8 hours ago, xman said:

Problem with Kwikfit is knowing whether the oil used is suitable (505.01 or 507) and whether they use a quality filter and not a Champion type filter.

 

Price is from £49.99 but is extra cost if your car requires specialist oil (which it does), which will be charged if you point it out to them, but maybe not used .

 

Also there is a possibility of them finding "oil in coolant" as happened with daughter in law, as well as the usual "brakes or tyres need changing". 

There are other problems with this place. i.e. can they find the oil filter. Can they change it with no oil loss?. Not really hard as the filter on a 1.4tdi ( MK1) sits on the top (LH side looking from front) of the engine, and the experts suggest removing it after the sump is empty( Tech1e ). . I had one oil change done as I often took firms vans in there for tyres, and manager told me QF owed me a discount. I know the oil was genuine, but the fitter ???? Personally, I'd sooner get son to help me out. Car on ramp. Go to it with NEW sump plug+ filter+ plus a can of oil from Asda. Genuine VAG 505.01 . Car on ramps- max 5 mins. Plug out-another 2 mins. Oil drain- possibly another 5mins, then take out filter ( 36 mm SOCKET , and let oil drain( most possibly filter is now empty). Cup of 505.01 down filter gap to get rid of any old oil, anotherv2 mins. Fit new filter+ sump plug 5 mins tops. Fill up with 2.45 L oil. Car off ramp and leave to stand. Check oil level and top up if necessary. I'd say 30 mins tops. AH well , remind me of the saying about peanuts and monkeys.

Incidentally, son spent a lot of time in his younger days on school placements. He's helped me a few times ,as I cannot do physical things he can. I am a trained engineer. ( Not mechanical, but partially trained, as I spent the last six months of my telecoms engineer in the GPO MT SECTION,where we were trained to maintain our vans. ).

Edited 20 July, 20214 yr by VWD

3 hours ago, VWD said:

 Fill up with 2.45 L oil. Car off ramp and leave to stand. Check oil level and top up if necessary. 

I think its a bit more than 2.45 litres.....quite a bit more (3.8 litres)

Typo - I blame it on a "senior" moment. Just checked what I recorded from a venerable old tech on this site. it should be 4.2L for an AMF. But from an abortive attempt to use a suction pump, I would suggest that 2.5L is half of oil in sump. I'd err on over filling, as years ago I had a fleet Astra diesel which was over filled by a garage ( I think it was Izusu engine). once warm it over ran and only way I could stop it was by stalling engine. Cost was a few cam followers. A few years later I had it confirmed in a conversation with a breakdown bloke. This engine was known to overrun/runaway when the oil was over filled. Hence ,I never fill my cars to the top on a ramp.

There's no need to fill to the top, filling to the top can increase oil consumption if the crank and rods are splashing about in it.

The dipstick marks are a tolerance so the middle is the ideal.

When engines have oil capacities as low as 2.8, 3.2, 3.6, 3.9 litres it can just be good practice to keep the oil towards the max capacity.

If you are low by less than 1 litre you can be 1/4 or a 1/3 below the oil capacity and oil is a coolant.

Obvious never overfill and be aware if you vehicles engine is one where the oil level should be checked at Normal Operating Temp or like a 1.2 44kW engine checked cold.

(Best know where that level is when cold even with engines where VW Group Manufacturers say 'Warm' as Skoda did or 'hot as VW, SEAT & Audi said or @ operating temperature.)

 

Always check your cars oil after someone services it, check before the engine is started and if cold and check when you get to your destination or the engine is up to temp. Then check again once cooled.

 

Different strokes for different folks, and differences in VW Group Owners Manuals.

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/461969-correct-way-to-check-engine-oil-level-12-htp-51kw

 

 

 

Edited 22 July, 20214 yr by e-Roottoot

Well, my normal procedure is to drain sump and change filter, replace drain plug, refill with the recommended quantity, run the engine for about 20s, then take a tea break to allow oil to drain into the sump, then check and possibly adjust the oil level.

Edited 22 July, 20214 yr by KenONeill

As usual, inside engineering information completely ignored in favour of imaginary anecdotal nonsense for the sake of an argument.

None as blind as those that choose not to see, or learn from what people experience in the real world where The tech knows best.

 

Best to remember if someone says you are teaching Granny how to suck an egg, well you actually Blow an egg not suck.

 

Skoda dealership techs were getting the wrong Oil Filters for 1.2 TSI's in Mk 2 Fabia when they were changed.

They were not filling with the correct quantity of oil when handing cars back but would say 'we do this for a living, we know how to check oil'.

