reddragonmd

Would it be possible to wire in an oil LEVEL gauge into our cars? Out of everything i could possibly think of that mazda could have put in, an oil level gauge would have been on the top of my list. Considering how its a rotary, and not everyones burns oil in the same way/consumption.

Anyway i was looking at analog gauges for oil pressure, boost etc and was wondering if anyone here has built an oil level gauge?

Just curious

Rxdriftingaction

dude.. rotary got the most common problem is burn oil.. easy of that man..
If ur car burn oil much in a short period.. then u got to care about it.. otherwise it's normal.. no worry man.

TownDrunk

I just wish the stupid oil pressure gauge worked like a real oil pressure gauge.

I know that doesn't help, but I feel better now.

reddragonmd

I just typed out alot, but lost it all. This site seems to be having issues today.

Anyway i basically said if the car by design burns more than average oil, why not build in a 100$ oil level gauge for owners?

My car isnt consistant with its oil usage at all, so it would help me alot. I have to put in almost a quart a week, driving about 500miles a week.

TownDrunk

Wow! I've only put in a couple extra quarts over 12000 mi. I only average about 200 mi/week though. I can see why you would want a level gauge.

peterlemonjello

I seem to burn more oil on long road trips (3+ hours) when I'm doing > 85mph. Anyone else notice this

Nubo

My '84 AMC/Renault "Alliance" econo-box had an oil-level gauge, and it was quite accurate. So, it can't be very expensive or difficult. I guess the logic could be that, more often than not, you're probably going to want to add at least some oil anyway, so might as well get under the hood.

RotorManiac

I seem to burn less oil in that occasion... I frequently do 500km trips and not even a drop of oil is burned... strange. I'd expect the other way though...

jowettw

there was a group buy that ended a long time ago for some gauges ... they look SOO good but are SOO expensive.

thread here

not sure if you could hook them up to read your oil pressure though. i'm not too mechanically/electrically inclined ....

shelleys_man_06

Want an oil level gauge? Here's one:

Rotarian_SC

I would still prefer a working Oil Pressure gague to an Oil Level one. In 10,000 miles I've only used 2 extra quarts of oil.

shelleys_man_06

Agreed. An oil pressure gauge can also tell you whether your levels are low. How? My guess is if your pressure is reading too high, you don't have good volumetric flow; you may just have low oil levels. It also tells if there are other prolems associated with the lubricating system.

Oh yeah, if you thought my pic of the dipstick was sarcasm, it was half-and-half. Read your dipstick every now and then. It doesn't take but five minutes.

RoninJai

Just came across this thread while doing a search for Oil Level Gauge. I've been talking about this with my brother, who is a Mazda mechanic, and the consensus was that it should be possible. When I add my gauge pod, I'm planning on putting one of these in...so I will update at that point, w/ pics.

Hunter

Then what does the oil gauge on it right now do?

QBallz

If it's in the middle it means your metric pump works, if it all the way to the left it means somethings broken.

Other than that it does nothing it pretty much a dummy guage, which IMO is lame.

Rotario

How exactly does this address the original question?

Rotario

I haven't put one in, but am considering it. That and an oil temperature gauge as well. Shouldn't be that hard -- just need the right sending unit(s) and the right gauge(s). I'd love to have a gauge pod where the ashtray is, but the only one I've seen is like $400, and that's way too much (for my wallet) for a simple plastic molding. I'm gonna keep looking....

Bill

MassiveAttack

Geez, I've all but given up on checking the oil level. I haven't gone through one entire quart yet after 12500 miles. Got my oil changed 2000 miles ago, and the dipstick still reads within a few millimeters of where it was from the shop...

--Massive

Rotario

Hiya MA,

With my '8, the amount of oil used is directly proportional to how heavy my foot is. I did a "grandpa" on a full tank a few weeks ago, testing to see what kind of gas mileage I could get by keeping revs below 3750 for the whole tank. The oil level didn't budge...at all. However, when I go through a tank of gas in a more appropriate manner (like redlining frequently), the oil usage increases quite a bit.

Since your oil usage is extremely low, are you driving in a sane manner, or are you driving like the rest of us? :D

Best,
Bill

mlx8

For a car that's "designed" to be topped off occasionaly, and have the oil level monitored, I'd have been happy if Mazda had put a little more effort into making the dip stick a bit more user friendly :-)

How hard could if be to (a) make the damn thing about 6 inches taller so one doesn't have to fish through the lines and cables, and (b) add in some kind of easy read oil level indicator?

RoninJai

Yeah, I think that dipstick sucks. One of the worst I've ever encountered, and considering the car's propensity to eat oil, I think it's inexcusable design-wise.