Wait time to check oil

See your owners manual. Some years are different

 

i have used 15 minutes after shutdown as a standard. car has to be fully warmed up and driven, not just started and allowed to idle. oil temps usually hover under 200 -210 max. 4 308s so far and this method has worked well for me. as long as its between the min max marks, i usually left it where it was, and checked it every other fuel stop.( 2 times a month or so)

 

The manual for the 83 308 clearly states to wait 15 minutes after shutdown. It can't get any clearer than that can it?

 

It's one of those topics that gets beat to death around here and some people get frustrated with seeing the same question pop up time after time.

With lots of growth on the forum, new owners, ect...repeated topics come up....not a big deal IMO.

Anyway, I subscribe to my own method. At oil change, I put in required amount of oil, run car, let sit till fully cold, and check the dipstick. I make note of the level and then I always check it cold. IMO, removes many of the variables.

A respected car guy/mechanic (sadly no longer here) from way back in the early days of F-chat advocated this as well.

 

let's see - rcraig filled out his profile, so we know he has a 79 308.

steve in post #2 says check the manual, different years say different things.

glassman in post #4 gives information for an '83, and thereby pegs the bull**** meter.

personally, I doubt if it makes much difference whether you check it immediately after shutdown, wait a while, or check it cold...as long as you don't get crazy trying to top it up to the full line. There's enough oil in the system to just not worry about it.

 

This have to be if you have a dry sump engine.

 

If thats what your manual says it is correct. Every model and year seems to have a different procedure. So go with what your manual tells you. As for condesending, that was not my intent.

 

I agree with some of the frustration here. Why can't you just check it cold? In other words, how could one engine in one car be so radically different than another? And, now, the new Harleys are the same.

The answer, it seems, is aluminum.

The manufacturers are all in line on this one. But, I wonder what the range is for two randomly chosen motors with the same amount of oil poured into them from the factory? I guess I'm surprised the variation can be so much that the manufacturer recommends checking the level "hot".

I check mine both hot and cold (Harley & 308) so I have some idea about what to expect hot when in a pinch I have to check it cold.

Seamus

 

Here is something you might find interesting. If I check my oil cold, it isn't even on the stick. Ten minutes after shut down it is barely on the stick. Fifteen minutes and it indicates full. And yes the car is filled with the proper quantity of oil. I still say do what the manual say's and it will be correct.

 

Strange that it is different from year to year, obviously the method for checking is different for a dry sump. Although to throw a cat amongst the pigeons, why should we be really concerned on the oil level when the engine is cold? We should be concerned of the level when the engine and oil is hot. That is when the oil is needed. Why should we be waiting for all the oil to run down to the bottom of the engine/sump when it won't be doing that when the engine is running?
Of course you shouldn't overfill an engine with oil, but I reckon there is heaps more potetential for damage to an engine with not enough oil than too much.
Don't lose sleep over the oil level, when you have around 7 or 8 litres of the stuff in the engine you have a fair amount of protection.

 

I think this issue gets beaten to death for several reasons. First, some are being so insanely careful they are getting anal about it. Secondly, many are just plain confused and/or not educated enough about machines and engines and really dont know whats going on. Then, to be fair, there are individuals who just either hate to read, or just ask everyone. And lastly, the 308 comes in two flavors of lubrication systems.

First we have the original and more superior racing developed dry sump cars. On these cars, a second oil pump in the bottom of the pan is continuously removing oil from the engine and pumping it into a large tank called a reservoir. This is where the oil level is checked, and it must be checked right after shutdown. If you wait until tomorrow it will have drained back into the sump and will read low. If you add more oil to bring it to the full mark and start the car, your going to have an awful mess when that tank fills up and blows the cap off. Moral here is to check oil only a short time after engine shut down.

Then we have the Saturday night cruiser wet sump cars. Like a Ford or Chevy, we only get one oil pump. Pretty much whatever it has in the sump after its shut off, is about what it will have next week. Well, not quite. Unlike your Ford, the 308 has a vertically mounted oil filter and a large oil cooler, and they can drain back into the sump, showing a high reading after sitting for a time.

So, if you take the time to familiarise yourself with your babies idiosyncracies, she will tell you what you need to know. Generally a fuel stop gives ample time for oil to run down enough to give to an accurate reading. You dont need a stop watch or need to wait precisely 14'59", its not that critical. What IS critical, is knowing there is enough in there to prevent starvation and air emulsification, or that its not overfilled, which can be almost as dangerous. And certainly you want to be sure it has oil before starting it. In my experience all the oil thats going to run down to the sump in a hot engine, will run down in less than a minute. The 308 has a high flow pump, and it could empty the entire volume of the sump in less than a minute or so, all 10 quarts. Anything that hasnt drained down in that first minute or so wont be reading on the stick, and isnt important to me. On the dry sump cars, there may me a lot of fine bubbles entrained in the reservoir, and so for that reason it could be appropriate to wait a tiny bit longer.

On 308's that have been sitting for a long period, or a car your not familiar with, starting one could cause apprehension. If its a wet sump car, checking the oil may show it over fillled. On a dry sump car, its virtually sure to read empty. What do you do? Well, you can try to start it, but you better watch that oil pressure gauge like a hawk. If it does not show pressure within a very short time you need to shut it down. In many cases, its better to just disable the ignition and crank it until it reads pressure. In any event, once its been running a minute or so, you can shut it down and check the level as per normal.

Happy motoring

 

Great anwser. Finally someone who doesn't 'kill/hammer' others for not understanding basics.

This is a forum afterall, and this is a good anwers: thanks

I will have to study my 348 and 456 better to truly understand the timing of checking oil.

I have found on the 348/Mondial-T that after a good run of at least 30 min. that, and with a fair cool down of about 10 min. that opening the engine cover, wiping down the stick, puting back in, and then shutting down the engine, that within about 3 min, I get a good more accurate reading.....sometimes I even do it twice, becuase the stick is BARE and I get a bit nervous, but on second try within that >1min <3 min. window, I get a 'good' less-heart-palputation reading.

on the 456 I see no difference in timing for checking vs the 348 setup. I will need to check this a bit better, but have stuck to the >1<3 min. frame...

IF THIS didn't check right, I start over and check it again, run engine on road for a few min. then check again....becuase adding Too much oil is not nice.

BTW, always keep 3-4 quarts in each car in case...but never that much an issue. AND, probably better to keep oil in "T" in trunk...gets in nice and warm when needed...no warm up...those trunks can melt chocolate

 

The old manuals are not anywhere near that clear. So what I did was change the oil, add in the appropriate amount of oil (taking into account that not all the oil will drain out) ran the car, then the next morning took a reading on the dipstick. The oil line was about 3/8 inch above the full line and that's the reference I use now. It seems to me that checking oil levels at a certain time limit after driving is unreliable...dependant of how fast the oil settles which is dependant or affected by variables such as temperature, viscosity etc.

Just my 2 cents.