't wait long enough the oil level looks too high.

I have to admit though, I would have thought a cold reading should give an accurate result, but the Vauxhall instructions are quite specific, even marked under the bonnet IIRC.

[OilBurner]

I quote from my PDF copy of the March 2003 manual:

"The oil level must be checked with the vehicle horizontal and with the engine (which must be at operating temperature) switched off. Wait at least five minutes before checking the level to allow the normal oil accumulation in the engine to drain back into the oil pan."

pp. 264

No idea why it has to be warm though.

[AndrewTi]

This is strange. Every engine on every vehicle I've ever driven (and there's been a few!) needs to be on level ground, with a cold engine.

My DTi hasn't used any oil all the time I've had it. Not even when the Turbo was playing silly bu99ers.