Oil & Dipsticks

[Asimo]

Does anyone have any suggestions for making dipsticks easier to read?

Just changed the oil in the Zetec engined van and I can't make head or tail of the dipstick because the oil is so thin and clean and gets smeered as the dipstick is pulled through the curly tube it lives in. Last oil change I over filled it but couldn't tell until the oil had been in there a few weeks and started to colour a little.

 

Any bright ideas?

[Junkman]

1. The really proper way to measure the oil level, is to pull the dipstick out after the car was sitting overnight, i.e. before the first startup of the day.

 

2. It is advisable to roughen the dipstick at the measuring end with a 3M pad.

 

3. Always carry a chalk cube for snooker queues. One of its versatile purposes is that you can treat the end of dipsticks with it.

[chaseracer]

3. Always carry a chalk cube for snooker queues.

 

I hate having to wait for a game... 

 

[Station]

ALWAYS carry a snooker cue chalk cube! Lol

[Junkman]

ALWAYS carry a snooker cue chalk cube! Lol

 

Yes, it's one of the most versatile things ever devised by humankind.

[jonny69]

Fuck knows. The Peugeot one is a vague plastic blob on the end of the dipstick with no markings and the dipstick tube drags all the oil off it as you pull it out. Absolutely fucking useless.

 

I too shall try pouring chalk dust into my oil. Nothing can go wrong there, right?

[sierraman]

Not so on the zetec. The procedure is usually run the engine then wait 5 mins then check it. Hold the dipstick against the light and you should see the oil.

[Junkman]

Fuck knows. The Peugeot one is a vague plastic blob on the end of the dipstick with no markings and the dipstick tube drags all the oil off it as you pull it out. Absolutely fucking useless.

 

I too shall try pouring chalk dust into my oil. Nothing can go wrong there, right?

 

Peugeots with proper engines have proper dipsticks.

If your oil can't cope with a few molecules of chalk dust, it's time to change the brand.

[Parky]

Once cleaned and painted the end of a dipstick white for this very reason. Helped out a bit but don't put it on too thick and obscure the min and max lines!

[Station]

Yes, it's one of the most versatile things ever devised by humankind.

It's a good idea, but I wince at the thought of lying down with it still in my pocket.

[RayMK]

My Peugeot 205 1.6 dipstick has been read frequently recently because I am keeping an eye on the possibly failing head gasket.  Getting the dipstick out and reading it is very straightforward, however, putting it back in is tricky.  It is very long, springy and the guide tube is curved.  Usually, it has to be held at half length to get it to go instead of bow.  Also, the small plastic handle is degrading and sheds granules of red plastic which, if not cleaned off, go into the sump.

 

The Tipo's (1.4ie) dipstick cannot be read for several minutes after putting new oil in.  The route from the oil filler (which is near impossible to use without spillage) to the sump appears to be via the dipstick. 

 

It's a pity Duckhams is no longer available.  Dark green is easy to read and, as it looks almost black to start with, you don't have to change it so often  .

[Noel Tidybeard]

hunda 1.8 ivtec donk has an orange dipshit so the oil is supremely* visible* at all times*

but its an honda so it dont use oil FULLSTOP

[Asimo]

Tried Scotchbrite-ing the end of the dipstick, it helps oil visibility a bit but because the oil is smeared around as the dipstick is pulled around the curves in the tube it isn't a clear indication.

[lisbon_road]

If you drag the dipstick across a clean piece of scrap paper, you will see where the oil is and isn't.

 

Useful for cars running on lpg also as oil stays clean for many thousands of miles.  

[spike60]

Press the dipstick onto some clean kitchen roll, it'll show up the oil no matter how clean the oil is.

[forddeliveryboy]

If you drag the dipstick across a clean piece of scrap paper, you will see where the oil is and isn't.

 

Useful for cars running on lpg also as oil stays clean for many thousands of miles.

 

Makes you realise how filthy petrol is. I'm glad I'm not the only one who struggles to see clean oil on modern dipsticks.

[garbaldy]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who struggles to see clean oil on modern dipsticks.

 

Especially when the bloody dipstick end is black, whoever thought that a good idea wants dragged into the steet and given 40 lashes

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Or buy a dirty derv?