Hard to see level of new oil on dipstick when re-filling
Discussion
I've actually had to write a blog article for certain car owners on how to read a dipstick. You would not believe the amount of conversations are held Worldwide on the difficulties of using one.
As it's a stick dipped into liquid in a pan it completely scuppers many people, If it had a mobile phone attached to it or an App they'd be happy.
As it's a stick dipped into liquid in a pan it completely scuppers many people, If it had a mobile phone attached to it or an App they'd be happy.
Evoluzione said:
I've actually had to write a blog article for certain car owners on how to read a dipstick. You would not believe the amount of conversations are held Worldwide on the difficulties of using one.
As it's a stick dipped into liquid in a pan it completely scuppers many people, If it had a mobile phone attached to it or an App they'd be happy.
You'd probably do better telling them to look in a mirror to see what a dipstick looks like.As it's a stick dipped into liquid in a pan it completely scuppers many people, If it had a mobile phone attached to it or an App they'd be happy.
Evoluzione said:
I've actually had to write a blog article for certain car owners on how to read a dipstick. You would not believe the amount of conversations are held Worldwide on the difficulties of using one.
As it's a stick dipped into liquid in a pan it completely scuppers many people, If it had a mobile phone attached to it or an App they'd be happy.
A fair proportion of those folk will probably have had to try and read a BINI dipstick which is an impossibility!As it's a stick dipped into liquid in a pan it completely scuppers many people, If it had a mobile phone attached to it or an App they'd be happy.
I have no idea what a Bini is 
but yes it's often model specific and I wrote about just one that was causing a lot of silly issues in that community.
I think a lot of the problems are not leaving the car overnight before doing it and also thinking that it's a precision instrument and absolute accuracy is needed.
The former is problematic in that A. The oil could be warm/hot and very thin, it then runs all over some dipsticks as you hold them horizontally to try read it.
Also B. The internals of a running engine are somewhat chaotic, oil gets thrown everywhere including all around where the dipstick is drawn from. If you've still got oil running down that place it's going to get smeared all over the stick when it's pulled out.
I do like the chaps idea of blackening the end with heat though, i'm going to look into that. Firstly by finding out what the grey metal is at the end. Might get a bit messy if it's aluminium....
but yes it's often model specific and I wrote about just one that was causing a lot of silly issues in that community.I think a lot of the problems are not leaving the car overnight before doing it and also thinking that it's a precision instrument and absolute accuracy is needed.
The former is problematic in that A. The oil could be warm/hot and very thin, it then runs all over some dipsticks as you hold them horizontally to try read it.
Also B. The internals of a running engine are somewhat chaotic, oil gets thrown everywhere including all around where the dipstick is drawn from. If you've still got oil running down that place it's going to get smeared all over the stick when it's pulled out.
I do like the chaps idea of blackening the end with heat though, i'm going to look into that. Firstly by finding out what the grey metal is at the end. Might get a bit messy if it's aluminium....
Evoluzione said:
I have no idea what a Bini is but yes it's often model specific and I wrote about just one that was causing a lot of silly issues in that community.
but yes it's often model specific and I wrote about just one that was causing a lot of silly issues in that community.
Sorry, BINI = BMW Mini. Specifically my experience with a 2nd-gen one trying to read the oil level (not even fresh oil) was a nightmare. It was one of those wire coil dipsticks, and the route out of the sump seemed to open the coils so all the oil wicked inside, leaving the outside sparkly clean.Krikkit said:
Sorry, BINI = BMW Mini. Specifically my experience with a 2nd-gen one trying to read the oil level (not even fresh oil) was a nightmare. It was one of those wire coil dipsticks, and the route out of the sump seemed to open the coils so all the oil wicked inside, leaving the outside sparkly clean.Pastie Bloater said:
rustednut said:
Pastie Bloater said:
fttm said:
Gas station attendants check the oil don't they ?
Just leave it for the MOTNot automatically .
An MOT is not a service, or service related check. You may have a good relationship with your MOT station, but it is not a normal part of the test.
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