As a father, we try and teach our children all of life's skills they need to face the world on their own. We try and protect them to the best of their ability and maintain that "Hero" status as they get older.
I recently had a young lady come into the parts store. She was a college student heading home for Summer Break. She said she had a noise coming from her engine and wanted someone to help her out. I asked her when the last time she had her oil checked. She replied with a blank look and a "I don't know". My fatherly instinct kicked in and I started thinking, "This could be my daughter". As we stepped outside I told the young lady that I would teach her some basic maintenance that everyone should know.
There are two fluid levels that should be checked at least once a week, the engine oil and the coolant. I am going to address how to check the engine oil level in this segment; the coolant we will cover in a later post. The engine oil can be checked at any time whether the engine is hot or cold. I would recommend checking the engine oil level when the engine is cold to get an accurate reading and there is less chance of possibly burning your hand.
The piece used to check the engine oil is referred to as an oil dipstick. Most generally there are two different designs of an oil dipstick handles. One is a "T" type handle. The other is a ring type handle. Normally, the ring type handle is yellow in color. The "T" handle is usually black. However, other colors are used. A majority of newer model vehicles have "Engine Oil" printed on the handle. On vehicles that the engine is mount sideways, the engine oil dipstick is located between the front of the vehicle and the engine. On vehicles that have the engine mounted length ways the oil dipstick may be located on either side of the engine.
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| Ring Type |
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| T Type |
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| T Type |
When checking the oil, you will need two paper towels. The oil dipstick is pressed into the oil dipstick tube. To remove, use one paper towel to grab the handle and pull up. By using a paper towel on the handle it will help prevent getting your hands dirty. Once the dipstick is removed, use the other paper towel to wipe off the end of the dipstick. Here you will notice some markings or holes. These markings will tell you if the engine is full of oil or if you need to add any oil. All of the vehicle manufactures have a different design of markings, but they all read the same. The top mark is the full mark. The next one down is the add line. After you have wiped of the dipstick, re-insert back into the dipstick tube making sure it is inserted all of the way. Pull the dipstick back out and check where the oil level is located on the marks. If the level is at the add line, the engine is a quart low on oil and you need to have some added. If it is between the marks, it is OK to drive the vehicle.
I will cover how to add oil in part two of this series.
Thank you for visiting. Have a blessed day.
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