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Thread: oil level after oil & filter change

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    Regular Member old cruiser's Avatar
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    Default oil level after oil & filter change

    Did an oil and filter change on the car yeterday and Noticed in my handbook ( 2.2 petrol) that for checking the oil level, that it must be checked with Engine at normal operating temperature and waiting at least 5 mins for normal oil to drain back, anyway put in the required 4.75L and ran the engine up to operating temp' left it for just over 5 mins and on the dipstick it read at about 3/4 mark, which I thought was fine, however upon checking several hours later on a cold engine, I found the level to be a few mm above max' is this anything to worry about ? and why is it they say checking it on engine that is at operating temp' I always used to check on a cold engine i.e before a long journey in the old days!!
    Cheers Pete

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    VIP-Member Johnsdutton's Avatar
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    Vehicle : Signum

    Trim : Elite

    Engine : 3.2 v6

    Year : 2004

    Mileage : 140,000

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    That is the problem for us oldies Pete, everything seems to go against what we were taught.
    No do not worry about it it is normal. More and more modern vehicles are checked this way, no doubt someone who has more technical info will be along soon to tell us why.
    3.2 v6 Signum and loving it 😁

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    Ex Vec-C Admin / Founder Duncan's Avatar
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    It does say to check with the oil warm as you say, but to allow a bit of time for it to settle back after running the engine.

    If the capacity of your engine is 4.75l you shouldn't have put in 4.75l straight away as there is always some oil left in the sump/pipes etc.

    My engine (2.0T) takes 6l and I stick in 5.5l initially and that gets it pretty close to the max mark and I then top up a bit where needed.

    Given that the oil amount is 1l between the min and max mark - on your dipstick what does those few mm equate to (ish) in volume?

    if you're about 0.5l over-filled it's not ideal, but not going to cause massive problems - and with it not being a turboed car it's one less reason to be concerned. However if you're worried about it you may just want to drop the sump nut quickly and drop a little bit of oil to get you back to the max mark.

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    Regular Member 67688c's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Duncan View Post
    if you're about 0.5l over-filled it's not ideal, but not going to cause massive problems - and with it not being a turboed car it's one less reason to be concerned. However if you're worried about it you may just want to drop the sump nut quickly and drop a little bit of oil to get you back to the max mark.
    Does over filling the oil on a turbo fiited car cause damage to the turbo Duncan?

    I know your'e not supposed to overfill, but have ended up a couple of mm above the top level myself on a couple of occasions.

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    Regular Member old cruiser's Avatar
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    I did wait for between 5-10 mins after running engine and was at this point the oil level was 3/4 up the dipstick i.e one notch before the max' which seems to be what vx say, so are you saying it would best to check the oil when engine is cold and have the oil at the max' mark then?
    cheers Pete

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    Regular Member parapaul's Avatar
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    No, check when warm. If it's between the max and min marks when it's warm, you've got no problems.

    What it reads when cold is irrelevant.

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    Ex Vec-C Admin / Founder Duncan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cameron43 View Post
    Does over filling the oil on a turbo fiited car cause damage to the turbo Duncan?
    If it's a lot then it can start to leak through the seals in the turbo and you'll start to see it smoking out the exhaust. It doesn't do the turbo irreparable damage but you'd need to get the seals replaced. A couple of mm over the max is not something to get too concerned about.
    Quote Originally Posted by old cruiser View Post
    I did wait for between 5-10 mins after running engine and was at this point the oil level was 3/4 up the dipstick i.e one notch before the max' which seems to be what vx say, so are you saying it would best to check the oil when engine is cold and have the oil at the max' mark then?
    No, I'd go by what you've done - i.e. go by the level when the oil is warm but been left to settle so it sounds like you're pretty much spot-on. Sorry, I slightly mis-read your initial post as I've just realised.

    As paul said what it reads when cold is basically irrelevant as by then it's got thicker and therefore not giving an accurate level/reading.

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    Regular Member old cruiser's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Duncan View Post
    If it's a lot then it can start to leak through the seals in the turbo and you'll start to see it smoking out the exhaust. It doesn't do the turbo irreparable damage but you'd need to get the seals replaced. A couple of mm over the max is not something to get too concerned about.No, I'd go by what you've done - i.e. go by the level when the oil is warm but been left to settle so it sounds like you're pretty much spot-on. Sorry, I slightly mis-read your initial post as I've just realised.

    As paul said what it reads when cold is basically irrelevant as by then it's got thicker and therefore not giving an accurate level/reading.
    No problem Duncan, probably my ranting on!! lead you to confusion!!
    Cheers Pete

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    Regular Member old cruiser's Avatar
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    Well just goes to show that checking oil at operating temp' and waiting at least 5 mins as VX state, is in my opinion a load of nonesense and checking on a cold engine is really the way to go as I've always done in the past as continuing on from my 1st post , took the car out today and then left it standing for about 20 mins and the level on dipstick this time was about 5 mm or so over the max' whereas the other day I'd left it for 5-10 mins and it was one notch below the max' so how can they say that waiting at least 5 mins is the way to go when you get these readings , so how long are you supposed to leave it before you take an accurate reading!! well as far as I can see it would need to be a fair while and by this time it's not going to be at operating Temp' crazy isn't it!! and btw had to remove about 0.5L to get it at max which by this time car had been sitting for about 3/4 of an hour, what a state to get into eh!!
    Cheers Pete

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    Regular Member parapaul's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by old cruiser View Post
    how long are you supposed to leave it before you take an accurate reading!! well as far as I can see it would need to be a fair while and by this time it's not going to be at operating Temp' crazy isn't it!!
    Blimey fella! What a rant!

    Don't know about you, but my engine stays at, or very near, running temp for a good hour or so once I turn it off.

    If Vx say to check the oil when the engine's warm, it is for a reason. You'd be a complete idiot IMO to decide to check it when cold because you think you know better

    If they say wait 5 minutes, then wait 5 minutes. Not really that, difficult, is it?

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