How Long To Let Engine Cool Before Adding Oil, When your engine is no longer able to hold onto heat, it will begin to lose power. As mentioned before, engines work by burning fuel (gas or oil) in an explosion process that releases energy.
As you add more gas to the combustion chamber, the air molecules are ignited and burn, creating additional energy. The engine’s piston then moves up due to this increased momentum and strength of movement!
However, as the temperature rises, the viscous fluid in the engine becomes thinner and less dense. This means it takes longer for the engine to respond to the signal to move the pistons and create energy out-put.
If left unchecked, this can cause complete engine failure since there is not enough energy being put into motion.
Fortunately, most vehicles these days have sensors that check the viscosity of the engine’s lubricant and how much oxygen is present in the exhaust. If both are adequate, they will stop adding gas to the cylinders until everything is working properly.
This article will discuss why waiting to add oil until the engine has completely cooled down and what symptoms to look for when doing so.
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How Long To Let Engine Cool Before Adding Oil; Check coolant level
The next thing you will want to do is check your engine’s fluid levels. Since we just cleaned out all of the dirty oil, there should be enough water in the car to cover the top of the engine by several inches.
If not, then it would indicate that some sort of leak has occurred somewhere. Unfortunately this can sometimes lead to dry-heating or boiling over of the engine. Both are very serious conditions so make sure to check everything thoroughly!
Now, before adding any new fluids into the tank, make sure to run an adequate amount of engines cooling fluid through it first. This way, the old liquid gets used up, and you have proof that it exists. You can also test the fluid yourself to see if it looks normal.
How Long To Let Engine Cool Before Adding Oil; Run engine until it is not hot anymore
When you add oil to a cool engine, what happens next depends on how long you let the engine run before adding the oil. If you added the oil too soon, the new fluid may seep out as the engine heats up again!
If you waited just right, then no liquid will be lost due to this process. However, if you overdo it by adding the oil when the engine is still warm, there are possible negative consequences.
To prevent these, here’s an easy rule: don’t add the oil until the engine is completely cold. This way, there won’t be any dripping or spillage because the fluid can’t flow properly under pressure.
Add oil
Once you have checked that your engine is not running out of fuel, now it is time to add an appropriate amount of oil!
Making sure that there are no clogs in the filter first is important as this could prevent proper combustion or even damage the engine.
Start by adding about half of the recommended amount of oil per side of the engine (engine position like front or back makes a difference). For example, if the car dealer gave you 1 cup for each 5K miles, then use one full cup for every 5000 RPMs until you get a tone of oil trickling down the sides of the engine.
Now, make sure to check the dipstick at both ends before moving onto the next step! Never remove the pan off the engine while it is still hot as this can cause burning or cracking of the sump gasket.
Once done, leave the vehicle alone and let it run for several minutes so that the oil has time to be spread around properly. If needed, hold it closed for more time until it seems like it is staying cool.
If you feel comfortable doing so, pull away slowly to see how the engine reacts.
Check oil again
The next thing you should do is check your engine’s oil level. You can use your dipstick or feel of the solid layer of oil at the top of the container.
Make sure that it does not run down onto the mouth of the filter, as this could cause contamination there. If the oil is very light in color, then you may want to add some more oil before starting the car.
However, if the oil is quite dark, then it might be time to change the oil! This would indicate excessive wear due to overworking the engine. Make sure to get an appropriate amount for your vehicle and never drop any dirty oil into fresh oil.
Also make sure to pull off any old contaminated rags or towels when changing the oil.
Add coolant
Once you have determined that there is no longer any steam coming out of the throttle body, it’s time to add some coolant!
Add a couple drops at a time to make sure you don’t get water in the engine area.
Never pour coolant into the engine yourself as this could cause damage or poisoning! Ask someone who knows about engines how to do it correctly.
Some cars require you to let the engine run for several minutes after adding the coolant before being able to start it. This is because the liquid will soak into all areas of the engine where there are hot parts. It takes time for the fluid to work its way down!
After it has been running for a few minutes, check to see if there is still steam coming out of the car. If not, then turn the key and test it out.
If it works, great, but if it doesn’t, take your car back up to the shop so they can figure out what went wrong! Hopefully nothing too expensive, but at least you learned something new.
Check coolant again
The next thing you should do is check your engine cooling fluid. You can either use a meter or test strips, but make sure that you have enough for both!
If it looks clear then leave it alone. If it’s dark in color and there are some solid chunks of oil in it, then change it immediately!
Never pour clean car engine cooling fluid into an oily engine.
Re-start engine
The second part of changing your oil is actually re-starting your car! Once you have finished washing off the old oil, you can now add in the new oil. Make sure that you do not put too much oil into the tank as this could cause it to overflow or leak.
Once again, make sure that you are using the correct grade of oil for your vehicle and do not forget to check the dipstick at each hole to be certain.
