I just changed my oil and filter. I poured 4 quarts in and the level read between the top line and bottom line of the dip stick. Not sure whether that was the right amount, so I consulted the manual, which says I'm supposed to put in between 4.5 and 5 quarts. So I added another half quart and then ran the engine, let it settle, and now the oil is exactly at the top line of the dip stick. Now I find out there was supposedly a misprint in the manual, and I was supposed to leave it at 4 quarts or thereabouts. I think I put in about 4.5 quarts the last time I changed the oil as well. As far as I can tell, nothing bad has happened to the engine since the last time I changed the oil. My question is, should I suck a half quart out of my engine just to be safe? My other question is which line represents the top line on the dipstick?
As for my air filter, I opened it up and discovered there is no filter inside! It kind of looKs like there might be some oily crumbles of what used to be my air filter. Yikes! I'm supposed to take this thing to Catalina Island this Friday, I would imagine it is too late to send for an air filter between now and then. If I can't locate one by Friday is there any makeshift air filter I can create as a temporary solution? Is it safe to go without it? Or would it be the better part of prudence to just cancel the trip while I send for a new one? I would have included a picture of the mess I saw, but the camera on my phone is busted.
Any suggestions?
Thanks a bunch--Joel S.
Joel Schwartz
s/v Get-A-Grip
1993 Catalina 36 Hull #1259
Newport Beach, California
Joel, the so-called air filter is just a strip of stiff open cell foam. The stuff gets impregnated with oil mist and disintegrates after a few years. I bought a larger drum of yellow foam in the humidifier filter section of Home Depot and cut it to fit the inside of the drum. Has worked great for two years.
The oil level is unimportant as long as it doesn't overflow or suck dry. Remember we're dealing with a simple deisel here, a tractor engine,not a computerized 4 stroke car engine!
Kevin Lenard
"Firefly"
'91 C-36 Mk. "1.5" Tall Rig, Fin Keel, Hull #1120, Universal M-35 original (not "A" or "B")
CBYC, Scarborough, Lake Ontario, Canada
I'm far from an engine expert but it has always been my understanding that if you overfill the oil, it froths internally and does not do the job in the way it was intended to in terms of lubrication. If it were me, and its such an easy fix, I'd take out the extra oil.
Chuck Parker
HelenRita 2072 Mk II
2002 Tall Rig - Winged Keel
Atlantic Highlands, NJ
If your dipstick has two lines, the line furthest from the tip represents FULL and the line nearest the tip represents FILL.. On an American car, oil at the fill line suggests a quart of oil would bring the level back to full, but I'm not sure on the Universal Engine if this represents the same amount since it's based on a metric engine.
Oil at the full line is optimal, but anywhere between the two lines is acceptable. An eight of an inch overfill is fine, but much more than this should be reduced back to the fill line. Running without an air filter for a short amount of time is fine. Before your trip, just clean the area around the air intake as possible, removing any foam bits that might be in the intake. Many folks have gone with an after-market filter, such as a K&N unit. There should be examples of this this in the forum, but essentially you measure the diameter of your intake and how much clearance you have to work with and then select the one from K&N that fits.
Nick Caballero
Retired C36/375IA Mk II Technical Editor
I add 3.5Qrts in my M35B. The amount listed in the manual is wrong. I found this amount by adding and checking the dip stick until it was full.
Considering the engine is tilted to the back - it may indicate more oil than there is if it was level. This may be the discrepancy in the oil level measurement.
Sail La Vie 1999 Catalina 36 MKII, M35B-17031, Coyote Point, San Mateo, CA
About Sail La Vie
[quote=Haro]I add 3.5Qrts in my M35B. The amount listed in the manual is wrong. I found this amount by adding and checking the dip stick until it was full.
Considering the engine is tilted to the back - it may indicate more oil than there is if it was level. This may be the discrepancy in the oil level measurement.
[/quote]
Having just had the rather dubious pleasure of removing, cleaning / repainting, and reinstalling the oil sump pan in situ (the numerous cuts on my hands bear witness to this struggle), I can verify that what appears to be a fully drained engine is not; there will always be a pool of old oil left in the sump aft of the drain plug, because of the drain location and the engine slope (unless you get a bunch of very heavy friends to cluster up by the bow pulpit!).
After I reinstalled and refilled the engine, two things I noticed: This was the first time the engine took the full amount of oil indicated in the specs, and it was the first time that when I checked the oil dipstick that the oil wasn't already black (i.e., not diluted with the residual old dirty oil). In other words, the first time I'd actually managed to remove and change ALL the oil.
Matthew Chachère
s/v ¡Que Chévere!
(Formerly 1985 C36 MKI #466 tall rig fin keel M25)
2006 Catalina Morgan 440 #30.
Homeported in eastern Long Island, NY
Thanks, all. Well then somehow I put in 4 1/2 quarts which put it exactly at the optimal fill line. I will just leave it be. I think I will order an after market air filter, but one wonders what happened to the crumbly mess that was once my "current" air filter? Did the engine eat most of it? That's the only place the desintegrating material had to go it would seem...through the engine. Why the heck would they make an air filter that literally does what it is supposed to prevent? Very strange.
Joel Schwartz
s/v Get-A-Grip
1993 Catalina 36 Hull #1259
Newport Beach, California
With a filter change, my M35BC took a bit more than 4 quarts to reach the full line on the dipstick after running a few minutes. Various manuals give values of 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, and 5.44 quarts. I think anywhere from 3.5 to 4.5 would be fine.
Yes, not the best choice of material for an air cleaner is foam exposed to diesel crankcase blow-by. Yes, all of those bits have been burned in your engine, but likely with no harmful effects. The main reason for an air filter is to prevent material from entering the system that would do harm, i.e., big things that don't compress or small hard things that would get imbedded in the valve seats.
Nick Caballero
Retired C36/375IA Mk II Technical Editor