well actually please dont!
but exactly when is the best time to check you oil? before you drive your car when the engine is cold or after you drive when the engine is hot?
i ask this because i drove to work this morning prob bout 20min drive got to work waited 15mins so as to let oil settle then checked my oil! it was a fair bit over the max mark on the dip stick. so now im confused do i take that as the correct reading or when its cold??????
i know silly question!!

when checking the oil, always check it when the engine is cold!!!

shouldnt you check it, after you've driven it, so it warms up and goes round the engine. then turn off, let it settle in the sump for say 15 mins, then check it? sure i read that in the manual somewhere or something

thats what i thought i did this and the oil was way above the max mark???

what after it had cooled a bit too - it does need to settle in the sump after you stop driving - maybe my 15 min stated time was a bit off - maybe a bit longer? if its over the max mark, isnt that as bad as it being under the min mark? maybe you should just pop to a local ford garage and tell them to check it. wont take them a mo?

could do that but it'd be quicker to do it myself. i think 15 mins is sufficient but im just a bit confused.

i only say that, cos if its over filled, they might need to drain some??

yeah that was my plan but i thought id check first cos some books say to check it cold some say to check it hot either way if its to much il just jack it up n take some out.

the story continues.... i have just checked the oil 09.00am the car has been siting there all night freezing cold and guess what the oil is above the max mark! looks like i will be letting some out 2moro! as much as i dont want to drive it i have to go to work! but that said it has done 3000 miles since i picked it up! so hopefully not to much damage has been done!

hmm yeh i reckon get some out soon as! not sure what damage it can do, but the book def said its potentially as bad as it running dry ?+

You can put too much pressure in the oil circut,you can check the level hot or cold when hot it should read less as the oil is all around the engine.When changing do it with the oil hot,and don,t forget to fill the filter before measureing.

Funnily enough thats exactly what happened to my sister when she was checking her Fiesta Flame. It convinced her that she needed more oil so she was about to put more in, luckily I re-checked it before she did it.

Like Nick says it is possible, our driveway is only on a very slight slope.

Another silly question is the dipstick clean when checking oil?

If the oil levels good there will be oil on it, if the oil levels bad! then there probably won't be. Expect to hear nasty noises soon if the second one applies

yeah drive is level and i decided to let some out! rather than taking the nut out i decided to syphen some out of the dipstick hole! used a turkey baster and some tubing! worked rather well i thought! so oil level is now fine!