The oil level in a car engine is one of the most important indicators by which one can judge the current state of the engine. Every driver knows how important it is to monitor this parameter, because one mistake can lead to a major overhaul of the power unit, or even to its complete replacement.
However, despite this fact, the minds of motorists continue to acquire myths about the oil level, which directly threaten the safety of the engine.
1. Cold or hot?
What should be the engine so that the oil dipstick shows the correct level when checking? A knowledgeable master will answer this question without hesitation, but how to explain to a beginner that checking the oil level on a cold engine is a bad idea?
This misconception has been wandering among car owners since the days of the Soviet Union, but even then experienced drivers recommended checking the oil level on a warm engine. Here's how to do it right:
- Start the engine and allow it to reach operating temperature;
- Turn off the engine and wait literally 5-10 minutes for most of the oil to glass into the oil pan;
- Check oil level and top up or drain excess if necessary.
The best option would be to check the engine oil level at a gas station. A warm engine, perfect idle time when refueling, the correct oil level, and if necessary, genuine brands of oils are always available for sale - because they are the easiest to find here.
When checking the oil level on a cold engine, the driver risks getting incorrect information, because the liquid, being cold, is compressed as much as possible, and on the dipstick, most likely, it will be at the minimum mark. If in this state you add oil to a normal level, on a warm engine it will squeeze out all the oil seals and gaskets, and this is already an expensive repair.
If the car has stood in the garage for a long time - for example, the whole winter, the oil level must be checked without starting the engine. After all, you need to make sure that it is there at all.
2. Dependence of oil level on mileage
For some reason, some drivers who spread this myth believe that engine oil is consumed equally throughout the entire run between fuel changes.
But this statement may be relevant for a very limited number of cars and only if that their engines will be filled with such an ideal oil that even in laboratory conditions difficult.
In reality, good oil begins to lose its properties after some time, and the engine becomes much more voracious in its relation. For example, five thousand kilometers after the run, its consumption will no longer be 100 grams per thousand kilometers, but 200. Thus, by 10 thousand, the lack of oil can be up to one and a half liters, and on especially voracious in cars, this indicator can be increased several times, so that already at half the mileage the low light will light up oil level.
Naturally, it is impossible to bring it to such a state, because, trusting in a well-known delusion, you can ruin a brand new engine, especially if oil of not the highest quality is poured into it. Check the level often and do it right.
3. A healthy engine doesn't eat oil.
But this is a real diversion among motorists. And if some experienced mechanic misses this fake, then a car enthusiast after a driving school on a brand new the car will seriously think that there is no need to check the oil level, because the engine is new - just from factory!
But this is a big misconception. As we already found out from the previous paragraph, each engine eats oil to one degree or another, and this is not some kind of malfunction, but banal physics. If there was no oil burn at all, the pistons of the cylinders would go dry, and after a thousand revolutions the new unit would turn into scrap metal.
Fortunately, the engineers have thought of everything, and the oil film is not erased by oil scraper rings - thanks to it, the engine can run hundreds of thousands of kilometers with little or no wear. It is she who burns out during the explosion of the air-fuel mixture, following the exhaust gases into the muffler, gradually reducing the oil level.
And the lower its properties become over time, the thicker the film remains on the walls of the cylinders. Therefore, the level must be monitored periodically, every thousand kilometers, and in the trunk there should always be at least a liter of the same oil that was poured into the engine.
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4. If you pour another oil into the engine, it will break
This provision is more relevant for emergencies - for example, when you suddenly realized on the highway that the engine has a critical oil level.
In ordinary life, when you can walk to the store, it is better to add the same oil that you filled in when replacing. So the consumption will be more uniform, and you will be sure that the engine is under reliable protection.
But if you find yourself in a hopeless situation, and you need to drive 50-100 kilometers to the nearest service station, you can even fill the engine with oil from a diesel truck.
In principle, nothing should happen to him at all for such a short mileage, but it’s better after troubleshooting immediately replace the fuel and lubricants with a new one, because the quality of the oil that you will find on the track, most likely, will not be the best quality.
5. The minimum level is normal
And here already who is on what much. Recommendations on how much to fill in and what level is better can be found in a huge amount both on the Internet and among friends. You can’t trust anyone in this matter, and you need to fill in oil strictly according to the law of the golden mean - not too much and not too little, so that the mark on the dipstick flaunts exactly in the middle between Min and Max.
What is it for? If the oil level is too high, the gaskets will blow out, especially if the replacement was carried out on a cold engine. Too low a level, despite all the assurances of auto experts that wear will be minimal this way, leads to the risk of a critical level, because we also remember about oil zhor.
The minimum level really unloads the engine - it is easier for it to spin, wear really decreases, but only in urban driving conditions. But as soon as you go to the track, oil starvation instantly happens - one of the most dangerous phenomena in engine operation. The worst thing that can happen is lifted cylinders - the prospect is not the most pleasant.
In addition to the correct use of engine oil, there are a few more tricks that allow you to make a car last longer.
Source: https://novate.ru/blogs/290322/62546/