How do I know if I've got a dry sump?

[Cock Womble 7]

I've read topics on here about checking the oil - something which I gather is fairly important .

I had been checking it in the usual manner (cold engine, dipstick, etc) and all seemed fine.

Then I read about the "Under a minute after switching off" thing relating to dry sumps and I got all paranoid that I hadn't been checking my oil properly and that my engine was going to die very soon.

But then I checked it this way and, again, all seemed fine.

So, how do I know if mine has a dry sump or not? And how do I know which way to check the oil?

It does have the Apollo anti-cavitation thingy, but does that necessarily mean it's dry or not?

Help!

[jeremyc]

If you've got a dipstick that disappears into the sump at the bottom of the engine then you have a wet sump.

If you have a 'conning tower' on top of the gearbox bellhousing with the impossible-to-read-anyway dipstick screwed into it, then your sump is dry.

All my money is on you havng a wet sump, albeit with the Apollo.

[Shaun_E]

A dry sump is easiest to spot by looking for a pump fitted towards the front of the drivers side of the engine underneath the inlet manifold. It will have a pulley driven by a belt from the crank pulley.
If you have an Apollo tank it is unlikely that you have a dry sump as they are rarely fitted together.
If you do not have a dry sump then the method of checking the oil is with the engine hot and running!
Instructions are here.

[jeremyc]

That conning tower that identifies the standard Caterham K-Series dry sump:

[Cock Womble 7]

jeremyc said:

That conning tower that identifies the standard Caterham K-Series dry sump:

I've not got one of them, so safe to assume I have a wet sump.

Shaun_E said:

If you do not have a dry sump then the method of checking the oil is with the engine hot and running!
Instructions are here.

That's very helpful, thank you.

[Gingerbread Man]

Cock Womble 7 said:

It does have the Apollo anti-cavitation thingy

Now I always thought that if you have an apollo tank, then you should have the oil hot and the engine running, or if you turn the engine off, do the oil check immediately after you turn it off.

[Mars]

jeremyc said:

That conning tower that identifies the standard Caterham K-Series dry sump:

Hey that's my pic, of my (at the time) unfinished winter upgrade (the laminova).

[BertBert]

jeremyc said:

That conning tower that identifies the standard Caterham K-Series dry sump:

Unless you have a pre-conning tower version!
Bert

[nigelpugh7]

Mars said:

jeremyc said:

That conning tower that identifies the standard Caterham K-Series dry sump:

Hey that's my pic, of my (at the time) unfinished winter upgrade (the laminova).

Yeah but I cant remember yours ever looking that rough under the bonnet nige!!

Also why does it seem to have a large cat turd on the breather bottle instead of the black cap?

[Mars]

It was in development. I was trying a new lightweight breathable cap (a sponge). Thought that invention might make me rich.