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#22
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Check oil when engine is hot or cold?
"Tegger" > wrote in message > The comparative validity of any measurements lie in the consistency of > method from instance to instance. > Tegger Good point. I think you should check it after it is completely drained down too. You want to know that it is above the minimum level, and ***not too far above the maximum***. And you can only know that for sure when it is completely drained into the pan. |
#23
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Check oil when engine is hot or cold?
"HLS" > wrote in
: > > "Tegger" > wrote in message > >> The comparative validity of any measurements lie in the consistency >> of method from instance to instance. > >> Tegger > > Good point. I think you should check it after it is completely > drained down too. > You want to know that it is above the minimum level, and ***not too > far above the > maximum***. And you can only know that for sure when it is completely > drained > into the pan. > And, I have found, that only happens completely if the engine sits undisturbed overnight. I've spent the last seven months (covering some 8,400 miles) doing extremely precise measurements of my oil consumption. Each and every check (seven recorded checks so far, many more unrecorded) has been done in exactly the same manner. Precision is critical for anything like this. Now, I am confounded by one imprecise factor, and that is the actual stick reading, which is done visually against a millimeter-graduated scale I devised for the purpose. I have found that, not only does oil take all night to fully drip down into the pan, but the stick reading is different from front to rear on the stick. In addition, each time you pull the stick to check and put it back, the next reading may vary by as much as 1/2 a millimeter from the previous one unless you wait five minutes or so between stick pulls. In addition to all that, the level indicated on the stick may not be a flat line, but may be concave or convex, this apparently random, but surely tied to something I haven't discovered yet. All this means it is difficult to pin oil level to an exact reading, or consumption down to anything finer than 50 or 100 mile increments. These are my readings. Odometer is in kilometers, all else is US Imperial: Jan 23/08 - 477,832 to 479,441 - 2,500 mi/qt - avg temp about 10 - 1st thousand on oil Feb 20/08 - 479,624 to 481,233 - 2,175 mi/qt - avg temp about 10 - 2nd thousand on oil Mar 28/08 - 481,975 to 483,551 - 2,500 mi/qt - avg temp about 30 - 1st thousand on oil Apr 17/08 - 483,583 to 485,268 - 2,350 mi/qt - avg temp about 40 - 2nd thousand on oil May 11/08 - 485,721 to 487,373 - 1,650 mi/qt - avg temp about 50 - 3rd thousand on oil Jun 14/08 - 487,963 to 489,663 - 2,150 mi/qt - avg temp about 65 - 1st thousand on oil Jul 03/08 - 489,699 to 491,418 - 1,800 mi/qt - avg temp about 75 - 2nd thousand on oil This gives me an average consumption of about 2,100 miles per quart. Oil age seems to be a factor in consumption, as does ambient temperature. In a year or so I should have enough data to determine more convincingly the most important factors governing my oil consumption. -- Tegger |
#24
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Check oil when engine is hot or cold?
On Sat, 9 Aug 2008 23:40:41 +0000 (UTC), Tegger >
wrote: > >This gives me an average consumption of about 2,100 miles per quart. >Oil age seems to be a factor in consumption, as does ambient >temperature. In a year or so I should have enough data to determine more >convincingly the most important factors governing my oil consumption. You are trying to be too precise. Many things can affect oil consumption, especially on a worn engine. Acceleration, traffic conditions, driving practices in general, temps, etc, etc. Here's something to ponder. I rebuilt a 352, jobbing only the case bath, cam bearing insertion and the heads. Ran perfect, but was using a quart of oil every 500 miles or so with the mostly city driving I was doing. I suspected the valve guides, since I had jobbed the heads. This was confirmed when I took a trip to Yellowstone, driving about 4000 miles total, and used no more than 1/2 quart of oil for the trip. Back home in the city, pulling vacuum when backing off for lights and stop signs started sucking the oil through the guides at the same quart per 500 miles. --Vic |
#25
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Check oil when engine is hot or cold?
In article >,
E Meyer > wrote: > > What does the "FM" say these days? When I learned how to drive, > > the procedure was to: > > > > 1) start the engine when it is cold > > 2) let it run for 1 minute > > 3) shut it off > > 4) check the oil 1 minute after you shut it off > > > > Is that still the current ideal procedure? > > > > Never heard that one before & I've been driving for 43 years. Where did you > hear this procedure? It really is non-repeatable engine to engine, varies > with temperature, etc. Lots of reasons this is not an ideal procedure. My father was a master mechanic and instructor at a major Army base near Washington DC in the 1950s, and, as you know, the Army has a process and procedure for everything. For oil, this was they way you did it. -john- -- ================================================== ==================== John A. Weeks III 612-720-2854 Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com ================================================== ==================== |
#26
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Check oil when engine is hot or cold?
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#27
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Check oil when engine is hot or cold?
E Meyer wrote: > > On 8/11/08 9:49 AM, in article > , "John A. Weeks III" > > wrote: > > > In article >, > > E Meyer > wrote: > > > >>> What does the "FM" say these days? When I learned how to drive, > >>> the procedure was to: > >>> > >>> 1) start the engine when it is cold > >>> 2) let it run for 1 minute > >>> 3) shut it off > >>> 4) check the oil 1 minute after you shut it off > >>> > >>> Is that still the current ideal procedure? > >>> > >> > >> Never heard that one before & I've been driving for 43 years. Where did you > >> hear this procedure? It really is non-repeatable engine to engine, varies > >> with temperature, etc. Lots of reasons this is not an ideal procedure. > > > > My father was a master mechanic and instructor at a major Army > > base near Washington DC in the 1950s, and, as you know, the Army > > has a process and procedure for everything. For oil, this was > > they way you did it. > > > > -john- > > OK. It makes more sense in that context. I was in the Army in the 70's. > Saw lots of weird stuff in those manuals. It is not a completely dumb procedure. With the engine running you don't want too much oil because the crank will whip it like an egg beater and you don't want too little or the pump will suck air. So a test that takes into account how fast it can get back to the pan does make some sense. -jim ----== Posted via Pronews.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==---- http://www.pronews.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups ---= - Total Privacy via Encryption =--- |
#28
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Check oil when engine is hot or cold?
John A. Weeks III wrote:
> In article >, > Matt > wrote: > >> wrote: >>> On my 15 year old Accord, I get different dipstick readings when the >>> engine has been sitting overnight vs. checking 10 minutes or so after >>> the engine was running for a while. >>> Most probably due to settling of oil into the pan over long time >>> periods. >>> When is it best to check oil. In the morning after the engine sits >>> overnight, or after being driven for a while? >> >> RTFM :-) > > What does the "FM" say these days? When I learned how to drive, > the procedure was to: > > 1) start the engine when it is cold > 2) let it run for 1 minute > 3) shut it off > 4) check the oil 1 minute after you shut it off > > Is that still the current ideal procedure? > > In reality, as long as you are not too high and not too low, you > are probably OK, so it likely doesn't matter too much how you > check it. > > -john- > Warm engine, level ground, a few minutes after turning it off (e.g. after fueling). If you want to know your burn rate, you want a /consistent/ and /convenient/ method. If you are driving across the country, you can't wait for the engine to cool each time you check the oil, so you do it when the engine is warm. Get it? |
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