OK so how does this work? Lift the dipstick out to check the oil level in Mazda 6 - nothing at all showing. Replace the dipstick and lift it out again and there's oil clearly up to the max level! Spooky.
Phil
I suspect I am falling for something but...dipstick not inserted fully last time?
The dipstick can't have been fully in when you first pulled it out to check it.
I was always taught to pull it out, wipe it dry with a cloth then dip it and check the level.
TheScullster submitted this idea :
Correct oil level initially above the bottom of the dip stick tube. You start the engine, so level drops as the oil is pumped and dispersed around the engine. You then stop the engine and due to the dip stick sealing the top of its tube, the level cannot then rise in the tube back to the correct level. Your manual probably says something along the lines of pull the dipstick out, wait a second then reinsert it, then withdraw it a second time to check the level.
I thought this was going to be about "Dave" (Rodney Trotter).
Sorry, thought you were talking about Dennis....
This.
Si
We have 2 Mazdas. At least one manual says pull out the dipstick and replace it and then withdraw to check the level. I always wondered why but this would seem to explain it. Thanks.
;-)
If it's a diesel the "oil" level can go all over the place due to their propensity for dumping unburnt fuel into the sump.
Now why didn't I think of that? Ponder exactly the same thing on my BMW when I check the oil!
"Harry Bloomfield" wrote
Thanks Harry - that's got to be it. The dipstick in the Mazda has a tight almost-bung-like plug at the top which will undoubtedly form a serious seal between "liftings".
Phil
... and then the age-old question of whether the oil level should be checked with the engine hot or cold...
:-)
I think that this suggestion is rubbish.
The bottom of the dipstick is sitting in the sump, not inside a dipstick tube!
David J
On my BM if you disconnect the dipstick tube at the bottom you will lose engine oil. So the oil level must be higher than the bottom of the tube.
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