Am I going mad?! Oil level raised then returns to normal.

lordrobs

lordrobs

lordrobs

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I decided to check my oil level on Tuesday night about 10 minutes after getting home from work. This is on my company Leon (1.4 TSI) which never burns a drop of oil so I was expecting to see it sat on max as it normally is.

When I checked it though it was raised above max, by about 1/4 L at a guess and stank of petrol. I didn't think too much more of it and checked it again about half an hour later when the engine had cooled a bit and found the same raised oil level but less of a petrol smell. I informed work and said I'd just keep an eye on it.

Fast forward to today and just over 400 miles of use and the oil level is bang on max and no petrol smell. The car has been parked up for about 6 hours so is stone cold if that makes a difference.

Is it possible that I could have an intermittent leaky injector and that fuel had simply evaporated off in the meantime or am I actually going insane?
 
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Really you should only check your oil when the engine is cold for an accurate reading because hot oil expands. When it's hot it's likely to read higher than it actually is (it's possible it may also read low depending on how much oil has drained back to the sump when you check it too). 10 minutes after driving home I'd expect the engine and oil would still be hot
 
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Cheers. I'll make sure to be consistent with checking it once cooled down.

To be honest I'm probably looking for problems because it recently had the injector seals done by a main dealer that I personally wouldn't trust to work on a lawn mower!

Maybe the fuel smell was related to the fact it was hot also?
 
cokecan said:
Really you should only check your oil when the engine is cold for an accurate reading because hot oil expands.
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Would read the manual, a lot of VW group cars are supposed to be measured warm, so if you measure cold you're potentially at risk of slightly overfilling it.

Edit - from a Seat Leon manual online:

Checking oil level
– Park the vehicle in a horizontal position.
– Briefly run the engine at idle speed until the operating temperature is reached and then stop.
– Wait for about two minutes.
– Pull out the dipstick. Wipe the dipstick with a clean cloth and insert it again, pushing it in as far as it will go.
– Then pull it out once more and check the oil level ››› Fig. 310. Top up with engine oil if necessary.
Click to expand...
 
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Thanks for that. I repeated the same as I did on Tuesday just to get a comparison and the level wasn't noticeably raised and there was no strong smell of petrol so it's still a bit of a mystery.

I'll just keep an eye on it for now. It's beyond the point where it should be replaced so it might not even be a concern for too much longer.
 
Building Candy said:
Dipsticks can read different depending on which way up they go in. To do with the angle they go in the sump at. Did you have it the other way up maybe?
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Very likely! I think I may simply have been looking for an issue with the level. In isolation I probably wouldn't have even given it a second though but in 25 years of driving I've never checked my oil and been hit with such an intense fuel smell, and that includes over 5 years of driving this car.

It doesn't seem quite right at times. On the weekend it was smooth as silk yet today there was a slight coarseness to the engine noise and it seemed a little off at idle when cold. Again, maybe I'm looking for issues that aren't there.

I'm certainly happier that it is someone elses potential repair bill and I've got the fleet AA card on standby :p
 
Some dipsticks just aren't very good and are difficult to read. I remember the Abarth being like that. It was very Italian about the oil level. If it's not exploding then it's probably ok.
 
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Nasher said:
Some dipsticks just aren't very good and are difficult to read. I remember the Abarth being like that. It was very Italian about the oil level. If it's not exploding then it's probably ok.
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My mx5 dipstick was murder to read until I dremmelled some marks onto it.
 
Cyber-Mav said:
Direct injection? Then could be fuel dilution
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Yeah it is direct injection.

I'm now convinced it's not quite right. Sometimes the engine is dead smooth and quite perky, others it has a different tone to it and feels flat as a pancake. I originally thought a leaking injector, now I'm wondering if it could be blocked injectors delivering a less than ideal fuel spray?

Either way it doesn't feel like it is suddenly going to stop working and ultimately is the companies problem so I'll find something else to worry about :p
 
Nasher said:
If it's fuel dilution it will be a problem eventually. It will cause wear inside the engine.
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I'll probably look to bring my next service forward at least. I doubt the garage will be able to comment either way with regards to fuel dilution.

This is going to make me sound daft but we're all used to that by now... while I understand how diesel can mix with the fuel diluting it, how does that work with petrol? Once up to temperature my oil is usually at around 90 - 100C at motorway speed so wouldn't it just evaporate off and end up making its way through the breather as vapour?
 
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