Brainstorm request...remote oil level gage?

[mmc757]

So I have a little problem...
My daughter's KJ consumes oil at a little over a quart every thousand miles. She drives a LOT so the oil pan gets emptied out pretty fast.
When I'm around, its not a big deal because I can stay on top of it. Unfortunately, I spend a lot of time away from home, and will be gone for a full six months later next year.
As hard as I try, I cant get either her or my wife to actually check the oil regularly.
I'm trying to figure out a way to install some sort of remote level gage so they can monitor level without opening the hood.
Or maybe some sort of auxiliary oil tank???
Any thoughts?

 

[04Liberty]

Take the car away from her Chief, she obviously isn't mature/responsible enough to take care of it on her own.

 

[mmc757]

Not an option. I need a real solution.

 

[badkittystt]

There is, in existence, an aftermarket dipstick that communicates to your mobile, Jason saw it on another forum and obviously neither of us can remember any details. I think it was windows based? Maybe searching for that can return some results.


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[NJallDAY]

Ive never seen anything that operates remotely. But you should be able to get a physically reading oil gauge installed

 

[tjkj2002]

Not an option. I need a real solution.

Get her to check the oil everytime she fills the gas tank or she walks that is a option and a real soluction.If she can not do that no use of even trying to keep oil in it.Let her face the bill when it locks up.Sorry but if you can not do a simple task that takes 30seconds when you know you have a issue then you just do not deserve to drive.Driving is a privilage not a right.

Yes that was harsh but sometimes you gotta face reality and suck it up.

Ive never seen anything that operates remotely. But you should be able to get a physically reading oil gauge installed

Oil gauges do not tell oil level,they tell oil pressure,by the time the pressure drops it's to late.

 

[04Liberty]

Get her to check the oil everytime she fills the gas tank or she walks that is a option and a real soluction.If she can not do that no use of even trying to keep oil in it.Let her face the bill when it locks up.Sorry but if you can not do a simple task that takes 30seconds when you know you have a issue then you just do not deserve to drive.Driving is a privilage not a right.

Yes that was harsh but sometimes you gotta face reality and suck it up.

Gotta agree with this one. We couldn't get my sister to check her oil once a month let alone once a week. She ended up with a ventilated 3.1 V6 in her Beretta. Family got together helped her put in a new one. She blew that one up too. She got another car, still hasn't learned...

How would you get one of your non-rates to do something they kept forgetting about or just didn't care about (short of paperwork, as this won't do any good in this situation)?

 

[mmc757]

Look, we cant afford $2k to buy a reman for me to install, or $4k to get someone else to install one if I'm out of town.
She needs the wheels because she is a horse owner and has two jobs, so being stranded is not an option.
She probably gets gas at least three times a week, so asking her to check it every fill up just isnt realistic. Would it be great if she would listen to her father and remember to check it regularly? Yes. Unfortunately, were talking about an 18 year old girl who thinks she knows everything, not someone who works for me.

Please spare me the lectures. I'm looking for a technical solution, not a parenting one.

 

[tjkj2002]

Look, we cant afford $2k to buy a reman for me to install, or $4k to get someone else to install one if I'm out of town.
She needs the wheels because she is a horse owner and has two jobs, so being stranded is not an option.
She probably gets gas at least three times a week, so asking her to check it every fill up just isnt realistic. Would it be great if she would listen to her father and remember to check it regularly? Yes. Unfortunately, were talking about an 18 year old girl who thinks she knows everything, not someone who works for me.

Please spare me the lectures. I'm looking for a technical solution, not a parenting one.

The only solution is force her to check the oil,sorry but that is the truth.She can not expect to be babied all her life and has to take responsibility and care for her transportation if it is needed so badly.


By the time I was 18 I was rebuilding engines from million dollar pieces of equipment.

 

[Loki]

An awful lot of cars have an oil level sensor these days.

Our 98 Lexus has one. Wife asked why there were two oil lights in the dash cluster.

 

[Loki]

My wife has this same problem with her both of her daughters.

One has a bad pressure switch in the power steering pump(idle bump up). Known for the past two years. Cant find the $27 to fix it. She ******* about how poor her car runs. If she would buy the switch, I would put it in. Cant do that though, wants a new car because of the bad switch.

