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0360 oil level

dan carley

Well Known Member
I have a 0-360 180hp in my Rv6
And it seems to like 6 qts of oil ? Is this pretty normal

Thanks
Danny
15vr
 
I am no expert but 6 qts works for me in my 0-360 also, I normally put 7 in after oil change to fill the filter but after that it seems to settle at 6, any more get blown out somehow.
Figs
 
FWIW; my Lycoming O360-A4M also seems to run best at 6qt of oil. If I go over 7qts, it throws that extra quart out the breather tube within 1hr and stabilizes at 6qts. So, unless I am going on a very long cross country, I keep it between 5.5 and 6.5 qts of oil. YMMV

:cool:
 
Yep, mine too. But mine actually settles in at just below 6....more like 5.75 on the dipstick.
 
Lycoming recommends to add at 5. You might want to calibrate your dipstick. When I change oil I put back 5 quarts, give it a run and check the oil level the next day. I use that level as my add point. I then add a quart and check again. I keep the oil level between those points. My dipstick is waaay off.
 
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I waste money when I put much more than 6 qts in my O360 also. The belly stays cleaner with the 6 qts also.
 
I0-360 180 hp 550 hour SDS ignition and fuel here. I change oil and filter every 25 hrs. with 6 added burn down to about 4.5 then add a quart. Fly and repeat. Oil is the cheapest part of your engine. Oh ya the most important part also.. I'm running about 6 hours per quart, so not to terrible. Ya I would like it to be less, But, I have Chrome cylinders. I had an I0-520 in my old Cessna 206 and we put new cylinders on because the old ones were pitted and it was burning a quart in 4-5. Well learned a lesson there. gobs of money and oil usage went to 1 quart in 8 hours. Not much gain for the $ it cost. Never again. Burn the oil if compression is good and valves are still valving.
My three cents worth Art
 
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Yep 5.5 to 6 Qt max. Check it each flight and add only a fraction of a Qt. to maintain the 5.5 to 6 Qt. Level.

Even though it can hold more that is only to satisfy a FAR Engine Certification rule engines hold extra oil over what is required. In the case of Lycs having that extra oil causes it to blow out the vent tube... above normal use... until it gets down to 6 Qts or less.
 
Crankcase oil separator affect ?

There has been no mention of the affect of oil separators on this issue. When I installed the antisplat separator, oil usage dramatically reduced to negligible. But I always maintain 5-6 qt anyway. Does anyone know if the separators significantly reduce oil loss if you put in 8qt. To start a long trip ?.
 
I have an Anti-splat oil separator, It does not seem to make any difference in oil level that I'm able to maintain or in oil consumption.

That may be because my oil consumption is not a factor of blow by; but one of extra seepage past the intake valve guides (the vacuum in the intake port sucks extra oil from the rocker box when manifold pressure is below ambient pressure).

I do get a cleaner belly with the oil separator but consumption seems to hover around 6 to 8 hours per quart. On a long XC where most of the hours are at altitude where I'm WOT I get maybe 12 or 14 hours per quart.
 
Yep 5.5 to 6 Qt max. Check it each flight and add only a fraction of a Qt. to maintain the 5.5 to 6 Qt. Level.

Even though it can hold more that is only to satisfy a FAR Engine Certification rule engines hold extra oil over what is required. In the case of Lycs having that extra oil causes it to blow out the vent tube... above normal use... until it gets down to 6 Qts or less.

Amazing. I nervously added to the 7 quart level for many, many hours. Then a smart experienced O360 Lyc owner said keep it at 6. Lo and behold the skies cleared and more importantly my oil usage went to 1/2 quart per 25hr oil change.

Thanks everyone for the awesome tips on VAF
 
I have an RV-6 with an O-360 and keep oil around 6 qts. I fly some gentleman's aerobatics once a week or so and was sometimes losing 1/2 qt of oil per session and having to do much cleaning of the belly. Then a couple of months ago I added an Anti-Spat oil separator. Now the belly stays clean and oil consumption is much less.
 
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