(Some even failed to remove one rubber seal and fit a new filter and over tighten and then people had low Oil Pressure Warnings.)

 

There were 1.4TSI / TFSI 132-136kW Twinchargers getting Official Oil Consumption tests and Techs that could not follow the TPI and did reports not knowing that 1 litre of engine oil at 15*oC is 857 grams according to VW.

 

Cars were getting new engines and leaving Dealerships Overfilled with Oil or in cases under filled.

 

So as much as some trust in Gods they need to at least know the basics on checking oil levels.

 

Also accept that oil is a coolant and if an engine is going to be worked hard or just do long journeys at least have the correct quantity of oil in, know you have before starting out.

Especially if you do not know if the engine uses oil or not.

 

Many say 1 litre difference between the high and low level.  Well not in all engines and some dipsticks are not the best to read.

In some VW Group engines with less than 4 litres oil capacity the level can be 1.5 litres low and no Low Oil Warning, maybe a Low oil Pressure appears first.

Then open the bonnet, do nothing, just shut the bonnet and a Low Oil Warning light can go out for 60 miles / 100km.

 

So simple to check Oil Level anytime you collect a vehicle.

Odd how those with a C&G in Mechanical Engineering or a NVQ can co-ck it up but many do.

Edited 22 July, 20214 yr by e-Roottoot

8 hours ago, sepulchrave said:

There's no need to fill to the top, filling to the top can increase oil consumption if the crank and rods are splashing about in it.

The dipstick marks are a tolerance so the middle is the ideal.

 

A problem I've experienced is the location of the dipstick, and installation of the engine. My 1.2 htp BZG engined fabia has a massive tilt from left to right. Easily more than a inch maybe two higher at the left than right. There was a thread about this many years ago, some people had it, others had level engines.

The very long dipstick is at the left high end of the sump.

If I fill it to the top of the hatched area of the dipstick it takes 3.3 - 3.4 litres. Hot, warm, cold makes little difference. The official spec is it should take 2.8 litres. So after scratching my head for a few years about this, I finally decided on running it between halfway and two thirds up the hatched area which equates to around 3.0 litres.

 

Anecdotal, I admit, but it seems happier, a little quieter and more economical like that, it could be it reduces the incidence of crank counterweights thrashing the oil, which theoretically, in extremis, could aerate the oil leading to loss of dramatic oil pressure. Not to mention overloading the oil seperator and other things.

 

No idea why some engines end up installed at the factory on the p like this.

 

I've noticed this slant problem on the AMF engine. But back to the pro's checking oil. i've had more than a few "advisories" on MOT wher the oil is said to be low,,which I find strange as I check my level before going in for MOT. But I've had this on a breakdown, where the bloke got the engine started ,switched off and before oil had a chance to drain back ,checked the level . So I wonder if with MOT ,is it something to stick as an advisory to keep HQ happy or with breakdown a chance to make money?

Personally if the oil level is above the min ,unless I'm going on a long trip ,I accept that as normal, realising that each engine will find it's "natural "level . I notice ( for example) that in the 14 years and 100k I owned mine that the natural level is halfway between the marks and over 10k I only use this amount of oil.

Oil level has nothing to do with the MOT. They should not even touch the dipstick.

There are enough dramatic people out there without having to contend with dramatic oil pressure as well, it is well worth losing in my view!

12 hours ago, J.R. said:

There are enough dramatic people out there without having to contend with dramatic oil pressure as well, it is well worth losing in my view!

 

Any chance you could offer an English translation? 

@xman look back upthread at one of your recent posts, where you referred to a 'loss of dramatic oil pressure. 

I blame my dyslexia on my brief encounters in the roadside hotel......

21 hours ago, xman said:

Oil level has nothing to do with the MOT. They should not even touch the dipstick.

 

Last time I took a diesel car in for MOT they warned me that they would have to rev it up really high and asked for my permission to do it. It was a Sierra 1.8 turbo diesel, so shows how long ago it was, haha. They stuck a temp probe down the dipstick tube and then revved the nuts off it for the 'smoke test'. I don't know if they still do that but maybe it could be a reason for advisory of low oil level? Or something along those lines 

Edited 24 July, 20214 yr by TMB

On 20/07/2021 at 09:44, roottoot said:

& does anyone really want to leave the oil & filter longer than 10,000 miles or a year in their cherished vehicle.

 

PS

Oil really is cheap these days.

Discount Stores and other supermarkets sell it and often discount day by day as they use it to catch out other supermarkets on the cost of the shopping basket.

 

The price of engine oil cheap enough to change as well.