[turbo_c]

Now before I get flamed by people asking me to RTFM (PM me if you don't know what that means ) ...

Here's the thing:

On a cool monsoon morning in Pune (20 degrees C?), if I pull the dip stick in my Esteem, I see the oil level about 1/3 between the upper and lower mark. If I start the engine and let it warm to operating temp, then shut it off for a few minutes and check the level with the dip stick again, it shows up at almost the top mark!

Either the oil is expanding (more than expected) with temp or some if it gets "stored" somewhere other than the sump.

I use regular Castrol CRB 20W40, change it every 5000 - 7000 km and my my engine is the stock G13B (MPFI 16V 1.3L 4 cyl Esteem Engine), last oil change was about 1000Km;1 month back.

Question: If I see the oil level at 1/3 between the marks on my (car's ) dipstick, should I top it up? If yes, how much?

What if I'm somewhere in the middle of nowhere without top up oil and I notice the oil level slightly below the bottom mark with the engine cold? Is it ok to think "oh... it will rise to the safe range when it is heated up" ?

- T u r b o C -

[humyum]

Hey engine oil should be checked when the engine is cold and not run for about atleast 20 min.After u start the engine the oil get splashed around and thats why the higher mark after starting the car.Engine oil is stored in the oil sump.Tell me after u start the car how long does the engine oil light remain on the dashboard?
I think u need an oil topping up.

[Rehaan]

Humyum is right.

Engine oil level should be checked when the engine is cold and has not been run in a while.

Though 1/3rd between MIN and MAX (closer to MIN) is not bad, i would try to keep it closer to MAX as opposed to MIN.
Might help if you are doing some seriously hard cornering and your oil is dancing all over the place in your sump.

cya
R

ps - make sure your car is on a flat surface.
ps2 - do NOT fill past the MAX mark (and when filling give it a little time for the oil you filled to trickle down to the sump)

[2fast4u]

the best is to keep it between Low & High.
Never Overfill above High mark as then you will have Oil burning and ur exhaust throwing black smoke, hesitant idling and will cause lot of carbon deposits in the engine combustion system. Personal experience.
Also u can have excess pressure build up on Oil Seals.

Also its better to use 20W50 as it will be good for long hot drives rather than 40 . btw Punes climate is no more cold now so i suggest 20W50 but u can use ur owners manual for any warranty reasons

Always check when cold preferably first thing early morning.

[turbo_c]

Originally Posted by humyum

Hey engine oil should be checked when the engine is cold and not run for about atleast 20 min.

20 mins is too little for the car (at least mine!) to cool off... so I guess I need to check the oil level first thing before starting the engine for the day

Originally Posted by humyum

After u start the engine the oil get splashed around and thats why the higher mark after starting the car.

The splashing can't explain the higher level because I let it stand for at least 5 mins before checking the level in the "hot" condition and I wipe the dipstick clean before taking a reading.

Originally Posted by humyum

Tell me after u start the car how long does the engine oil light remain on the dashboard?

The light goes out as soon as the engine starts spinning. I don't let the level get THAT low! The bright red "oil can" light is quite self explanatory.

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Though 1/3rd between MIN and MAX (closer to MIN) is not bad, i would try to keep it closer to MAX as opposed to MIN.
Might help if you are doing some seriously hard cornering and your oil is dancing all over the place in your sump.

Got it !

To summarize: Check engine oil before starting off for the day, ambient temp. can be disregarded and keep the level between the top 2/3 and the top mark.

But, I'm still wondering... the volume change between cold and operating temp is quite significant, so, does that mean that filling up the oil to the top mark (when cold) would make it "overfull" at operating temp.? Or is the "high" mark decided after taking into consideration the maximum expansion of the oil with temp?

- T u r b o C -

[humyum]

U clean the dipstick all right but have u noticed that the area where u insert the dipstick is always present with oil.Thats the reason for the upper most part of the dipstick being thicker and has a bottle cap type thing which does allow oil to spill out during operation.
So even thought u have rested your car for 5 min it will show more oil level than the oil level it shows when u check it for the first time without starting the engine after a nights stop
And about the engine oil light in my car although the engine oil is full and even after the engine starts the oil light stays for about 2 seconds and then vanishes.Although its because i have a carburated 800 and my idle rpm when the engine starts for the first time is way below what it should be due to it being a carburated engine and so no fancy ecus to raise the idle rpm when the engine is cold.
Yes and as rehaan said keeping it as close to the high mark will definatly help your engine during cornering and high speed runs where the oil will circulate more efficienty and the engine will not be starved of engine oil in any condition

[Crazy_Eddy]

How does one check the dipstick for the engine oil level in the Linea?

