I would like to carry 1L of oil in my boot.  I understand that Castrol Edge 5W-30 is the favoured brew, the manual isn't clear - page 195 just says VW 504 00.  I looked on Amazon, the photo of the 4L bottle describes it as "Fully synthetic", the 1L bottle doesn't mention fully synthetic, both are described as "Castrol EDGE FST 5W-30 Synthetic Engine Oil" - should the1L bottle be OK?

 

The picture of the dipstick on page 155 refers to areas A, B & C but doesn't  show the hatching - is this meant to be area B?

You can buy the 1 litre bottles for £13.52 from Eurocar parts. Just make sure the bottle has VW 504.00 on the label.

I have now bought a 1 Litre bottle of incredibly expensive Castrol Edge FST 5W-30 VW to spec 504.00 from my local garage - next time I will order from Amazon at £13.

 

Now that I have the oil I am thoroughly confused about checking the level (Fig 129 on page 155 of the manual) and the description on topping-up on the following page.

 

The picture is not at all clear, is zone b the hatched area on the dipstick and are zones a & c the flat areas above and below the hatched area respectively?

 

How much oil would be required to top-up from the bottom of the hatched area to the top of the hatched area? Page 156 seems to suggest that you should pour in half a litre at a time and then check.  This seems a bit casual since you are also advised in the strongest terms not to overfill.

 

After pouring oil into the top of the engine it must take some time to trickle down to the sump. How long should you allow after pouring oil in for it to register correctly on the dipstick?

 

The guidance in the manual on checking the oil level and topping it up if necessary seems less than helpful

 

Thanks in advance for any replies based on actual practical experience.

Read this thread for discussion about checking oil level...

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/306306-word-of-warning-dipping-vrs-oil-level/?hl=%20checking%20%20engine%20%20oil

The Oil is done with a 'Hot Check',  

*The Skoda Manual says, 'warm',  the VW manual for the same engines says 'operating temperature'.*

 

that means the car will probably have had to do 10 miles,

you want the oil above 50*0C indicated,  i would go for 80*0c.

 

Then stop, wait 4-5 minutes and dip it.

Or at the end of a journey.

(When you know where the correct level is with Hot Dips,

and you then check stone cold,  then Stone Cold Checks should give you are pretty accurate check.)

You are likely to want to know you have enough oil in before a long trip, so knowledge of a Cold Dip level is more important IMO.

 

?

Where has it shown on your check when you got the car or since then?

Have you done it Cold where the Oil would be above the Cross Hatch a bit with 3.6 litres,

or Hot,

Where it would be just below.

 

BE CAREFUL TO NOT OVERFILL WITH OIL.

 

Do not have the oil showing much above this when you are checking with a Hot Dip.

(ignore the title on the picture, you will probably have the oil higher than that when dipped or topping up when cold.)

I recently had my VRS serviced and the guy said that they are now suggesting that you use 5W-40 as its a bit thicker and people have had better consumption results... 

 

Not sure if true but they said that is what they had put in with the new oil change so I will see if any change  

It makes no difference,  it is not thicker, it just has different viscosity at different temps, which really do not effect us with Min and max temps in the UK.

The car should not use more oil than the type of use it gets anyway.

 

If you did use 'Thicker Oil', that would be worse Fuel Consumption probably.

 

I can understand why Technicians and guys that Service Cars that are oil users would give sh!te advice.

 

If you want better performance,maybe remapped cars to run lower engine oil temps at higher speeds and loads, better fuel economy etc,

maybe buy better oils than Castrol Edge or Quantum Long Life III that Skoda/VW put in car,

be that 5w 30 or 5w 40

Many thanks for the link DGW, I have now read most of the very long thread discussing checking oil level and am not much the wiser.  The initial post which describes how inaccurate dipstick reading can be rather illustrates my earlier point.

 

I couldn't find any indication as to how much oil would be required to top-up from the bottom of the hatched area to the top of the hatched area (maybe one litre?) or how long it takes for the oil to flow down to the sump (maybe five minutes?).  I do get the impression that the hatched area is 'probably' zone b.

 

Waiting for the warning light to illuminate as suggested in the initial post sounds on the face of it to be a sensible strategy but as someone pointed out, that 'may' only happen when you have got just 2.4 litres of oil in your engine.

 

I would like to check the level when the engine is cold but I live in a road on a hill so will probably have to get into the habit of checking before leaving my local Sainsburys car park - i.e. a hot check.  I don't know anything about Quantum Long Life or 'better' oils and will therefore stick to Castrol Edge FST 5W-30 VW - to spec 504.00, as mentioned in the manual.

Skoda Recommend Castrol, dealers use Castrol or Quantum, it is the same stuff.   Synthetic Oil,

 5w 30 or 5w 40 to VW 502 00 or VW 504 'Long Life'.

 

VW 504 00 is required if it is getting Variable servicing,  ie not changed at 9,400 miles. (10,000 miles)

Get some Castrol EDGE Professional from your local dealer (top formula!). Should be 5W-40 :-)

*double post* delete!