clarification: oil level reading on EARLY K series

[Miura]

OK OK, we all know that on K series you check the level with the engine hot and running and this has been done to death.

 

However, there is a guy on the French forum that need something clarified:

on early 1.6K (1995) his dipstick does not have any Hi/Lo readings just a hand made cut at 41cms from the top.

 

I seem to remember - but I may be wrong - that was the early arrangement made by Caterham before all these "engine running" stories as explained in 7FAQ

 

so

 

question 1/ does this cut indicates the level "high"

question 2/ if 1/ is yes. is this high level checked engine off and cold /or hot and running?

 

thanks

[Ged]

The notch is approx the same level as the full marker on the later metal/plastic dip stick. So it should be filled to the notch, but not above. This should be checked with the engine hot and ticking over.

 

[Miura]

Cheers Ged

[John Howe]

Thomas, of course this might me a little too technical for you but you could take the dip stick out of your 1600 K series and measure how far down the dip-stick your markings are.

 

If I am going just a little too quick for you I could get this posting translated in to French

 

JH

Deliveries by Saffron, the yellow 230bhp Sausage delivery machine

[Miura]

this sausage man is harrasing me, heeelp 😬

[John Howe]

The word you are looking for is help... we spell it with one "e".

 

What would it be in french?

 

JH

Deliveries by Saffron, the yellow 230bhp Sausage delivery machine

[Miura]

😳

 

the worst thing is that you are right 😳 we will measure and compare dipstick notch lenghts *confused* 😬

 

you win ... again 😳

[wag]

That, of course, is assuming that the tubes into which the dipsticks are inserted are the same length.

[Mick Day]

When I bought my K series car in 1994 there was none of this namby pamby checking with the engine running etc. Wet sump engines were filled to the notch on the yellow plastic dipstick & the manual said it would take 4 litres with filter, & it did. There is also no mention of a foam baffle so gawd knows when that arrived. A few years later, as people became more adventurous with their cars, there were oil feed problems & we were advised to "overfill a tad"; most added an extra half litre. Then we were told to check the level with the engine running, or within 30 seconds of turn off. The Apollo tank arrived to remove the air & "which oil" became a religion.

 

Now I mention all this because the dipstick in my engine stayed the same in all it's incarnations until the dry sump arrived. Oil temperature could be a problem as too high a level led to the oil being whacked by the crank. I used to find if I kept the level of the oil at the notch, measured within a few seconds of turning off, this would enable reasonable oil temperature on track with consistant 4 bar OP (VDO gauge) in a straight line. Anything above & the temp would quickly head to 120 C & the OP would drop.

 

So that notch was "well cut" back in 1994 & I would find an oil change volume of 7 litres with Apollo would do the biz.

 

So yes check where that notch is & compare it to the high/low markings on the metal stick. Also keep a record of oil change volumes & compare the level. Keep a log of oil temperatures & relate them as near as possible to the oil level & volume added.

[Dartmoor7]

The notch is the full mark and is checked cold on a standard engine without Apollo or similar.

Later cars had different dipsticks.

 

See this from CC:

you only need to check the oil with the engine running if you have

an anti cav tank fitted to your car.

(In reply to my:Is it true that you now recommend checking

oil level on a K-series with the engine running and is this applicable

to a 1994 Supersport? Mine has a yellow plastic dipstick with a notch

cut in the side which I assume is the correct level?)

 

See this from Len Unwin:

When I was at Caterham the original dipstick was a modified Rover, which we cut a notch in. When the Apollo came in I noticed that the oil in the sump was very low when the car was running so I recommend to Reg. who designed the Apollo that oil should be checked running i.e. when the Apollo is full. We then made the vvc, which had problems running bearings, but when checked running, the oil was ok, on investigation we found that the vvc dipstick was different to the standard k due to the amount of oil the head retains. I then decided that with all the different combinations that the simplest way was to check all engines the same way with or without Apollo, vvc or standard. So the correct way is: - Use a Caterham dipstick which are now bespoke to the sump, run the car and warm the oil and check when running, in practice you can check with the engine stopped as long as you do it immediately. Those with vvc may also want to rev the car as the head when running at reasonable revs seem to retain an awful lot of oil. The simple test is to check when cold and having not run and then running to see how much the level drops. The thinking being that the oil level should be correct when running, now the standard Rover stick allows for the drop but with a different sump and the fact some cars have Apollo’s I went for one dipstick to avoid confusion and one method for checking for the same reason

 

Jerry Parker

L7 SVN

1400 Supersport

 

PS My car has over 43,000 miles, it's a 1400 so has to revved high to get the performance, has always been filled to the notch, cold, and has never had any engine or oil pressure problems at all.

 

Edited by - L7SVN on 22 Nov 2006 14:06:15

[Miura]