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Ka can't see oil level on dipstick

We just acquired a nice 2001 Ka. Checking the dipstick, oil is smeared all the way up, denser at the bottom , and thinner about 3cm above the max line. I don't think the engine is overfilled - it is more likely the dipstick tube is full of clinging oil. Cleaning the dipstick doesn't help. There is just no clear cut off line to indicate the oil level.

Other than drain the oil out into a bucket, measure the volume, and put it back, I don't know how to find out how much oil there is. Maybe an oil change with flushing fluid would help clean the oil out of the dipstick tube. Any ideas on a simpler way?

The oil capacity for a Ka is 3.5 litres. What is the difference between max and minimum?

Thanks

Tony

Reply to
8usenet
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Is the engine hot or cold? Has it been used recently? Has the oil been changed regularily?

As I remember it's 0.75 of a litre.

Reply to
DervMan

Ive tried several times both cold and hot engine. No difference. The oil is clean and the car is well maintained so I'd guess it has been changed relatively recently. Thanks for the answer ".75 of a litre". That means I'm relatively safe if I drain the oil and pour in exactly 3.2 metres. I'm wondering if the oil is clinging to the stem by capilliary action. I'm leaving the dipstick out for three hours to see if that will allow the oil in the stem to clear.

Tony.

Reply to
8usenet

PS Our other car is a deisel I get an error message when I try to look at your webpage

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Reply to
8usenet

Yes, it's currently cattle trucked. :-(

Reply to
DervMan

I suspect some sort of VW fan club.

Reply to
Douglas Payne

I haven't posted my review of the 2005 Polo yet.

Reply to
DervMan

I wrote

Hey, it worked! I now have a clear line. It is 1cm over the max. I'll drain some off tomorrow.

Hope it is warm and sunny.

Tony

Reply to
tonyjeffs

I was somewhere else at the time, honest.

Reply to
Chris Bartram

LOL!

It's been cooked for some time now. :-/

Reply to
DervMan

My Ka did that. There's a bit of a knack to putting the dipstick in - some angles seem to go in better than others (rotation of the dipstick VS the dipstick tube, if you see what I mean) and give a better line on the dipstick. The other thing is to leave the thing to stand a while.

Reply to
Doki

Aside from the fact that 3.2+.75 > 3.5, you're assuming that all the oil drains away. This is not usually the case, you'll end up overfilling.

Reply to
PM

I took the middle figure,. Hence 3.2+.3= 3.5. Anyway, I fixed it properly by leaving the dipstick out for a few hours , allowing the oil more freedom to drain from the stem. And it worked :-)

Tony

Reply to
tonyjeffs

That's good.

I once forgot to replace the filler cap after topping up with oil, you can imagine the mess!

Reply to
PM

I once did that on purpose :-( I'd overfilled the oil and thought "If I just leave the cap off for an hour it'll splash out". It certainly did splash out. And part of the filler cap melted so I had to get a new one. Not one of my best ideas!

Reply to
tonyjeffs

quoted text -

JFC

Reply to
adder1969

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