Where does my engine hide it's oil? Quirky issue

Engines, Transmissions & Final Drive questions and answers

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ForceMajeure
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Re: Where does my engine hide it's oil? Quirky issue

Postby ForceMajeure » Wed Feb 23, 2011 7:18 pm

Cheers, thats why its strange because i put in 4 litres 3 weeks ago and added around another litre last week when i got a dodgy reading with the dipstick and today another 800 or so mills which is nearly 6 litres in 3 weeks, hence its now totally over full and i need to take some out, basically as per your readings there is no way i could have no reading on my dipstick then 800ml later be way above full, iff of course you are referring to Min/Max. So im convinced there is something strange that cant be explained here.

My intial measurements was done cold as well BTW.

In hindsight i should of put much less oil in and kept checking the dipstick becasue i jacked the car up on the drivers side may have effected the reading a bit aswell.

hks_kansei wrote:don;t pull the filter off to lower the oil, it won't be any different to removing the sump plug.

just empty the oil from the sump plug, then either fill it with fresh oil (preferable) or if you must, catch the drained oil in a clean container and then top it back up with that.



ADDIT, Ive dicided not to stuff around with guess work, i have two 4 litre ice cream containeres which will solve any suspicions i may have and tell me exactly how much oil there is given i have put in circa 5.8 litres in the last three weeks.

project.r.racing
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Re: Where does my engine hide it's oil? Quirky issue

Postby project.r.racing » Wed Feb 23, 2011 7:42 pm

buy a $8 oil pan. it'll save spillage and it has measurement lines on them.

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ForceMajeure
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Re: Where does my engine hide it's oil? Quirky issue

Postby ForceMajeure » Wed Feb 23, 2011 8:19 pm

project.r.racing wrote:buy a $8 oil pan. it'll save spillage and it has measurement lines on them.


I have 3 oil pans that are all dirty which is why im not using them, but im not going to reuse the oil now anyway, as was my original plan to keep it clean, this oil (the shell helix ultra) is not looking good, after only 3 weeks of use, which is pretty poor IMO, i read they have had to make the oil "more environmentaly green" by putting in less of some ingredient which was a protectant of some type, so im now convinced the helix ultra is not up to grade these days, i read this on the car bible website so i give it some credence. Also this oil is most likely too thin for the super hot days we have been getting in Sydney/NSW etc, so in with the thicker grade oil.

looks like im getting approx 5 litres or a bit more including the oil filter out, so its not like i had no oil.

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rossint
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Re: Where does my engine hide it's oil? Quirky issue

Postby rossint » Wed Feb 23, 2011 8:22 pm

My car will read about 1/2 full on the dipstick after the cars been sitting but you take it for a drive and check it and theres plenty in there.

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ForceMajeure
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Re: Where does my engine hide it's oil? Quirky issue

Postby ForceMajeure » Wed Feb 23, 2011 10:32 pm

Well all is good with the new oil, im not claiming this is some kind of phenomenon as my research was more than tardy on a few fronts, so im putting this down to a lot of spirited driving, the massive heat wave, the "new improved" crap shell helix ultra formula and the recent mods on my car combined with a 156k motor getting on a bit.

Im going to keep a close eye on my oil levels daily as a precaution. :idea:

Thanks for the measurements and help. :beer:


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