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confused about oil level?

jon82

jon82

Messages
256
hi all,

car was serviced before i picked it up about 3 weeks ago and noticed yesterday my oil level was just below the bottom 1 litre mark so checked it again this morning from flat cold and still same so topped it up with a full litre bottle and the level on dipstick has barely moved.
its on about minium now.
anyone know why this is? dont want to put more in at moment without advise as im scared of putting too much in.

any help much apreciated thanks.
 
yeah i left the car for like 30 mins cause thats what i thought and went back out and still the same level?
 
Run engine, then check, top up half litre if still on lower mark ? then just top up with a bit at a time, keep checking in between
 
yeah i took it out for a drive after topping up and still the same....
will have to buy another bottle and top up again! should it really be this low though after only being serviced a few weeks ago?
and i have,nt been driving the car hard before anyone asks lol
 
I use 1 litre every 12 months, half a litre every 6 months, but only do around 500 miles a month ?
 
Well it's going somewhere. It's either leaking, you need remedial oil checking lessons or your car is fukced and it's burning way too much.
 
I use a litre a month or every 1000 miles in the CTR.

From min to max on the dipstick is 1 litre.

I would say the measurement on the dipstick is being read wrong or you've got a hole in the engine not allowing you to top up over the minimum mark, but that is most unlikely.

The new oil within the engine after a service is very transparent and clear in colour making it more difficult to read than old oil filled with black carbon.

I couldn't suggest anything else as the oil when measured is laying in the sump, nothing can make a litre disappear, unless it was leaking out.
 
lol i know how to check my oil and its certainly been serviced as i can tell from the oil itself.
i will have a more indepth look in the morning and see if i can see anything else.

thanks guys.
 
When the car is cold, take your radiator cap off. Check the water isn't gloopy, looks like mayonaise etc. If the oil is passing into the coolant it will go like this. That being said, you oil would look odd as well as water would more than likely be going the other way as well.

The engine takes 5 litres from empty. Like Griffin said, it is 1 litre from the minimum bottom marker to the maximum top. You should never run the car under the minimum marker. Oil starvation is the biggest killer of the K20 engine!

My EP3 used to use a litre every 1,000 miles, my FN2 doesn't use any.

To me it does sound like they either didn't service it but since you said they did maybe they didn't put enough oil in it. I'd definitely stick some more oil in it though. Ideally it should be on the Max marker all of the time.
 
Just a thought, as loxy said the k20 takes 5 litres, a big bottle of oil comes in 4 litre bottles. Maybe they done the service but skimped on the oil and only put aside 1 large bottle for your service.
 
rf55 said:
I dont think they serviced it
Click to expand...

This, friend.

Can you confirm the colour of the oil - and how many miles you have done in the 3-weeks since taking ownership?

Fresh oil should be pretty easy to identify if you can get the dipstick to read - I'm not sure how mechanically minded you are, but you should be looking for a beer sort of coloured thin film on the dip-stick.. Any shade resembling this would give a good indication as to whether the oil is fresh. Unless it's had the hardest three weeks of it's life - the chances of the oil appearing black/murky are pretty slim.

If in doubt - perform an oil change. Through performing a fresh oil change, at bare minimum - you will know what you have put in to it, and how much. The worst that can happen is that you will have paid £50-ish quid for no reason - but peace of mind, is a wonderful thing. :) And it's a small amount to pay to rectfiy this situation, should the dealership have acted underhandedly.

Edit: Opie Oils have an offer on oil, valid till the end of the month - they're usually very reasonable at the best of times, so an offer is a good opportunity make a proper saving.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks for all replys guys, I have checked it again this morning and it was in between min and max so topped it up a bit more and it's just below max now.
I would say the oil is fresh but I am going to call in at a garage Monday just to be sure.
Thanks again.
 
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