Cummins ISC 330 Oil capacity

[Logthumper]

I have a Cummins ISC 330 in a 2007 Monaco Knight (330 manufactured in Aug 2006). When I changed the oil for the "first" time, the oil was at the "full" mark on the dipstick. When I drained the oil, total removed from the oil filter and pan was 20qts. New oil added, pan and prefill of filter totaled 20qts. After running the engine, and then letting the oil settle, the dipstick again was at the "full" mark. It appears that Monaco installs 20qts and has the dipstick calabrated for 20qts.

Cummins said that that the total oil capacity for the pan & filter should be 24qts. That would mean that I should add 4qts more, placeing the oil mark way over the fill mark.

Anyone out there with a Monaco with this engine know for sure what your oil capacity is?

[Logthumper]

I have a Cummins ISC 330 in a 2007 Monaco Knight (330 manufactured in Aug 2006). When I changed the oil for the "first" time, the oil was at the "full" mark on the dipstick. When I drained the oil, total removed from the oil filter and pan was 20qts. New oil added, pan and prefill of filter totaled 20qts. After running the engine, and then letting the oil settle, the dipstick again was at the "full" mark. It appears that Monaco installs 20qts and has the dipstick calabrated for 20qts.

Cummins said that that the total oil capacity for the pan & filter should be 24qts. That would mean that I should add 4qts more, placeing the oil mark way over the fill mark.

Anyone out there with a Monaco with this engine know for sure what your oil capacity is?

[Jack Pattman]

Changing the oil and filter on my ISC takes 20 to 20-1/2 quarts. Fill it ONLY to the full line. Overfilling is far worse than leaving it low for 15 minutes of run time.

[Norm Payne]

My ISC also took about 20 1/2 quarts. When I added 21 quarts it went just barely over the full mark.

[Ecker]

I just double checked Cummins info on their QuickServe system to see if the person giving out answer made mistake and it appears he/she was correct. The system shows a standard oil pan has low and high values of 16-20 and standard oil pan plus filter is 24. Don't know why variance to what you are all finding except an oil pan change but that would reduce miles to required change it would seem.

[Ecker]

I just double checked Cummins info on their QuickServe system to see if the person giving out answer made mistake and it appears he/she was correct. The system shows a standard oil pan has low and high values of 16-20 and standard oil pan plus filter is 24. Don't know why variance to what you are all finding except an oil pan change or a mis marking i.e.using 16 as full and then plus 4 for filter to give the 20 your seeing. A call to Spartan would seem to be in order.

[Richard Pelletier]

My manual states 24 quarts. As many of us have found out the info is not always correct. 22 quarts total puts mine at the full mark. I think if I used 24 quarts it would blow out 2 quarts.

[Logthumper]

Boy, stuff like this just drives me crazy. I am a maintenance nut. I take care of my stuff and do not abuse mechanical things. I like to work with correct information. Before I made the original post, I also checked my:
Monaco Knight Owner's Manual = 19 Qts
Cummins Owners Manual ISC & ISL, page V-2 = 24 Qts
Several calls to Monaco Customer Service = All kinds of answers, including " Your not checking the oil level correctly"????????????
Cummins internet site = ISC, 330 = 24 Qts
Call to Cummins Customer Service = The serial number of my ICS, 330 installed in my 2007 Monaco Knight was manufactured in Aug 2006 showed that this engine has the standard oil pan and the oil capacity of : Pan = 20 Qts, Filter 4 Qts for a total of 24 Qts.

From my experience (total of 20 Qts for pan & filter to read "full") and from the answers received on this post, it appears that the coach some manufactures are installing "Dip Sticks"� calibrated to read "full"� when only 20 Qts has been installed. Coach manufacturers supply and install the "Dip Sticks"� during engine installation and body mounting. Why are they determining oil capacities other then what the engine manufacturers calls for?

To me, 4 Qts short equals less cooling ability, less soot holding capacity between oil changes and the 20 Qts of oil working harder to do the job of the 24 Qts of oil this engine was designed to work with. Cummins should be concerned about this. Cummins might be concerned about this for any warranty problems.

Cummins designed this engine to work with 24 Qts - so- 24 Qts should not present an "Over Fill"� no mater what the "Dip Stick"� reads. Looks like we should all recalibrate our "Dip Sticks" to read "Full" for 24 Qts.

[Ecker]

I would recommend you give Cummins Distributor your SN to check for the oil pan specified for your engine and then check what's on your engine and have them check it against QSOL for capacity. Its possible the oil pan was changed. If the system says 20+4 and that's what's on there then it would appear a mistake was made when dipstick was marked by OEM.

[Route 66]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">If the system says 20+4 and that's what's on there then it would appear a mistake was made when dipstick was marked by OEM. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

This issue of dipstick calibration seems to be an ongoing problem, as I have read about it from time to time over the years.

[Andy M]

I am fairly new to being an owner of a Monaco diesel pusher but I have a vast background of 26 years in engine design and performance. I can tell you this, as long as the pick up is covered the engine oil pressure and volume passed through its internals components does not know any different when it comes to total oil volume. On the contrary, when you can increase your square inches inside that crankcase many benifts come from it. By running the pan with the correct volume that registers on the stick (20qts) vs. the 24 quarts that might be recommended by cummins, you can not only gain hp and torque but your pistons as well as the entire reciprocating assembly will rotate with more ease due to the additional pressures reduced by the increase of square inches gained by not filling it with the maximum amount of oil capacity. Your engine gaskets will live longer as well. i could understand why there might be some sort of conflict. These engines (from my understanding) not only get used in motorhomes but they also get used in other off road machinery which might see radical angles that your coach might not see and therefore the increase in oil level might just be a precaution for cummins when that engine is used for other purposes besides the motorhome.

[Logthumper]

Thanks to everyone.

Andy: Now theres an answer that makes the most sense as to why the coach manufacture is calibrating to 20 Qts of oil. I would like to hear from the coach manufacturer there explanation, they only say to go to Cummins and have the "Dip Stick" calabraited. Cummins says that the dip stick they supply with the engine is replaced by the coach manufacturer when the engine is installed in the chassis. Cummins is sticking to 24Qts.

I guess I'm going to quit worrying about this. I guess the only shortcomings with 20Qts would be less cooling ability of less oil. The Oil Cooler should take care of that. 20Qts should also lessen the amount of oil exiting the Draft Tube????

Still think the coach manufacturer should have an explanation as to why they think they need to do this.

[rmmpe]

That does make a lot of sense.
My dip-stick indicates about 2 Qts. low. If I add the 2 Qts., it'll again show 2 Qts. low after about 10 minutes. I have no idea where it's going but when I check it using a friend's dip-stick, which has been re-calibrated, it shows just right.

Any ideas?

[Norm Payne]

Cummins has made the ISC engine many years and put different oil pans on them so any and all of the above answers may be correct. The problem is finding the oil capacity of "your" ISC engine and don't worry about the capacity of someone elses engine.