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Date:         Mon, 14 Feb 2000 15:10:10 -0800
Reply-To:     harald_nancy <harald_nancy@EARTHLINK.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         harald_nancy <harald_nancy@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject:      Re: oil stick
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Hugo, According to the manual for the 90 vanagon: "Checking the engine oil level The best time to check the engine oil level is when the oil is warm. Turn off the engine. To get a true reading, the vehicle should be on level ground. After turning off the engine, wait a few minutes for the oil to return to the crankcase. Flip license plate down. Pull out dipstick and wipe it clean with a rag. Reinsert dipstick, push it in all the way. Pull dipstick out again. The oil level is correct if it is between the "max" and "min" marks on the dipstick. If oil level is below "min" mark, or not showing on dipstick, add oil immediately. Make sure that the dipstick is completely in." ....That is what the shmart people in wolfsburg say...

I would recommend: If you are not familiar with your car, try to check the oil a lot. Every time you fill up the tank, and always before a longer trip. Check the oil when you are bored, and can't think of anything else to do on your vanagon. Check the oil level before you start the van in the morning, and after a good freeway run, when it is at its hottest. Even check the oil when the van is parked on a slope, and make a mental note how the level changes when the van is on a level or sloping surface, and hot or cold engine. Never hurts to know. After a while you get a feel for how often your particular engine needs its dose of oil. My previous air cooled '81 westy needed a quart of oil every couple of hundred miles in its later years. That meant I had to check the oil at every chance I got. I tried to keep the level at the higher mark on the dipstick, since it would drop so fast that it could have run out of oil. My '90 westy does not use much oil, so I keep the level about half way between the marks (warm engine). If I start out at the half way mark, the oil level will be on the min mark after about 2000 miles, if I wouldn't add any. Harald Rust '90 westy

hugo wrote: > im having trouble reading my oil stick accurately. > what is the proper and reccomended way of checking the oil on my '87 westy > "stella" > should i check the oil before the ngine is started, after its been running > for a while, or what? > should the stick be inserted all the way in when checking? > > please advise. > > hugo @ slc, utah


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