Oil topup...how much?

tomdempsey200

00 mitsubishi colt 1.3

the oil is gone down to the min level
ballpark how much would i need to put in bring it back up halfway to max


thanks

CiniO

Your manual should state somewhere how many ml difference is there between min and max level.

But for most cars it's around 750ml - 1000ml.

So to rise it from min to half, you will need between 375ml - 500ml most likely.

Alanstrainor

Make sure you use the correct oil. Its not all the same.

tomdempsey200

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Make sure you use the correct oil. Its not all the same.

Will do
it's the same stuff left over from the last oil change
thanks guys

corktina

why halfway?

tomdempsey200

corktina wrote: »

why halfway?

should it go higher?

Cee-Jay-Cee

tomdempsey200 wrote: »

should it go higher?

Fill it to the maximum level mark on the dipstick. The top mark is the level it's supposed to be at, the low level mark is an indicator on what the absolute lowest safe level it can be at but always top up the top mark. For your sump/engine I'd say 3/4 litre should take it from min to max

tomdempsey200

Will do

tomdempsey200

what's the best way to check level?

warm the engine and then turn it off?

Sobanek

tomdempsey200 wrote: »

what's the best way to check level?

warm the engine and then turn it off?

Flat ground, don't turn the engine on.

challengemaster

tomdempsey200 wrote: »

what's the best way to check level?

warm the engine and then turn it off?

Check the manual

tomdempsey200

Sobanek wrote: »

Flat ground, don't turn the engine on.

thanks

I assumed all cars are the same procedure for checking oil level

I usually ran the engine for a few minutes before checking

corkgsxr

tomdempsey200 wrote: »

thanks

I assumed all cars are the same procedure for checking oil level

I usually ran the engine for a few minutes before checking

Some have to be running. Rare but true. And if you do it turned off ifs enough to pop the engine when you try start

tomdempsey200

ok so

I'll check the manual and proceed

just wanted to hear it from the experts too

Voodoomelon

I always wait several hours after the car has been run to get an accurate reading. Even better is to leave it over night and check it in the morning. Albeit a minute difference, you get the majority of oil back in the sump after leaving it sit, especially on larger engines. I've noticed as much as a 20% difference in level (between min and max) between checking a minute or two after the engine is off and leaving it over night. Temperature would effect this too.

challengemaster

Voodoomelon wrote: »

I always wait several hours after the car has been run to get an accurate reading. Even better is to leave it over night and check it in the morning. Albeit a minute difference, you get the majority of oil back in the sump after leaving it sit, especially on larger engines. I've noticed as much as a 20% difference in level (between min and max) between checking a minute or two after the engine is off and leaving it over night. Temperature would effect this too.

Interesting cos my BMW manual says to check after 5 minutes from turning the engine off from operating temp.

tomdempsey200

challengemaster wrote: »

Interesting cos my BMW manual says to check after 5 minutes from turning the engine off from operating temp.

just checked... mine is same

engine off

'normal operating temperature'

Voodoomelon

challengemaster wrote: »

Interesting cos my BMW manual says to check after 5 minutes from turning the engine off from operating temp.

Could well be the case and that is the correct level to read, not several hours later when the oil is denser when colder. Must have a look at my own.

tomdempsey200

there's a big difference on the dipstick between hot and cold

I presume 'i'll just go by the manual and check it hot

Voodoomelon

Jesus I hate the E65 manual, everything is worded terribly. They don't even make reference to the dipstick in the engine bay.

"Your car is equipped with an electronic oil-level monitor. The precondition for a possibly accurate display of the oil level is the measurement taken by an operational, warm engine, e.g. after an uninterrupted drive of at least 10 km. You can let yourself to be shown the oil level during a drive or while parked on a level surface with a running engine. You can have the current oil level indicated in the control display".

My head hurts after that. Anyways, warm engine is the way to go.

Neilw

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Jesus I hate the E65 manual, everything is worded terribly. They don't even make reference to the dipstick in the engine bay.

"Your car is equipped with an electronic oil-level monitor. The precondition for a possibly accurate display of the oil level is the measurement taken by an operational, warm engine, e.g. after an uninterrupted drive of at least 10 km. You can let yourself to be shown the oil level during a drive or while parked on a level surface with a running engine. You can have the current oil level indicated in the control display".

My head hurts after that. Anyways, warm engine is the way to go.

Mine is the same, no dipstick and check level with the engine running. It displays ok until it's down a litre then it prompts to add 1 litre of oil.
Wouldn't it be cheaper and easier to just have a dipstick? I don't 100% trust the electronic level.

Voodoomelon

Aye, I find the electronic one inaccurate. Mine actually has a dipstick but I think the manual makes no reference to it as other models in the range don't.