Hey Forced

I have an 86 Isuzu diesel pickup. Sometimes when it hasn't been run in a few days, it will show zero oil on the dipstick (indicating more than 2.5 quarts low out of 6). It does this maybe 1/3 of the time. Warm it up and check it 10 minutes after shutdown and it is right on the mark.

I have learned how to adapt to this phenomonon, but, any idea where the oil is hiding?

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Palangi

2004 C240 Wagon 203.261 Baby Benz
2008 ML320 CDI Highway Cruiser
2006 Toyota Prius, Saving the Planet @ 48 mpg
2000 F-150, Destroying the Planet @ 20 mpg



TRUMP .......... WHITEHOUSE
HILLARY .........JAILHOUSE
BERNIE .......... NUTHOUSE
0BAMA .......... OUTHOUSE

that is weird... sitting cold... your level should be HIGHER, not lower... so strange.

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 560SL convertible
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
2005 Dodge Sprinter 2500 158"WB
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

When I do a oil and filter change, I used to add the amount indicated by the owners manual, run the engine pn a short trip day, let it set overnight, check it cold and it is right on the upper mark. I then see small drops of oil everytime I park until it has leaked down to midway between the marks. I've eliminated these oil leak spots by reducing the amount of oil I add at change time by 1/2 quart. I have no idea why this works but it does on my 617.

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Charles
1983 300D, bought new, 215k+ miles, donated to Purple Hearts veterans charity but I have parts for sale: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-benz-cars-sale/296386-fs-1-owner-83-mb-300d-turbo-rebuild-parts.html

Other way around, hot oil expands.

your both wrong, best way to know you have the exact ammount of oil your engine uses is to fill it to the exact ammount it can take. FSM calls for a certain ammount, fill it to that point exactly (including oil filter housing) should be right on the dot.

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Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?

As long as they would add one additional commandment for you to keep thy religion to thyself.
George Carlin (Wonder where he is now..)

1981 240d (engine donor 1983 240d) recently rebuilt engine hurray! - No more.. fought a tree and the tree won.

pearl black 1983 240d 4speed (Converted!@$$%) atleast the tranny was rebuilt.

Wrong again. There is no way to know exactly how much oil is still suspended in the engine, clinging to surfaces and in the oil cooler. Filling to the exact amount will usually be slightly overfull.

lol, i was joking just to throw something out there. You could get a digital dipstick that would accurately measure the level of the oil, the temperature of the oil and the viscosity and fill it to the exact ammount that way. theres some overkill lol. Hmmm...i just got an idea...

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Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?

As long as they would add one additional commandment for you to keep thy religion to thyself.
George Carlin (Wonder where he is now..)

1981 240d (engine donor 1983 240d) recently rebuilt engine hurray! - No more.. fought a tree and the tree won.

pearl black 1983 240d 4speed (Converted!@$$%) atleast the tranny was rebuilt.

Ah, I see. haha

I have found with synthetic oil that you usualy need to wait a bit to get a good reading. It drains down so slow if you check it while say fueling up you will get a false low reading, by about 1/2 a quart on my car.

If you wait a few hours you'll find your engine makes oil.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

I found on my 500SEL that the oil does expand quite a bit. If I check it after a long hard run (say a tank of gas at 65 to 70 mph) and check it after about 10 min, it will show above full. Let it cool down over night and it will read maybe a quart less. My dip stick is 2 quarts between add and full. The other thing I found was that you need to insert the stick and wait 10 to 15 seconds before removing it to see the level. The reason for this is the dipstick tube goes all the way down to the oil pan. On the dipstick there is an o-ring to seal the dipstick when installed. These two things together make a kind of plunger that pushes the oil out of the tube. You must let it set for the few seconds to let the oil come back up into the tube. Try it sometime. Insert the dipstick and immediately pull it out. Check the level. Now insert it and let it stay in for 10 sec, remove it and check the level. You will find a big difference. I have never tried it on the 300D but I am sure the same thing will happen.
Paul

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84 500 SEL (307,xxx miles)

Now see, I always thought that the MB engineers were probably smart enough to put the little notches in the right place.

Sometimes one has to be careful not to think too much!

Tom W

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Something is happening other than simple expansion of the oil. If you were to heat 8 quarts of oil from 70F. to 220F., you'd have a hard time to measure the volume change without very specialized equipment. I'd guess the expansion at significantly less than 1 ounce. Gases expand quite a bit with temperature............liquids don't.

Brian, can you explain why a transmission will move up the stick quite a bit when hot. My engine oil may not change as much as a quart, but is a big difference between hot and cold.
Paul

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84 500 SEL (307,xxx miles)