Oil level check Duratec 180/210

[paul macintyre]

Hi, can some kind person let me know in words of one syllable that a complete idiot can follow, how to check the oil in my new (to me) 7? To give you an idea of how stupid, I just spent half an hour looking for a dipstick before resorting to the handbook. It hasn't helped;

The handbook instructs; "..open the dry sump tank cap.... (which I assume is the big knurled cap on the triangular metal tank ahead of the engine, identified simply as the 'oil tank' in the handbook photo)....and look inside, you will find two baffles with centre holes. In normal condition the oil should run approximately 5mm below the middle baffle level."

That will be the middle baffle out of two?? And how to judge 5mm down a hole with hot oil sploshing around? And there aren't any baffles at all as far as I can see, just a flange with a big hole in it and a steel pipe underneath that, out of which the oil flows.

Or am I looking down the wrong hole? And while I'm in confused mode, why have 2 oil filler caps?

Many thanks,

Paul M

[aerobod - near CYYC]

When the engine is running, the oil will be flowing out of the top pipe below the filler neck, if you take a torch and shine it into the tank (smart phone light works well for this), looking past the oil flow you will see the flange with the hole in it halfway down the tank (middle baffle), the radius on the hole is about 5mm, so you just want the oil to be flowing around this radius and settling close to the top of the hole. I normally just fill it level with the top of the hole.

[paul macintyre]

My gosh! James, thank you so much!! I would not have worked that out in a million years. Guess what I'm doing first thing tomorrow morning.

Very best wishes,

PM

ps what an engine!!!!! 

[mikeo996]

Dipstick? If only.

[ScottR400D]

I find it too messy to do with engine running. 7 litres settles to 5/10 mm below the middle baffle (When you drain the oil you’ll see the lower one of the three). 

When I check the level I do it after a run. Into garage, switch off, remove bonnet and nose as quickly as I can and check the level. As long as it’s done within 5 minutes or so it seems accurate. 

I have never needed to add oil between annual changes so it’s just a precaution. 

[paul macintyre]

OK thanks to all, I have now had time to take another look, what I have, measuring from the top of the filler neck down is;

a flange with a 3.5 cm hole 4 cm down.

the oil return pipe, the centre of which is 7 cm down.

16.5 cm down is a large flange the size and shape of the whole tank. It has four holes in it, three side by side to the rear and one forward of the centre hole of the rear three. Each measures approximately 3.5 cm. There is no 5 mm hole.

With the engine cold it is 23 cm to the oil surface. I made a dipstick out of a BBQ skewer.

With the engine hot and running, the baffle with the 4 holes is covered by oil, the surface of which now lies at 13 cm so the level rises 10 cm when hot.

Five minutes after switching off, the level is still 13 cm, falling to 13.5 by 10 minutes.

I think the cold measure with a bamboo skewer is the way to go but does this description sound in any way familiar to anyone?

Many thanks again.

PM

 

 

[ChrisC]

Looks like CC are listening (at a price) http://caterhamparts.co.uk/oil-system/6968-dipstick-duratec-dry-sump-tank.html

[SimonR300]

Aerobod James is spot on......" the flange with the hole in it halfway down the tank (middle baffle), the radius on the hole is about 5mm", (not a 5mm hole).

Dry sump tanks drain back into the engine and pipework.  I have a racing car with a dry-sumped Hayabusa and the tank virtually empties itself over time.  Quite alarming really.  I had a Porsche 964 with an air cooled dry sumped engine.  The only way to dip the tank in that, using the 3-4 ft long! dip stick was when the engine was properly hot and running, so only really possible to check the oil after a blat, not before.

The level of oil in the engine is the important thing here and the tank level will relate to that, but only when the pump is running or just after turning the engine off and before the oil has time to run back into the engine as Scott says.

Have another look at James' advice.

The Caterham dip stick looks good.  I would check the "hot" level before topping up the tank.  Too much oil can be a bad thing too and removing excess oil is a pain.

 

[Jh roadsport]

£63 for a dipstick hhmmm. It would be nice not to have to take off the nosecone off each time. 

[ScottR400D]

It just replaces the cap on the tank, you’d still need to remove the nosecone.