An oily question

[BigGreenThing]

So, I decided to have an "interim" (half-year) oil change as due to do 1,500 mile journey in a 12 year old car.

Previous x2 services I've had done were by Volvo.

This latest change done by indie Volvo Specialist.

I've only ever seen the electronic "oil indicator" (aka - dipstick) at the "full" position 5. Car doesn't use any oil - which is great.

Picked car up (yesterday) and showed 3/4 between min and max (position 4). Now I know it take 20-30 miles of driving for the oil to get used to Newton's theory of gravity and for the car to figure out how much oil is actually in it, so wasn't concerned.

Checked this morning before driving to work...it's now settled in "position 3".

I'm not really worried about the reduction showing (as I believe the oil was still settling).

Garage say they constantly see overfilling, and are v cautious not to. They say as long as the oil is between min and max - it's fine. That aligns with the manual (e.g. DON'T put more oil in if it's in position 3 or 4 on the display).

What do others do? Should I top up with 1/4 of small bottle of recommended oil? Leave it as it is unless it drops to position 1?

[bananarama]

I do nuttin

[BigGreenThing]

Originally Posted by bananarama

I do nuttin

Thanks bananarama!

I think if it were a measurement on an old school dipstick I’d do nowt too!🙌

I was just curious as I’ve never had a car without a dipstick before 🙂

[al dm]

Originally Posted by BigGreenThing

Picked car up (yesterday) and showed 3/4 between min and max (position 4). Now I know it take 20-30 miles of driving for the oil to get used to Newton's theory of gravity and for the car to figure out how much oil is actually in it, so wasn't concerned.

I would leave it exactly where it is. I WANT mine to show halfway between the marks. Best place for it.....I have read about issues with overfilling and Volvo reducing the recommended fill amount (can't find links right now though).

I do the same on all my bikes and cars....if it has a dipstick, I want it halfway between the Max and Min marks.

Harleys tend to puke oil via the crankcase breathers if you fill them to the max mark....might be similar with Volvos.

[Tannaton]

I'd get in it and enjoy your 1500 mile trip....

[xavierx]

That level is fine for a diesel volvo.

When the car does a DPF regen, it adds extra fuel to heat up the exhaust, some of which can end up in the oil pan causing the level to rise. If you fill it to the max, this can cause it to become too full when this happens. This does not affect all models and some were fixed with a software update, but it is still considered good advice to only fill it to 3/4 between min and max.

There is a service dipstick, it is on the front of the oilpan, you have to reach right down to get to it from the top (or you can reach underneath if you have the covers off.

The problem is, no one uses the dip stick so the o-ring becomes almost permanently affixed to the engine. You need some serious force to remove it if its not been removed for many years and after which you will need a new o-ring. I use the service dip-stick when filling the oil, that's what it's for.

[simboc2004]

I never trust electronic gauges, so i bought a "proper" dipstick kit (police "spec" I believe) and fitted it easily - though you will need to carefully clean out the threaded hole into which the retention bolt goes - and now I can check with Mark One eyeballs as well as with the car's electronics. With the car sat overnight, with the nose slightly downhill, the gauge currently reads "full", whilst the oil level is sitting halfway along the hatched zone on the dipstick.

I have read elsewhere on here that, around 40/50 miles after an oil refill, it resets the electronic gauge to "full" whatever the actual amount of oil in the engine, so it's always important to keep track of exactly how much oil you take out and put in...

[bananarama]

Originally Posted by xavierx

When the car does a DPF regen, it adds extra fuel to heat up the exhaust, some of which can end up in the oil pan causing the level to rise

How does the diesel end up in the oil pan? Does it get past the piston rings?

[xavierx]

Originally Posted by bananarama

How does the diesel end up in the oil pan? Does it get past the piston rings?

When the car does an active regen, it injects extra fuel into exhaust stroke. As this fuel is not ignited in the cylinder, some unburnt fuel is able to pass the rings and end up in the sump.

This is particularly a problem if the regen is abandoned regularly, as larger quantities of fuel are injected each time the regen re-starts to try to quickly warm up the exhaust.

With the software fix they made the regen start softer by changing the timing and injecting less at the start so that less would be lost past the rings

[BigGreenThing]

Originally Posted by simboc2004

I never trust electronic gauges, so i bought a "proper" dipstick kit (police "spec" I believe) and fitted it easily - though you will need to carefully clean out the threaded hole into which the retention bolt goes - and now I can check with Mark One eyeballs as well as with the car's electronics. With the car sat overnight, with the nose slightly downhill, the gauge currently reads "full", whilst the oil level is sitting halfway along the hatched zone on the dipstick.

I have read elsewhere on here that, around 40/50 miles after an oil refill, it resets the electronic gauge to "full" whatever the actual amount of oil in the engine, so it's always important to keep track of exactly how much oil you take out and put in...

es - I've sourced a proper (old school ) dipstick kit that'll fit. Just not got around to purchasing it yet. I've done over 50 miles since the oil change - the electronic gauge has changed at all....but it's bang in the middle between MIN and MAX on the gauge...so I'll leave it for now.