Hey guys whats the proper way to check the oil on a cooper s r53?

Manual says to drive the car for a bit then wait a few minutes then check.

But to get a true reading should you not park the car over night to let all the oil go down to the oil pan then check? On level surface of course.

I notice with my car if I check over night its about 3/4 of the way up the dip stick but if I check using the manual method then it looks like its all the way up the dip stick.

What is the best or most correct method??

 

Do it by the manual, the oil has heated up and the volume will expand to some degree giving a proper reading. Good luck.

 

Interesting. I always thought you should give it a lot of time to allow the oil to drain all the way down too.

 

I had asked the same questions elsewhere....and basically the response was it didn't really matter. Having said that, I find it much easier to read the oil when it's cold than when it's warm.

Personally I prefer to check the oil when it's cold, just because it's easier to read the oil level that way. Although I probably should really do a test, by reading the oil first, then go for a drive long enough to warm up (~10 miles??), then check the oil after 5 mins of sitting...unless someone has already done this kind of tests? If so, what was the result?

 

The low mark on the stick is well above the minimum to keep the oil pump and galleries full and oil pressure normal, plus some extra for sloshing around in corners and so forth. Plus a little extra on top of that. The high mark is even more extra oil -- 1 L or 1.1 qt -- on top of the nominal "minimum", to allow for oil consumption in between regular checks. And even then, oil consumption only becomes an issue if your engine is very old and/or driven very hard.

Just make sure its above low, close to the max but not over. If it goes over, suck a little out with one of these. Going too far over the max mark can damage engine seals and whatnot. Which is an important reason not to even try to get it to touch the max line: you're fine if it's somewhere between the lines. Leave it alone.

The thing to obsess over is not whether your oil is within 0.1 L or 0.01 L of the nominal amount. You should obsess over how often you check it, every couple fill ups or so. And if you really want to fuss over something, fuss over your tire pressure. Every two weeks -- or even every time you get gas if it makes you happy.

 

I've checked both ways. As you might suspect, I usually get a reading about 1/8" higher when checking the level 5 to 10 minutes after shutting down.

The manuals for our other 3 cars all say to check oil level when cold. Another little MINI quirk.

 

Thanks! Do you have references in which I can read more about this?

 

Ok I see, that is good to know. I should be ok then

 

I usually check when I stop to fill up with fuel. After I finish filling up, I pop the hood, check the oil, then get in and get on my way.

 

It may be "easier" to read the oil when it is cold, but here is some food for thought.

As the oil heats up, it expands. If you let it heat up and fill up the oil so it reads at the maximum line on the dipstick than you are fine.

Now, if you were to do that when the oil is cold, the oil will expand when you are at operating temperature and will be above the maximum limit. Even though oil is good for the engine to lubricate and keep things cool, it is possible to have too much oil in the system.

 

 

It cracks me up that people feel compelled to second guess the manual (although I must admit to having my doubts re oil change interval). Do you really think that Mini does not know how to check the oil in their own engines?

As Dennis pointed out, do it often, don't try too hard to stay right on the full line, and watch for a CHANGING level...having to add oil is a sad thing, but failing to add oil is eventually a VERY BAD thing...

 

Sorry - but I think it's wise to question EVERYTHING.

Case in point, MINI also says to change the oil every 15,000 miles - which is way too long IMO. Also, with checking often, you run the risk of seeing a problem when there isn't one.

IMHO, unless there is a known issue, like losing oil on a regular basis, checking it once a month is enough.

A car suddenly losing massive amounts of oil is so rare that it doesn't make sense to over-prepare for such a scenario.

Just my two cents!

 

I just wanted to be sure because every mechanic I ask said to check it when its cold over night to get a true reading.

 

One problem with checking it when it's cold is that the oil flows like molasses. That's fine for measuring the oil that sat all night in the sump. You'll get a perfectly good enough reading, but what if it's low and you add some? How do you know when you've added enough? You re-check it, of course, after you poured some in. But in a cold engine, it could take a very long time indeed for the oil to run down an ice cold engine block to the sump and onto the dipstick. So you re-check it, then see it only went up a little, and then add more. Uh oh! Next thing you know, you've overfilled it -- and you don't even know you overfilled it because the extra oil is still working its way down to the sump as you're walking away, all proud of yourself for having a "perfect" oil level.

With a warm engine, even cold oil poured into the top will quickly be headed by the engine parts and will then flow into the sump. You can quickly get a true reading and know whether or not you need to add more.

Car Talk recommends estimating how much of a quart you're down by using your first dipstick reading, and then only adding the portion of a quart needed based on the first reading. And then not adding more just because your second reading doesn't show full yet -- because it will, just wait. But once again, that's because "ideally" you supposedly want it touching the max mark. But I say who cares if it's "ideal"? Overfilling it isn't worth it and it's trivial to just check it again before it gets down to the minimum mark. Anywhere between the two marks is perfect enough.

 

Are those mechanics that you asked MINI mechanics?

Checking oil level with a cold engine seems to be correct for most cars, but the manual for the quirky MINI says to check 5 to 10 minutes after shut-down (when the oil is still somewhat warm, but mostly returned). I don't know why they call for a different procedure, but maybe they've figured in whatever difference the two procedures make. The MINI procedure does make it appropriate to fill the tank, clean the windshield, and then check the oil.

One can always check it both ways (several times for reliability) to see what difference it makes. [As reported above (post #6), the two readings on the dipstick are pretty close for my car.] Then one can feel free to check oil level when cold or when warm.

As Dennis mentioned (post #5), this is not a matter of very close precision anyway, such as trying to keep the level very close to the full mark.

 

A Mini is a car, there's nothing so special about it that you need a Mini specific mechanic, especially about something simple like checking oil.

If you read the manual, it states that the dipstick shows a minimum and a maximum, so anything in between is normal. It also states that the range it shows accounts for 1 liter/1.1 quarts. Honestly, whether it's cold or hot, it should read somewhere in that range, as the oil expanding when hot is not going to make it change in volume anywhere near 1 qt. If you check it when cold, and find it low, just make sure you only put in enough oil to bring it back to the normal range, and not all the way to the maximum amount. I would still recommend following the manual and checking it while it's warm, but it's not going to hurt anything, or give you a reading that is that far off, by checking it while cold.

 

I wouldn't be to quick to trust the MINI mechanics either. I change my own oil, but I brought my car in for it's first year checkup last Aug. When I got it home, I had to drain out 18 ozs. to get it to the proper level, go figure .