Check Your Oil Level!

[man-bing]

After about a 10days of a noisy engine, not understanding why it was doing it i was going to book my car in for an early 60K service (currently about 57K) With a strange rattling sound at about 2000rpm when slowing down in any gear, i was a bit concerned.

But while going round a sharp-ish bend, the oil light flashed on the dashboard display for a quick second.

So when i got home, i soon found out why, when you have a max and min level for the dipstick, mine was barely making a mark on the very tip let alone the min amount.

So a quick trip down to my local Halfords, and a 4ltrs of castro magnatec (currently on offer there for £1 less at £26.99) i slowly tipped it in, and soon found it nearly swallowed the whole lot

So now all topped up, and a quick spin for mix it all around, it's all quiet now and running alot smoother.

Talk about saving myself from a lot bigger bill, its worth checking it alot more often now

[Sidewayz]

Dude... All the Toyota VVT engines eat oil... I found that out the hard way... They seem to use the oil to sort of burn it or something.. I dunno.. But.... A 2 week inspection of the oil level is a must.. Serious.. You'll save yourself a packet.. i love my 1.4 VVTi... and wouldn't trade it in for the world.. It goes like a 1100cc when you ease on the juice, and saves you a packet in juice, etc... BUT.... when you put your foot down, and VVTi Engages... Then you got yourself a 1.6 that doesn't mind the odd Rev Limiting....

Just my 20p....

[peebee50]

I agree. Check oil level as often as possible, at least every two weeks. You are very lucky if you haven't allready caused some damage running with such a low level. A correct level of good quality engine oil is the single most important factor in keeping a healthy engine.... By the way, not all VVTi engines use oil. My 1.6 never uses a drop !

[man-bing]

It's only been since my 40K service that i noticed it's using alot more oil, before then seemed ok, but saying that, think thats why they keep leaving a litre of oil in my car after service that i should of been more attentive about it

[cfc1]

Oil, water, all other fluids and tyre pressures should be a WEEKLY check on all cars.. it only takes five minutes, do it and you could save yourselves a lot of heartache.

[ae102]

i agree with cfc1 - hard to believe someone who has spent so much on his car doesnt check the basics, hard lesson to learn :( unfortunately once the oil has been that low you will have caused serious wear - not long before the rings or bearings give up....... that was the rattling you were hearing

[Beachbuggy]

Now check your coolant ;) otherwise you will have the problems I have just had

[man-bing]

Now check your coolant ;) otherwise you will have the problems I have just had

Could be a good reason why my thermostat is on the blink too, as my air con isn't blowing cold air as it should

[Beachbuggy]

Well last year i decided my air con was doing nothing any more and it really needs a re gas but for £90 and no guarentee they can stick it, or £150 for 12 months warrenty...

I want it to last longer than 12 months and I want them to flush the pipes first otherwise it may still not work!

[man-bing]

A quick trip down to my local halfords, and a 4ltrs of castro magnatec (currently on offer there for £1 less at £26.99)

Just been to my local tesco's store, saw they have 2ltrs of castro magnatec at £14.50.

So what you might think, but it's buy one get one free

Looks like i'm going to get some more, just in case for the future

[MISTER MECH]

Could be a good reason why my thermostat is on the blink too, as my air con isn't blowing cold air as it should

Actually the thermostat doesn't have any bearing on the efficiency of the A/C, it's likely to be low on gas and needs a service and recharging to the correct level. There are other reasons for the A/C being inefficient like moisture in the system freezing in the condenser, blocked receiver/drier etc. The thermostat helps with speeding up warm air in colder weather, but most importantly it regulates the temp of the engine so it is kept at its most efficient.

Well last year i decided my air con was doing nothing any more and it really needs a re gas but for £90 and no guarentee they can stick it, or £150 for 12 months warrenty...

I want it to last longer than 12 months and I want them to flush the pipes first otherwise it may still not work!

90 quid for an A/C service thats a bit steep IMHO. Where I work it's around £50 and you also get a deodourising / anti bac treatment thrown in. Of course if you need a new pollen filter then you will have to pay the extra.

Anyway, back on topic. As has been said, you should always check all of the fluid levels at least once a week. It takes minutes to check them, and what with the already spiralling costs of car ownership you dont want any more nasty bills by not taking the time to do it.

MM

[Beachbuggy]

Could be a good reason why my thermostat is on the blink too, as my air con isn't blowing cold air as it should

Actually the thermostat doesn't have any bearing on the efficiency of the A/C, it's likely to be low on gas and needs a service and recharging to the correct level. There are other reasons for the A/C being inefficient like moisture in the system freezing in the condenser, blocked receiver/drier etc. The thermostat helps with speeding up warm air in colder weather, but most importantly it regulates the temp of the engine so it is kept at its most efficient.

erm. I think you read this wrong, we were both on about my coolant levels which does effect the thermo. nothing mentioned about the AC as that was still working fine.

[MISTER MECH]

erm. I think you read this wrong, we were both on about my coolant levels which does effect the thermo. nothing mentioned about the AC as that was still working fine.

?? So where did I mis read

Could be a good reason why my thermostat is on the blink too, as my air con isn't blowing cold air as it should

As to my quoting you

Well last year i decided my air con was doing nothing any more and it really needs a re gas but for £90 and no guarentee they can stick it, or £150 for 12 months warrenty...

I was merely expressing that it seemed a bit steep for an AC service.

I dont see where you are coming from when you say the coolant level effects the thermo ? If you mean the thermostat, then even if the coolant level is low, it will still operate. Obviously if there was very little or no coolant in the system then it definately wouldn't matter as the engine would overheat quite rapidly but the AC would still blow cooled air irrespective.

You can have the AC on with the heat setting on the dash to max hot and get warm air out of the vents, but this is only because the air flow is diverted to the heater matrix where the hot coolant heats the incoming air rather than to the AC evaporator where it cools it. In this situation I agree that a low coolant level or faulty thermostat would effect the heat output, but this was not mentioned, only the fact the AC wasn't as cold.

MM

[Beachbuggy]

Sorry mate i forgot about that bit of the convo I do appologies