The other will never get it. She thinks oil lasts forever! That and cant figure out how not to crash. Totaled two cars in less than 6 months, we pulled her license. Wants a job, yet does nothing to get one. Wants money, yet does not want to do anything for it.

 

[04Liberty]

It's not a lecture. There is a reason there are DIPSTICKS on a car.

We have low oil level sensors on our ALCO's. You would have to wire in a sending unit with an alarm to the interior. You're STILL going to have to get her to pull the dipstick to see how much to add. The sensor will require drilling a hole in the pan. Good luck with that.

 

[badkittystt]

http://www.google.com/patents/US4791400

Make your own. Or maybe somebody can make sense of this patent and see if anyone ever did it. I still say I remember the boy mentioning reading about some fancy dipstick but I can't search well on my phone.


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[NJallDAY]

Let me ask you this op. Does your daughter have a boyfriend? ( not trying to pick her up or anything) if she does why not put him in charge or maintenance on her vehicle? Checking oil is something every vehicle owner should know how to do. I worked at a quickie lube type place and had his 20 something girl drove in with a porsche 911 turbo her dad bought for her. She was complaining of a tick tick sound. Checked the oil and it was practically bone dry. When i said when was the last time you had your oil changed she replied, "change the oil? Umm this is a porsche.." blew my mind that someone could have such little respect for such an expensive and awesome piece or automotive engineering. Any way its something she will have to learn, either the easy way (with your guidance) or the hard way (locks up motor, has no vehicle)

 

[0240kliberty]

Look, we cant afford $2k to buy a reman for me to install, or $4k to get someone else to install one if I'm out of town.
She needs the wheels because she is a horse owner and has two jobs, so being stranded is not an option.
She probably gets gas at least three times a week, so asking her to check it every fill up just isnt realistic. Would it be great if she would listen to her father and remember to check it regularly? Yes. Unfortunately, were talking about an 18 year old girl who thinks she knows everything, not someone who works for me.

Please spare me the lectures. I'm looking for a technical solution, not a parenting one.

If you cant afford the 2-4k and she cant either. i think its time you give her an altimatum. she has 2 jobs and is a horse owner. great. what is she going to do when she does lock up the motor. something as simple as checking the oil level one of the three times she fills up every week then that alone could solve this problem.. Another suggestion. its burning oil for a reson. fix it. just my .02

 

[martin_metal_88]

I'm gonna receive rock for that but, there is a engine oil pressure light in the dash. Maybe you could use that as a gage? If you can teach her to stop and fill every time this light goes on and not waiting to reach her destination that should let you the time to get some money to fix it no?
Anyway, this light came up to me only once ( for no real reason ) and the car locked preventing me to press the accelerator so she would be force to pull over fill a bit and restart the engine.
JMO

 

[tjkj2002]

I'm gonna receive rock for that but, there is a engine oil pressure light in the dash. Maybe you could use that as a gage? If you can teach her to stop and fill every time this light goes on and not waiting to reach her destination that should let you the time to get some money to fix it no?
Anyway, this light came up to me only once ( for no real reason ) and the car locked preventing me to press the accelerator so she would be force to pull over fill a bit and restart the engine.
JMO

If you see that light turn for it's intended use it is to late as there is no oil pressure in the engine(with a correctly working sensor).

 

[HoosierJeeper]

Land Rover LR4's have a display inside that show oil level, but it'd be almost as much as a new engine probably to figure out how to retrofit it to a KJ. Just let her kill it and make her pay for it, say you told her so. That'll teach her, especially when she can't get to where she needs to be.

 

[tjkj2002]

Land Rover LR4's have a display inside that show oil level, but it'd be almost as much as a new engine probably to figure out how to retrofit it to a KJ. Just let her kill it and make her pay for it, say you told her so. That'll teach her, especially when she can't get to where she needs to be.

Yeah somehow I became the only tech that can work on one of our customers Mercedes SL500,really hate that it does not have a dipstick for anything.You have to scroll through the computer to check the oil level and such.Hate it,hate it,and still hate it but he always brings in 2 large pizza's and a 12 pack of Coke so I tolorate it.

 

[martin_metal_88]

A hydrostatic probe could work no? just drop it in the oil pan at the wanted level with the wire going out by the top of the filler and connect that to a LED or a little 12v speaker. Simple relay could make this work. something like that ( only an exemple, more research would be to do )

SICK - Level measurement with hydrostatic level probe LFH