Ka dipstick level - HELP!

There's going to be either a line of a couple of nicks in the dipstick to indicate min/max, so look harder (unless someone's snapped the end of, of course.) Give the stick a good wipe before you put it in to check the level as clean oil is almost invisible.

Finally, don't panic if it's over the top mark - a certain amount of oil will never get back to the sump once it's in the engine and the level will settle down after the first time you start it.

Not enough wipe the dipstick and try again you should see a definite line of oil, assuming the amount of oil in the sump is actually reaching the bottom of the dipstick!

Ive started it and let it run a bit... sounds ok.. and no smoke from exhaust...

Yea I can see the notches on the dipstick.. and the bottom bit is very oily.. and it just kinda gets less oily the further up the dipstick I look - with no definate line..

Gave it a wipe too..

Theres oil on the dipstick - definatly at the bottom, but it just gets less oily as I look further up the dipstick...

Ive put 3 litres in definatly.. and Haynes says the capacity inc oil fitler is 3.25....

It's by far the easiest way to do things if you leave the engine several hours (i.e. overnight) and then check the oil, as you can pretty much guarantee that 99.99% of it will have dripped down to the sump. Especially with new oil, where it's more tricky to tell the level.

Then top up if neccessary.

Peter

Especially

Yes... but I need the car at 5am tomorrow morning....

Should I go by what Haynes say and just put in another 1/4 of a litre?

Fair enough - as long as you don't need it now, just leave it be, let the oil properly settle down in the sump (did you say you've already started it up and hence circulated oil to the oil filter?), make sure you've got a working torch, check the oil 10 minutes before you're due to leave (you won't even need to wipe the dipstick - trust me, it's soooo much easier), then top up, check again, and drive away.

If you've got a working torch, then I'd seriously recommend getting up an extra 5-10 minutes early and doing it then. In my experience oil capacities according to the book can vary a lot compared to the actual capacity, so be careful you don't overfill it.

Peter

Yea I started it and let it run for a minute or so...

I'm still not convinced I will be able to see the level - its weird... just like really oily at the bottom.. and then gets less oily..

Is there another way of checking the level?

Is my dipstick tube broken!?

No.

No. Make sure you aren't flexing the dipstick when you shove it down the tube, this will cause it to touch the tube walls, which are probably covered in oil. Ususal result of this is a streak of oil all the way up the stick.

You might need to hold it up to the light to see the top of the oil film.

Took it for a short drive.. and checked again...

Its about 10cm above the max mark - is this OK?

Don't worry, you've put enough oil in, a little under or over won't make much difference, relax....

It is difficult to tell on my Ka too sometimes. It seems that some oil gets trapped / drippped in the dipstick pipe or something, and the angle you put the dipstick in at and take it out at seems to make big difference to how clear a reading you get. ISTR that in mine you have to have it at about 30 degrees less than horizontal to get it in and out and get a clear reading.

Are you _sure_ it's 10cm?

If so, STEP AWAY FROM THE CAR!

Seriously, 10cm over means it's significantly over-filled and you need to drain some before you damaged the engine oil seals due to excessive oil pressure.

I was told it shouldnt make too much difference?

Theres only 3.5 litres in there..

In message , Ben Organ writes

Are you sure you don't mean 10mm as opposed to 10cm?

I'm sorry Ben but you seem to be struggling here and perhaps you need to get a friend or neighbour to have a quick look at the level. As Steve says, if you are overfilled by 10cm then you will probably damage something.

I suspect that you have just misread the dipstick or got your cm's and mm's mixed up.

Plus whatever you didn't drain out. Which could easily be another 1/2 to

DAMN THOSE CM AND MM... yes 10 mm...

No... LOL its 10mm (1 cm).. sorry

is this still a problem?

Why can't you just wipe it down, as one normally does when checking oil?

Sure you put the drain plug back in? :-)

Stuart Sharp