Oil check warning for the unwary

[Chris P]

My oil pressure light had come on and gone out a couple of times, so I checked the oil level under the driver seat. Looked fine.

Kept happening, so I read on the web site. Apparently the oil level is under the PASSENGER seat - when I checked it, it found a half litre of oil very welcome.

Don't know what the one under the driver seat is (I'm sure some expert can tell me...), but don't be fooled by it - engine oil level is under the passenger seat.

Cheers

Chris

[samuel]

The one you found intially was the gearbox dipstick. Dipstick.

[dandywarhol]

I'm surprised that only a half litre cured it!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ozric]

Glad to hear I'm no the only dip stick on the forum.

[Colin Lambert]

BE WARNED!
Half a litre WILL NOT have cured it.
It may be enough to put the light out but it sure as hell will still leave the engine VERy LOW on oil. Us the dipstick, don't rely on the warning light. That only tells you when it's empty not full!!

[tigger]

I think it might be worth expanding on Colin's answer a little for the unwary.

Everything Colin says is correct, but please note: the Bongo oil light is an oil PRESSURE warning, NOT an oil level warning. Oil level warning lights, as found on some cars, are like an electronic dipstick - they tell you when the oil level has gone down to about the 'minimum' level on the dipstick. This means that, on a typical car, you are between 0.5 and 1 litres below the 'full' level on the dipstick when the oil LEVEL warning light comes on - needs sorting but not the end of the world at all. But this does not apply to Bongos (at least not older ones - I don't know about newer ones) - they don't have an oil level light.

If the oil PRESSURE warning light comes on in any car (eg Bongo) it means, as Colin indicates, that there is so little oil in the sump that the scavenge pump is having difficulty finding enough to get a full head of pressure. This means that not enough oil is being squirted onto your engine bearings - a situation that will quite quickly result in serious engine problems. You really shouldn't run your engine for any length of time with the oil pressure warning light showing. Again as Colin says, expect to need to put SEVERAL LITRES of oil into the sump to remedy the situation properly - do it slowly and use the dipstick regularly to guide you. Keep going until the dipstick indicates that the level is up to the maximum. Then investigate why your Bongo was so low on oil - is it just neglect, does it burn its oil or does it leak out?

Regular oil changes and always maintaining the proper level of oil in the sump are among the most important factors in keeping an engine working.

tigger

[Colin Lambert]

Thanks for that Tigger. On re-reading mine I did make it sound as though it is a level light not a pressure light. I did not make it clear enough. Sorry.

[Chris P]

Thanks for all the advice (and info - so it's my gearbox that has a good level of oil...).

I did check my level after adding a bottle of oil and running it for a little time. It was well above the LOW point.

I'm away at the moment, but 'll check it again next time I see my Bongo.

Cheers

Chris

[Bumbly1]

Thanks for all the advice (and info - so it's my gearbox that has a good level of oil...).

I did check my level after adding a bottle of oil and running it for a little time. It was well above the LOW point.

I'm away at the moment, but 'll check it again next time I see my Bongo.

Cheers

Chris

Chris, not trying to add to your problems but the method of checking the level of automatic fluid in the gear box entails running the engine and pushing the auto lever backwards and forwards a number of times to make sure that the fluid is "distributed", worth checking as overfilling can result in blown seals. Details may be in the handbook, I have not checked, I think there was a post about this recently too, worth trying a search.

Tom