How much oil do I put in.

I_M_Weasel · 18 Jul 2010 at 12:35

Once again I apolagise for my lack of car knowledge.

I was checking my oil today and the dipstick appears to be completely dry.
I've added 1 litre and there is no change, do I just keep adding until I do reach the mark?

How much oil would an engine need (assuming completly empty), I guess it at least had some left in.

Bemused at where the oils gone, no obvious leaks, exhaust gases look fine. The car smelled like it was going to set on firewhen I added that litre (was warm).

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

stulid · 18 Jul 2010 at 12:37

keep filling it until its level with the oil fill cap.

I_M_Weasel · 18 Jul 2010 at 12:38

Muffin` · 18 Jul 2010 at 12:39

erm - don't do that!

Jokester · 18 Jul 2010 at 12:39

Depends on the engine, I know mine takes something like 5l and it's 1l between the top and bottom mark.

stulid said:
keep filling it until its level with the oil fill cap.

Probably not a good idea to do this.

trentlad · 18 Jul 2010 at 12:40

That was a joke!!! DO NOT DO THAT!!

DM · 18 Jul 2010 at 12:41

Let it cool down and settle for 10 minutes then check it with the dipstick again.

If its still not showing add a bit more till it is showing on the dipstick.

Then take it somewhere tomorrow to find out where you are losing the oil.

Housey · 18 Jul 2010 at 12:41

Car's vary in oil volume but having no oil is not good. Keeping adding half a litre until it starts to show on your dipstick. This is a slow process as you need to add it and give it time to sink into the sump, which if cold will take a little longer. You want to aim to get it to sit on the maximum mark but my advice is if you are so bad at this get someone else to do it as many dipsticks can be misread if you don't know what you're doing or can be difficult to get a good measure. How the **** you can run out of oil is simply beyond me if it's not pee'd out all over the place. Just running a car until it uses all it's oil is madness.

I_M_Weasel · 18 Jul 2010 at 12:43

stulid said:
keep filling it until its level with the oil fill cap.

I did know not to do this, I'm bad with cars but not that bad.

trentlad · 18 Jul 2010 at 12:45

Just make sure your car is on level ground, add 0.5 liters and then check the dipstick. Repeat till your dipstick shows oil about half way on the scale.

Then take it for a 10 minute drive, park on level ground and check your oil levels. Repeat the above oil filling procedure, since it may have dropped again.

*sigh* can't believe I've posted in motors again. You'd have thought my thread winning experience would keep me away.

I_M_Weasel · 18 Jul 2010 at 12:50

ok trentlad i'll follow your advice, I'll follow stulid's if he'll buy me a new engine afterwards.

trentlad · 18 Jul 2010 at 13:00

Nice one mate.

Well the good thing about a response like stulid's is that it starts people talking pretty fast. I'm sure that was his intention. HAHA!

loltim · 18 Jul 2010 at 14:41

melchy · 18 Jul 2010 at 14:56

I_M_Weasel said:
ok trentlad i'll follow your advice, I'll follow stulid's if he'll buy me a new engine afterwards.

If you've been running it so low with oil you may need to anyway

I_M_Weasel · 18 Jul 2010 at 14:58

Well I've reached the min mark now, 1.5 Litre used.

beermonster · 18 Jul 2010 at 15:09

when did you last check it prior to this?

NathanE · 18 Jul 2010 at 15:15

You want it to be on the Max mark.

I_M_Weasel · 18 Jul 2010 at 15:18

Actually first time its been checked.

It got a new engine (refurb) 10,000 miles ago but the garage managed to bugger up the bonnet release catch so its an absolute pain to open up. Of course I've had to get in there to refill screen wash but have usually been in a rush or the car has been on the move for hours, so getting a proper reading wasn't possible.

I guess I assumed the garage would have checked the oil and with no pools of it under the car or preasure warning from the car I've not worried about it, I had some spare time to check things today and thats when I've discovered the lack of oil.

My PC is of course lovingly cared for and gets its filters cleaned every week, the car gets fixed when I break it - which is probably more often than it should be.

In my defence I frequently change its break pads (by I, I mean a garage) and fit good tyres.

I'm going to add another 1/2 litre.

DM · 18 Jul 2010 at 15:29

Sounds like a splendid buy for someone when you sell it

Pete19s · 18 Jul 2010 at 15:41

DiamondMark said:
Sounds like a splendid buy for someone when you sell it

DannyW motors? No smokes, no rattles and doesn't use a drop of oil (but only because there is none to use

)

You mention an engine refurb, what was wrong with the last engine and more importantly what car is it?