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Frodge
Samba Member
Joined: October 04, 2006
Posts: 1991
Location: Dump
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 Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 4:28 pm Post subject: Checking oil oddity. |
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| My car has sat since December. Went out checked everything, pulled the dipstick out without wiping and reinserting and the oil level was at the bottom line. Wiped, reinserted and it is 3/4 the way up to the top line. Why the difference, I have noticed this in the past as well. |
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modok
Samba Member
Joined: October 30, 2009
Posts: 26787
Location: Colorado Springs
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| Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 5:38 pm Post subject: Re: Checking oil oddity. |
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| dipstick probably wasn't down all the way to begin with. |
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itskyle
Samba Member
Joined: October 04, 2013
Posts: 634
Location: Plainfield, IN
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| Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 5:41 pm Post subject: Re: Checking oil oddity. |
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Other possibility?
Gas leaking into crankcase.
Take lighter to dipstick to see... But be careful!
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Frodge
Samba Member
Joined: October 04, 2006
Posts: 1991
Location: Dump
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| Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 6:14 pm Post subject: Re: Checking oil oddity. |
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| Why do you suspect gas? |
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mark tucker
Samba Member
Joined: April 08, 2009
Posts: 23937
Location: SHALIMAR ,FLORIDA
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| Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 7:07 pm Post subject: Re: Checking oil oddity. |
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| pressure differential. |
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Eric&Barb
Samba Member
Joined: September 19, 2004
Posts: 24757
Location: Olympia Wash Rinse & Repeat
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| Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 8:35 pm Post subject: Re: Checking oil oddity. |
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When the engine runs oil level drops below the end of the tube the dipstick is in, due to oil being pumped up thru the cooler and bearings. When engine is turned off the oil level in the sump rises back up over ten or fifteen minutes when oil drains back, but top of tube is sealed so an air pocket is trapped in there. Pull the dipstick out and the air is no longer sealed in there, and oil level in the tube rises up, so when you put dipstick back in it shows higher.
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In Stereo, Where Available! |
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goober
Samba Member
Joined: May 03, 2003
Posts: 1183
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| Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 9:59 pm Post subject: Re: Checking oil oddity. |
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"Why the difference..."
I get this too. I have to overfill a little to allow for my coolers and lines. That drives the full mark even further up the dipstick.
I find if I rock the dipstick back and forth 4-5 times and then check, I get a more predictable reading. |
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gingergypsy
Samba Member
Joined: April 28, 2016
Posts: 129
Location: Yosemite Valley
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| Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 1:15 am Post subject: Re: Checking oil oddity. |
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dipsticks are weird sometimes. for some reason or another I've found the disticks to be terribly unreliable when cold. a few times when the engine was cold i would check the dipstick like 10 times and it would tell me i was at the half mark which i knew for a fact was not the case. i started checking when hot and i have gotten more consistent readings.
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iowegian 
Samba Curmudgeon
Joined: February 16, 2005
Posts: 9829
Location: Somewhere between Dubuque and Keokuk
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| Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 5:48 am Post subject: Re: Checking oil oddity. |
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| Eric&Barb wrote: |
| When the engine runs oil level drops below the end of the tube the dipstick is in, due to oil being pumped up thru the cooler and bearings. When engine is turned off the oil level in the sump rises back up over ten or fifteen minutes when oil drains back, but top of tube is sealed so an air pocket is trapped in there. Pull the dipstick out and the air is no longer sealed in there, and oil level in the tube rises up, so when you put dipstick back in it shows higher. |
That must be quite the dipstick seal to hold pressure for for months.  |
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Frodge
Samba Member
Joined: October 04, 2006
Posts: 1991
Location: Dump
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| Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 5:50 am Post subject: Re: Checking oil oddity. |
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Showed fine this am.
Last edited by Frodge on Sat Apr 22, 2017 6:11 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Q-Dog
Samba Member
Joined: April 05, 2010
Posts: 8700
Location: Sunset, Louisiana
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SBD
Samba Member
Joined: October 24, 2012
Posts: 3269
Location: SOUTH DAKOTA
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| Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 7:14 am Post subject: Re: Checking oil oddity. |
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Mine does it too. I agree, pressure differential. 
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| I wouldent waste $ or thyme on building a small motor. build it big so it dosent have to work hard.remember it's only as fast as your foot alows it to be unless you build a small turd then it just stinks as it squishes up through your toes when you step on it. |
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garyt
Samba Member
Joined: June 14, 2015
Posts: 763
Location: Burgundy
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| Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 8:08 am Post subject: Re: Checking oil oddity. |
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| You just always have to do it three or four times to get a sure reading. |
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Eric&Barb
Samba Member
Joined: September 19, 2004
Posts: 24757
Location: Olympia Wash Rinse & Repeat
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| Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 8:25 am Post subject: Re: Checking oil oddity. |
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| iowegian wrote: |
That must be quite the dipstick seal to hold pressure for for months. |
Seal plus a little oil will hold a tiny amount of pressure no problem.
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Q-Dog
Samba Member
Joined: April 05, 2010
Posts: 8700
Location: Sunset, Louisiana
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| Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 8:49 am Post subject: Re: Checking oil oddity. |
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I was taught to wipe the dipstick first, then dip it and read it. The first time is never correct.
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'69 Dune Buggy
'69 Beetle Convertible
'70 Beetle |
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67rustavenger
Samba Member
Joined: February 24, 2015
Posts: 9767
Location: Oregon
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| Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 9:16 am Post subject: Re: Checking oil oddity. |
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I'm a double dipper.  Never trust the first reading hot or cold.
It's inaccurate.
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Lingwendil
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Joined: February 25, 2009
Posts: 3988
Location: Antioch, California, a block from the hood
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andrewwebb58
Samba Member
Joined: December 28, 2015
Posts: 35
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| Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2017 7:00 am Post subject: Re: Checking oil oddity. |
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i agree with most of the other folks here...ignore the initial reading you get. its always a good idea to clean the dipstick and re-check
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ROCKOROD71
Samba Member
Joined: January 18, 2012
Posts: 2770
Location: Boston, MA
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| Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2017 7:15 am Post subject: Re: Checking oil oddity. |
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| Q-Dog wrote: |
| I was taught to wipe the dipstick first, then dip it and read it. The first time is never correct. |
This. Who just pulls the dipstick and takes that reading? Do you people not have fathers? Uncles? Anyone who has ever worked on a car before? Its probably in the manual but I've never bothered looking. Pull dipstick, wipe, reinsert, now check level seems to be the all time accepted method of checking oil. In all internal combustion engines. Ever.
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**winter drivers: no survivors!**rust warrior**#keepbodyshopsbusy** |
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Eric&Barb
Samba Member
Joined: September 19, 2004
Posts: 24757
Location: Olympia Wash Rinse & Repeat
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| Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2017 7:24 am Post subject: Re: Checking oil oddity. |
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It is:
The above is from AUG69 OM.
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