The manual just has a vague reference to ensuring that oil is between the min and max level.
However the dipstick is some sort of weird coiled wire with no min and max markings on it. There is a short 2~3cm flat portion right at the tip of the dipstick, and a friend who owns a Palio tells me that that is the min-max area. Any pointers?

Was topping up my windscreen wiper fluid and just had a quick look at it. The oil marking was about halfway across the dipstick (including the coiled portion). However I did not wipe the dipstick before re-inserting and checking the level since I wasnt sure what level to check for.

Thanks in advance

[Ravveendrra]

Originally Posted by Crazy_Eddy

How does one check the dipstick for the engine oil level in the Linea?

The manual just has a vague reference to ensuring that oil is between the min and max level.
However the dipstick is some sort of weird coiled wire with no min and max markings on it. There is a short 2~3cm flat portion right at the tip of the dipstick, and a friend who owns a Palio tells me that that is the min-max area. Any pointers?

Was topping up my windscreen wiper fluid and just had a quick look at it. The oil marking was about halfway across the dipstick (including the coiled portion). However I did not wipe the dipstick before re-inserting and checking the level since I wasnt sure what level to check for.

Thanks in advance

Hi Eddy,

Before you start the engine in the morning, take the dipstick out - wipe clean with clean cloth. Re-insert the stick all the way in and pull out gently, hold the stick horizontal to the ground and look at the flat portion at the tip, there will be two lines or marker (even bits of protruding plastic) at either end of the flat bit. The one towards the tip is the min. level and the one towards the coiled portion will be the max. mark.

If the oil level is somewhere between the two, the oil level is fine.

Cheers,

[Crazy_Eddy]

Thanks Ravveendrra, did as you said.
Its the opposite now - there's no engine oil showing on the dipstick leave alone the flat portion, just a tad bit right on the tip :P

The car has done ~10K kms so far. Is this normal oil consumption which I should just top up or is something wrong?

[Ravveendrra]

Originally Posted by Crazy_Eddy

Thanks Ravveendrra, did as you said.
Its the opposite now - there's no engine oil showing on the dipstick leave alone the flat portion, just a tad bit right on the tip :P

The car has done ~10K kms so far. Is this normal oil consumption which I should just top up or is something wrong?

Top up immediately unless the car is being sent for service this week. When is the next service due?

Cheers,

[Crazy_Eddy]

Topped it up in the evening. The next service is due only at 15K Kms. I assumed Fiat had kept the long 15K Km service intervals since we don't need to monitor the oil that often. Guess I was wrong.

The TASS said they filled up only 500ml which is supposedly normal consumption, but it looked like they put in atleast a litre. Plus the manual says the min/max range on the dipstick corresponds to a litre. They were filling from those metal oil cans they usually have at petrol bunks, so I made a guess based on how much they poured. They looked under the body for any oil leaks and could not spot anything. So as of now I guess the car probably came with less oil in the first place. Will check over the next 2K Kms or so.

Thanks once again

[pranavt]

The Linea cannot leak oil, it's impossible. It's probably negligence on someone else's part.

[black12rr]

@ crazy eddy , did you check this when the car is parked at flat surface ?

Even I have noticed , when the car is parked with right or left side being high , the dip stick shows at the bottom. Park it at horizontal flat surface and check again .

[Crazy_Eddy]

^ Yep it was a flat surface. We had checked again at the TASS and the dipstick showed the same thing there as well. The oil level was definitely not being misread.

Originally Posted by pranavt

The Linea cannot leak oil, it's impossible. It's probably negligence on someone else's part.

Why not? Any engine can leak oil, right?

[Ravveendrra]

Originally Posted by Crazy_Eddy

.......
Why not? Any engine can leak oil, right?

LOL, just ignore that comment from pranavt, he was just being naughty.

Cheers,