Proper Oil Level Verification Procedure on 1330-engined Spyders

[BRPcare]

Hi everyone,
There have been some questions on the right way for checking your oil on the 1330 engine. Below is the correct procedure:

Given the oil system design of the 1330 engine, oil level verification must be done under specific conditions which can influence the quantity of measurable oil in the engine.

These conditions are:

• Engine oil temperature must be between 80°C and 95°C (176°F and 203°F) which is considered as being the engine's normal operating temperature. Don't mistake coolant temperature for engine oil temperature! Coolant will heat up faster than the engine oil.
• Engine oil temperature is crucial since its volume changes based on temperature; that's enough to affect the measurable level.
• Engine must idle 10 minutes. The 1330 engine is a dry sump design with 3 scavenge pumps and 1 pressure pump, 10 minutes of idle time allows the scavenge pumps to stabilize the quantity of oil returned.

Complete oil level verification procedure:

1. Bring engine to operating temperature.
2. Ensure vehicle is on a level surface.
3. Allow engine to idle for 10 minutes.
4. Stop the engine.
5. Within 2 minutes of stopping the engine:
   
   1. Remove and wipe the dipstick clean.
   2. Insert dipstick and completely screw it in.
   3. Remove dipstick and read oil level on dipstick.
   
   
6. Adjust level as necessary without overfilling.

Tips and Tricks:

Here are 2 ways the crucial criteria can be reached:

• An engine started cold (20°C or 68°F) will take approximately 25 minutes to reach oil level verification criteria (oil temperature and idle time). Oil level can be reliably verified when the radiator fans have cycled ON twice,

or

• The unit can be taken on a 15 km (9 mile) drive (normal riding) or a 6 km (4 mile) drive in 1st gear at 50 km/h (30 mph) which is approx at 4400 rpm THEN idled until the radiator fans have cycled ON twice.

When performing an oil change on a cold engine, the above recommendations must be done to reach oil level verification criteria. When performing an oil change on a hot engine, the new oil will heat up faster since the engine is hot therefore letting the engine idle until 10 minutes or until the radiator fans have cycled ON twice indicates the oil level can be verified.
We thus recommend checking the oil level at the end of a decent ride following the complete oil level verification procedure as outlined above.