Cat 3126E oil level

Big Katuna wrote:

gatorcq wrote:
Agree with Brett, been doing mine since 2007. AND I always watch and remind them HOW to do it. If they have a issue, then I say thank you and go someplace else.
By the way, oil will blow out and cover your tow. No hurt to the engine

If you have a rear radiator it will blow all up into the CAC and rad which will act like glue for dirt and you will have over heating issues down the road.

Correct. Best to extend the crankcase breather tube to BEHIND the fan shroud. Easy and inexpensive.

gatorcq wrote:
Agree with Brett, been doing mine since 2007. AND I always watch and remind them HOW to do it. If they have a issue, then I say thank you and go someplace else.
By the way, oil will blow out and cover your tow. No hurt to the engine

If you have a rear radiator it will blow all up into the CAC and rad which will act like glue for dirt and you will have over heating issues down the road.

Best defense against improper amount of oil is to make a label and put it next to the oil fill:

OIL CAPACITY INCLUDING FILTER 19 QTS.

Won't keep an idiot from doing it wrong, but should help.

Agree with Brett, been doing mine since 2007. AND I always watch and remind them HOW to do it. If they have a issue, then I say thank you and go someplace else.
By the way, oil will blow out and cover your tow. No hurt to the engine

I would not go through a "fire drill" for a quart.

Remember, no engine manufacturer provides the engine oil dipstick-- that is speced and installed by the chassis maker. It could be accurate for the engine, but strongly suggest you CALIBRATE IT. It is free at the next oil change.

CALIBRATING THE ENGINE OIL DIP STICK
By Brett Wolfe


We continue to see questions about oil "consumption" and oil on radiators and toads on RV.net and other RV sites. It seems to be universal-- across all brands of diesel engines.

THE NUMBER ONE CAUSE IS AN OVERFILLED CRANKCASE. CALIBRATING THE ENGINE OIL DIP STICK TO ACHIEVE THE CORRECT OIL LEVEL IN THE PAN "FIXES" OVER 90% OF THESE PROBLEMS.

Step one if you "think" your DP has an oil consumption problem or you are seeing oil mist on your toad (or you just want to verify that yours is correct): CALIBRATE THE DIP STICK. Since the same engines/dip sticks are used in many different applications with different angles of installation, do not ASSUME that the dip stick is correctly marked.

Calibration costs $0. At the next oil change, drain oil, remove old filter (as usual).

Then install the drain plug and new oil filter and add the engine's correct oil capacity LESS THE NUMBER OF QUARTS you want between the "add" and "full" marks (let's say 2 quarts). So for a C7 with 19 quart capacity you would add 17 quarts. Run the engine a few minutes, shut off and wait until oil has descended into the pan (minimum 30 minutes). Pull the dip stick and use a file or dremel tool to mark the oil level "add". Add the remaining two quarts, let the oil settle in the pan, pull the dipstick and mark this the "full" mark.

In many/most cases, you will find that your engine "throws out" the access oil and then "consumption" settles down to next to nothing. Put in the correct amount and your "consumption" issues may go away.

This applies to all ages (including brand new) of motorhomes and boats with every brand of engine.

Drain it. Overfilled crankcases mesh with the crankshaft and foaming results. You don't even want to know what pumped foam means to lessened lubricity. Please check with Caterpillar direct about this. I saw a 3406 in a bulldozer go up in smoke because of overfilled oil.

Does that mean, no harm other than blow by or should I have it drained? Invoiced for 19qrts.

My C7 blows oil out if they in more than 19 qts.

I have had two places add too much even though I told them.

I finally put a large tag on the filler.

I used to put in 20 quarts but it would always blow out 2 so now I put in 18 quarts and all is well. Good luck.

dreamer.

The dip stick may not have been calibrated. See if you can verify they put in 19 quarts first.
Brett Wolfe can explain better and he reads this forum.