Proper oil level checking

What is the right condition to check the motor oil level on the
dipstick? Soon after stopping the engine or after it cooled down?
Thanks.

 

Well after it has cooled down. You need to be sure that the oil has
returned from the galleries above into the sump. Also hot oil expands and
will appear deeper than normal when cold. The cold depth is that which has
to be measured.

 

Thanks, that settles an argument in my favor.

 

No, you said the opposite !

 

Check the oil when it's cool.

Transmission when it hot. Go through the gears slowly, then check
transmission fluid.

 

The manual says to check the oil every time you re-fuel. It says to
wait a few minutes before checking. So that means it is a warm engine.
If my car is on a level surface and has been parked all day, I may
check the oil, and it seems to be at the same level.

 

How exactly would I go through the gears slowly and then immediately
check the ATF level?

 

You would park in the driveway with the engine running (with your foot on
the brake) and slowly move the shift lever from park to 1 and back pausing
for a second in each gear, then get out and pull the dipstick.

Unless the procedure has been recently changed, on Hondas, you just pull out
the ATF dipstick and read it the same way you check the oil. Most other car
makes require the slowly through the gears protocol, but most Hondas don't.

Bottom line - get out your owner's manual and do what it says for your car.

 

Actually, I hate to break the news, but I've read the Owner's Manual, so
I knew that one measures the ATF when the engine is warm. That's why I
didn't ask about it in my first post. Since you offered your advise on
it anyway, and one that I did not recall from the manual. That's why I
asked about it. I checked the manual again and could not find anything
about the elaborate procedure you described. The 94 Accord manual only
says this:
"Check the fluid level with the engine at normal operating temerature.
1. Park the car on level ground. Shut off the engine.
2. Remove the dipstick (yellow loop) from the transmission and wipe it
with a clean cloth.
3. Insert the dipstick into the transmission.
4. Remove the dipstick and check the fluid level. It should be between
the upper and lower marks.
etc."

So there is nothing there about going through the gears slowly, etc.

As to my inquiry about measuring the oil level, even that is described
slightly more casually in the manual than some of you wrote. Instead of
measuring it with the engine cold, the manual only instructs to
"Check the engine oil a couple of minutes after shutting off the engine.
This will allow the oil to drain down to the bottom of the engine."

Couple of minutes after engine shut-off hardly makes the engine or oil
cold. So, I guess, Wade was closest to what the manual says. The
difference may be simply in the target audience. The Owner's Manual
speaks to the average lay motorist, while you are answering with a more
knowledgeable techy background.

Thanks for the replies.

 

I answered your specific question, which was how to go about doing that
procedure, but if you look you will see that I also made the point in my
posting that most Hondas do NOT require that slow move through the gears
procedure. If your owners manual doesn't say you should do it, you
shouldn't.

ATF expands significantly when it is hot, so it is important to note in your
manual whether you should check it hot or cold.

With motor oil it doesn't make much if any difference whether its hot or
cold. Usually you get the best reading on the motor oil by checking it in
the morning before you start the engine the first time. That way its had
all night to drain down.

 

Certainly on our CRV, my wife drove it out of the garage not realising I
wanted to check the oil. After 15 minutes I dipped it and the level was
midway between max and min. The following morning I dipped it before it
was started and the level was on max. I would therefore argue that "a
couple of minutes" wait could well result in overfilling whatever the
manufacturer says.

 

Actually, this is close to what caused me to post my question in the
first place. The independent shop where I usually take my car for
service, does not carry Castrol oil, so I would take my own 4 Qts of
5W-30 Castrol for oil changes. Two changes ago a mechanic there
mentioned that 4 qts was not enough and he needed to add about a half qt
to get the oil level to the upper mark. Next time I took 5 qts for oil
change of which he used 4 and a half. However, after I drove home and
checked the level the next morning, I noticed that it was well above the
upper dipstick mark. Well, I checked again the Owner's Manual and it
sure specified only 4 qts for oil and filter change. So next time, when
I made the appointment I mentioned this and that I would only take 4 qts
again because that's what the manual says and last time he overfilled it
with 4.5 qts.

When I went there to pick up my car, the mechanic just finished the oil
change and for whatever reason, he also ran the engine for a few seconds
and then to prove his point, showed me the dipstick that the 4 qts oil I
gave him did not fill the engine to the upper mark. Well, because the
oil was so clear at that point, it was hard to see for me how far the
oil went on the dipstick, but I took his word for it. I told him not to
worry because I can always refill any missing oil at home.
Only later occured to me that the measuring discrepancy must have
occured because he looked at the dipstick right after running the engine
and thus some of the oil was still not drained down to the pan. Since
the engine wasn't very warm at that time, the drain would have taken
even longer than at normal operating temp. Needless to say that when I
measured the oil level next morning in my garage, it was right at the
upper mark.

As I've been generally satisfied with that independent shop specializing
in Japanese cars, this incident however was quite a disappointment for
me. How could a mechanic not know something so elementary?

 

Maybe not a mechanic, just a hired hand. Either way he should, as you say,
have been aware of something so basic.

 

What if the manufacturer designed the lines on the dipstick for
readings with the engine warm and shut off for a few minutes? Given
how the owner's manuals speak of checking the level at every fillup,
it makes sense that the dipstick lines would be so designed.

 

The proper way to check fluid levels is to do so before the engine has
been started. Failing to check first could result in severe damage to
the engine, if there was a fault that allowed the oil (or any other
fluid) to drain out since the vehicle was parked.

 

Is the actual quantity of oil in the car that critical? Isn't there a bit of
leeway?

 

When I mentioned a leak, I was referring to a critical loss of oil. I
had one of my employees parked his tractor and didn't do his Post -Trip
Inspection. Thankfully he did his Pre-Trip Inspection and discovered no
oil on the dipstick and discovered a hole in the pan. Anything can
happen and it takes very little time to check any vehicle over before
starting its engine.

 

On Sep 10, 7:48 am, Brian Smith

Do you check all your fluids before every engine start?

 

No, I don't. But once a week for sure and anytime that I have driven
over any material on the road that has struck the underside of my
vehicle. I check for any visible leaks and damage when I park the vehicle.

 

        No, I don't.[/QUOTE]


The owner's manual's counsel is fine.