Alfa Romeo Giulia 2.0 dealership oil change; non-OEM oil filter installed, fluctuating/dropping oil level reading

Additionally, the car sounded and drove normal either way, but engine was slightly noisier and more rattly when the oil level showed the decreased level following the initial oil change with the PF48. Upon redoing the oil change, was slightly quieter as usual. It has remained quiet for the last week or so. So, I find the level sensor to have been operating as designed, and reflecting accurate data
 
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So you did check the oil level only, not oil pressure? If oil pressure has been ok
all the time (or at least there's been no sign it wasn't) then I wouldn't worry no
longer. Admittely, it's quite odd this happened while the other filter was fitted,
however correlation still isn't causation.




Not ridiculous at all. This technology is used in the industry for like 25 years.
One of my cars has a similar oil level and temp sensor (as well as several cars
I owned prior) and it still has a dipstick as well.
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You sound like youre a fan of German automotive engineering. Its ridiculous enough to warrant a new thread because OP is at the mercy of a (perhaps faulty) sensor to simply determine where his oil is at instead of a simple metal rod with hash marks. My cars have an oil sensor too if the engine is leaking oil and about to go kaboom, doesn't mean I want to do away with my dipstick.
 
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I surely don't sound as I'm advocating the abdication of dipsticks
because that isn't what I said. I'd advocate to retain dipsticks and
add these sensors. These multi-purpose sensors are great to indicate
oil temperature.
However I'm certain that sensor on olio's Giulia is still working better
than my Mini Cooper's dipstick which is hardly readable. This car sadly
doesn't have an oil level and/or temp sensor.
That said, I'm pretty sure Milano/Lombardia isn't located in Germany.
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I agree it seems very difficult to attribute said variation in oil level to an oil filter in absence of a leak, the only possible explanation that comes to mind is that one has a ADBV and one does not, thus the ADBV preventing a small amount form returning to the sump, neither filter appears to have a capacity of nearly .8 QTs though.

Sometimes what "should be" and what "is" are not in complete alignment and it may not be possible to determine why the two are at odds. In this case it seems the filter or at least some action associated with the oil change fixed it, so...
 
I agree it seems very difficult to attribute said variation in oil level to an oil filter in absence of a leak, the only possible explanation that comes to mind is that one has a ADBV and one does not, thus the ADBV preventing a small amount form returning to the sump, neither filter appears to have a capacity of nearly .8 QTs though.

Sometimes what "should be" and what "is" are not in complete alignment and it may not be possible to determine why the two are at odds. In this case it seems the filter or at least some action associated with the oil change fixed it, so...

Thank you very much for your reply. I think you're right, the 12710960 PF48 doesn't seem to have the ADBV, based on the limited information I am finding online. The MO-339 definitely has the ADBV.

I agree that the large discrepancy, up to nearly .8 quarts, still isn't really explained. You are right, going back to the OEM filter seems to have fixed it, anyhow. My initial post was just to brainstorm possible causes regarding the differences between the filters and what's going on. I guess I am glad to know that it isn't glaringly obvious, and I wasn't just being 'stupid.' Hopefully the car did not sustain any damage in the brief time it was on; seems like it will be ok

Thanks again
 
... the 12710960 PF48 doesn't seem to have the ADBV, based on the limited information I am finding online. The MO-339 definitely has the ADBV.
So were these oil level readings bouncing around when the car was running, or not running and sat for quite awhile? If it was while the car was running, then it had nothing to do with the ADBV. If the readings were when the engine was off for a while, and the ignition on in order to get an oil level reading with the engine off, then it could be due to no ADBV, which means the level would be higher when not running if some of the oil above the filter drained back to the sump.
 
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So were these oil level readings bounding around when the car was running, or not running and sat for quite awhile? If it was while the car was running, then it had nothing to do with the ADBV. If the readings were when the engine was off for a while, and the ignition on in order to get an oil level reading with the engine off, then it could be due to no ADBV, which means the level would be higher when not running if some of the oil above the filter drained back to the sump.

Under normal operation, the ECM only updates the oil level reading when the car is running given certain parameters are met, it won't update it otherwise. Ignition on, without engine, will display the level reading, but just from the last time it updated the level data from when it was running, certain parameters met, etc. But good info nonetheless, thank you
 
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