How long before a car's engine has cooled down before I can check its oil level?
A question I've always wanted to ask but kept forgetting.
Jun 01, 2007
5 Replies
Makes no difference - the amount of expansion or drain back is tiny. Just make sure you check on a reasonably level surface.
ordinary hot car, just a couple of minutes to let the oil fall back to the sump
The message from "Dave Plowman (News)" contains these words:
I'd say it varies from engine to engine. I had an old Fiat once that showed seriously low if you didn't wait five minutes.
Flat engines certainly do - well, all mine, anyway. The recommended period to wait for a VW engine is overnight!
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Alex Buell saying something like:
If that ^^^^^^^ has anything to do with it, I'd say you waited too long.
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