Strange levels.

Hi all,

Today I noticed something weird. After a short journey I decided to have a look at the oil level of my 2001 Td4 Steptronic. I let it "drip out" for about 2 hours and then checked, I started with pulling out the dipstick with the idea to have it cleaned/dried and then re-introduce it for a correct reading, so imagin my surprise when I pulled out the dipstick and it was bonedry :scratching_chin: , put it in again and out it came with a correct reading of the oil being at the maximum level?? Any ideas on this ? Before olther Q's come my direction, No, there are no dashlights etc... coming up and this max. level is like this for the whole lifespan of the engine. (I look to it carefully as after in the very beginning, after filling up 6.8l as prescribed, it was, according to the dipstick, much too many, now I pour about 5.5l in it and it's always top maximum level.)

was the dipstick in properly?

goonarmy said:

was the dipstick in properly?

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Yes, of course. I always make sure it is.

Hi Will,
I think you will find this is normal. I have read on other threads that you should always remove the dipstick, wipe it and then replace. Remove it again and it will show the correct level. I certainly have to do this to check the oil level. Perhaps someone out there can explain why?

Eric.

Has the oil gone stodgy in the dip stick tube at the bottom. Removing the dip stick curred this?

Hippo said:

Has the oil gone stodgy in the dip stick tube at the bottom. Removing the dip stick curred this?

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Yes, and today I saw another answer of someone who experienced the same thing. His guess was that the tube in which the dipstick is located got emptied during the running of the engine and that a kind of airlock was created in that tube resulting the dipstick 'hanging' in the air and by pulling it out it released the airlock which allowed the oil to enter that tube again as the level of the oil is higher than the bottom of that tube. I thought this could have been caused if the little hole on top of the dipsticktube was blocked, but I just had a look and it is/was free on mine. Also noticed that near the top on the dipstick there are two rubber O-rings and when entering the dipstick all the way I had the impression the lower O-ring was just at the same height as that little hole so now I have pulled it up a little so that half of that hole is free, I'll see what happens after the engine has ran for a while. (To avoid a possible shower in the enginebay I wrapped a piece of cloth around that tube of course, and fixed it with a cabletie).

Hi all,

Contrary to what I wrote above I have no longer the dipstick pulled out a little and a cloth wrapped around the tube. Just before going to bed last night I thought that as this is of no lifeimportance (the engine is ok) it's enough for me to change slightly my MO when checking the oillevel. So I put everything back to normal and next time I'm going to check my oil I will pull out the dipstick for about an inch (allowing the oil to get into the tube as the obstruction on top of the tube will be gone) and re-enter it again once whereafter I'll be able to do a correct reading. Someone on another forum mentioned that there is an interaction between this tube (with hole) and the crankcase breather filter so not better messing (experimenting) around with this all. I was just interested in knowing I was alone (as with my rundown noise ) or that others had the same. Anyway the impact for the engine of this all is zero, so not to worry.
Thanks for the interest and take care.