Numpty dipping the oil question

[Bobhon]

Hi all

Pretty new to Speed 6 engines and I guess that this questions is going to sound a bit basic.

I know that you have to dip the oil when it's hot and where the dipstick is on the car. But do you take the level with the cap just resting on the top of the threads or do you have to screw it all the way down to take it?

I have read the owners handbook and the GV Manual, but neither states what the correct method is.

I guess that there's about 1/2 inch (okay so I'm old, 12.7mm for you metric devils) between the 2 possible measuring points.

Bob

[grumbledoak]

I used to just push the cap in as far as it would go - screwing it in would just give you a higher reading. You are only checking it is above MIN, really. You can save yourself some burns if you pull over and do it as soon as the water gets to 70°C too - that's warm enough for the purpose.

Edited by grumbledoak on Saturday 9th August 19:09

[NWTony]

I believe it's generally believed that if the oil shows on the dipstick at all when cold, then the level is OK.

[Cerberus90]

NWTony said:

I believe it's generally believed that if the oil shows on the dipstick at all when cold, then the level is OK.

Isn't the level well over the max mark when cold? Sure it was the last time I took one out when cold.

[ShiDevil]

Cerberus90 said:

Isn't the level well over the max mark when cold? Sure it was the last time I took one out when cold.

No! It shouldn't be. It's a dry dump, the oil is sucked up when running and falls back after. Some say there is a little oil on the bottom of the dipstick at cold, but you need to measure when hot. Run to 65 degrees, then with engine running, get out unscrew oil cap so it's resting on the top, some have it lightly fitted. Turn engine off, sprint like the wind to the cap, take off, wipe, dip, if there's oil on it your good

[Bobhon]

Thanks all

I dipped without screwing the cap back down today and I'm almost at the Max, so no need for a top up just yet.

The Service Book has 10W50 Fully Synthetic written against the last service, but the handbook says 10W40 Fully Synthetic??? What are people generally running on?

Bob

[NWTony]

10/40 semi synthetic as recommended by TVR Power.

[Cerberus90]

ShiDevil said:

No! It shouldn't be. It's a dry dump, the oil is sucked up when running and falls back after. Some say there is a little oil on the bottom of the dipstick at cold, but you need to measure when hot. Run to 65 degrees, then with engine running, get out unscrew oil cap so it's resting on the top, some have it lightly fitted. Turn engine off, sprint like the wind to the cap, take off, wipe, dip, if there's oil on it your good

Precisely, so when the engine is hot, it's sucked/pumped oil into the engine, so the level in the tank goes down (to between the min and max mark). When the engine is cold, the oil has drained into the tank raising the level above the min/max marks.

I'm not saying it should be dipped when cold, just saying that going by "if there's any oil on the dipstick at cold then it's probably fine" isn't the way I'd go for ascertaining the level.

[grumbledoak]

Cerberus90 said:

Precisely, so when the engine is hot, it's sucked/pumped oil into the engine, so the level in the tank goes down (to between the min and max mark). When the engine is cold, the oil has drained into the tank raising the level above the min/max marks.

The other way 'round. It drains into the engine when cold, so you have to drive her for a while to take a reading in the tank.

[mycroft]

Its not a ideal set up to dip the oil , my thoughts have always been is the car using oil . so I tried to establish a method that worked for me , then checked the oil just after a service . As long as the level stays fairly consistent I'm happy.
My car doesn't use oil but I'm only doing 4-5k a year . If I've got it wrong then I just need to get a 4.3 rebuild past my dearly beloved
Win win for me

[grumbledoak]

As long as you are consistent in how you measure it you can get a feeling for how much oil she drinks. I started off with typical TVR paranoia, measuring every trip. I slowly dropped it down eventually to every 500 miles. Actually at my 3-4k p.a. she didn't drink enough to need a top up between services, though I did top her up once or twice anyway.

[Cerberus90]

grumbledoak said:

The other way 'round. It drains into the engine when cold, so you have to drive her for a while to take a reading in the tank.

You're going to have me going out and checking now,

[T40ORA]

ShiDevil said:

No! It shouldn't be. It's a dry dump, the oil is sucked up when running and falls back after. Some say there is a little oil on the bottom of the dipstick at cold, but you need to measure when hot. Run to 65 degrees, then with engine running, get out unscrew oil cap so it's resting on the top, some have it lightly fitted. Turn engine off, sprint like the wind to the cap, take off, wipe, dip, if there's oil on it your good

When you say, if there is oil on it, do you mean any oil? Or should it still be at max level? After years of ownership I am still unhappy with checking the oil. I usually just do the first bit of checking immediately after turning off the engine, and if there is significant oil on the dipstick past the max mark I am 'happy'.

'Happy' being a relative term....

[TOV!E]

NWTony said:

10/40 semi synthetic as recommended by TVR Power.

Ditto............

[AOK]

Bobhon said:

Thanks all

I dipped without screwing the cap back down today and I'm almost at the Max, so no need for a top up just yet.

The Service Book has 10W50 Fully Synthetic written against the last service, but the handbook says 10W40 Fully Synthetic??? What are people generally running on?

Bob

Funny I was thinking about this earlier today. I do the following:
- Get car up to running temp (for me circa 93-98°c)
- Turn off on a level surface and leave for circa 15-30 mins
- Unscrew dipstick and dry with a paper towel
- Put dipstick back in and turn head about 3-4 times (so probably about 1/4 way down)
- And then unscrew and remove dipstick while challenging myself not to hit the side of the cylinder with the rod (personal challenge rather than necessity!!)

I'm usually somewhere around the max marker. When stone cold the dipstick is either totally dry or slightly wet at the very tip

Hope that helps