1.5 dCi Engine Oil

Forum for Engine, Exhaust, Drivetrain, ECU
ThreeSixty
Posts: 100
Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2015 3:56 pm

Post by ThreeSixty »

The procedure for checking the oil level from the manual,

1.Park the vehicle on a level surface and apply the
parking brake.
2. Start the engine. If the engine is cold, start and
let the engine idle until it reaches the operational
temperature.
3. Turn the engine off.
4. Wait at least 10 minutes for the engine oil to
drain back into the oil pan.

Why not check it when the engine is cold? i would think that it be the right time as there has been no expansion of the oil when the engine has been running.

After reading this, I do my checks 10 mins after coming from a drive.

Normally, I would do a check if I have a long motorway journey ahead, and would check when the engine is cold & stationary from overnight just before starting off. Now I need to do it the day before. :?

Would like to know if there is some logical reason as to why Nissan suggests so.
1.5 dCi 360. Ink Blue; Mud Flaps and Internal rubber mats & after market door sill plates.
Image

qashqai666
Posts: 12
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2016 8:47 am

Post by qashqai666 »

No idea to be honest , don't worry about the oil expanding , because it won't , well not to any degree that you would notice .....
gvmdaddy
Posts: 2245
Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2014 11:28 pm

Post by gvmdaddy »

One possible reason.....cold oil is less viscous than when its heated up. If your vehicle has been parhed on an incline and you move it even a short distance onto a level surfaceto dip the oil, then the cold, clingy oil would show either a true or high reading, depending on the way the vehicle was positioned on the incline. If you run the engine to operating temp tyen the oil becomes more viscous/runny and will quickly reach its true level on the dipstick. You would get the same true reading even if you didnt warm the oil but it would probably take an hour or so for the cold oil to find its true level. Hope this makes sense.
qashqai666
Posts: 12
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2016 8:47 am

Post by qashqai666 »

Wrong way round , it's thinner , less viscous when cold to make sure it gets to where it needs to be quickly ....
benchmark
Posts: 87
Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2016 7:53 pm
Location: West Yorkshire

Post by benchmark »

qashqai666 wrote:Wrong way round , it's thinner , less viscous when cold to make sure it gets to where it needs to be quickly ....
And how does that fit in with this? Image
gvmdaddy
Posts: 2245
Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2014 11:28 pm

Post by gvmdaddy »

Beat me to that graph, benchmark!
Multi grade oils have addatives to prevent them from thinning too much at high temperatures, but they do not 'thicken' the oil as it gets hotter.
oilman
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2015 12:06 pm

Post by oilman »

gvmdaddy wrote:One possible reason.....cold oil is less viscous than when its heated up. If your vehicle has been parhed on an incline and you move it even a short distance onto a level surfaceto dip the oil, then the cold, clingy oil would show either a true or high reading, depending on the way the vehicle was positioned on the incline. If you run the engine to operating temp tyen the oil becomes more viscous/runny and will quickly reach its true level on the dipstick. You would get the same true reading even if you didnt warm the oil but it would probably take an hour or so for the cold oil to find its true level. Hope this makes sense.

Spot on.

Yes, it is an advantage to have an oil that is thin when cold for good cold start protection, but it will still be thinner when hot.

https://www.opieoils.co.uk/t-multi-grad ... ained.aspx

Cheers

Tim
rod9669
Posts: 166
Joined: Thu Jul 16, 2015 10:53 pm

Post by rod9669 »

rod9669 wrote:Didn't check as I didn't have anything to wipe the stick with so just chucked half of it in. Warning came on again on the way home so I've put almost all of the rest in - keep forgetting to check before I set off

I probably do drive it hard - living in lumpy Wales you don't have much choice! Treated it well since new though and didn't go over the top for the first 1500 miles or so.

I'll keep an eye
33k on the clock now, serviced at 18k at main dealer and the warning has come on again. Too dark to physically check but there's something not right. Glad it's going in September
rod9669
Posts: 166
Joined: Thu Jul 16, 2015 10:53 pm

Post by rod9669 »

rod9669 wrote: Fri Jan 13, 2017 8:44 pm
rod9669 wrote:Didn't check as I didn't have anything to wipe the stick with so just chucked half of it in. Warning came on again on the way home so I've put almost all of the rest in - keep forgetting to check before I set off

I probably do drive it hard - living in lumpy Wales you don't have much choice! Treated it well since new though and didn't go over the top for the first 1500 miles or so.

I'll keep an eye
33k on the clock now, serviced at 18k at main dealer and the warning has come on again. Too dark to physically check but there's something not right. Glad it's going in September
50,500 on the clock and low level warning came on again. Always about 3k before a service is due - well, it's not having any more - 4 weeks and counting

Anyone else have the same issue?
gvmdaddy
Posts: 2245
Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2014 11:28 pm

Post by gvmdaddy »

Never had a warning light come on as I keep it topped up every couple of months or so. Turns out its using approx 1l oil per 10k miles, which to me is totally acceptable.
Keeping it topped upnto max also makes a noticeable difference to the noise from the engine.
Post Reply