318 Oil level

"My 1977 318 doesn't have

"My 1977 318 doesn't have a flange on the oil dipstick so I'm never sure what the correct oil level is. If you push it all the way down it looks overfull etc. As you can never really be sure how much is left in the pan when you suck out the oil, this has always concerned me because I don't want to over fill it. Does anyone know where the flange should be relative to the ring on the disptick? I'm guessing about an inch from the ring. The manual says it holds 5litres but I've never put more than 4 back in."

"Your engine was shipped with

"Your engine was shipped with the thought that the installer would mark the stick when the engine was in. Some engines sit level, some sit tail up or down so that changes the level. I would put oil in what the maker said should go in. Then mark the stick, problem solved"

That would be fine if I knew w

That would be fine if I knew when it was empty. I'm not confident oil change pipe reaches all the way back. My motor is at about 5deg

"5deg foreward or back wards,i

"5deg foreward or back wards,if backwards towards the dipstick it should be fairly empty. The dipstick, goes to the bottom of the pan and acts as the pickup. 1 liter isn't that big of deal. Most engines never are emptyed fully. So you don't ever get a perfect oil change. You need to mark the stick some how so you can have an idea as to oil used during operation. You are not going to blow the engine by being slightly over on the oil fill. Where as being low on oil is a bad thing. You face the same problem I do about 50 times a year, my answer is to gauge the oil removed and add back slowly watching how many quarts and what I think then the total is, agains't how much I think was removed. My
feeling is that a little over, is better then being under. ALso the oil filter takes up an amount of oil and you need to add back for that. Good luck."

"The dipstick tube (on the

"The dipstick tube (on the left)and the oil drain tube (on the right) are both at the front(water pump)end. The engine slopes back to the gearbox. I have no way of knowing how far back the drain tube goes in the sump. I have had a low oil level when I had the oil leak from the filter housing I mentioned elswhere. Fiirst indoication was a clatter from the hydraulic lifters. While a bit overfull is ok I don't like the idea of running too high so as not to put too much pressure in the rear main seal and the crank thrashing the oil into foam.While i dont have a marker on the dipstick, I check the level with the ring about 1 inch out of the tube as that gave me a full reading when I last changed the oil. (about 4 litres). There is a sump drain plug at the front but it's too highto drain. I tried sucking out from that once, (Have good access to the front from the cabin) but that was a bit hopeless."