Hi All,
I've read somewhere on the Forum sometime back that the A2 has a terrible Oil Dipstick reading and have been experiencing this very problem.
The stick is Black so oil level is hard to see, so using White enamel paint I sprayed the end of the Dipstick, this works to a point then discolours after a short time but never seems accurate to me regardless of painting.
After dipping several times when the car is cold to get a stable indication I continually get a indecisive reading, I would surmise that this is caused by the oil getting dragged up the tube by the Dipstick from the sump, so fed up with bad readings I thought I'd repaint the end of the Dipstick once more using High Temperature paint this time. I took the stick out and degreased it over night and left it to dry before repainting, got an urgent call on in the morning to go out so I had to put the stick back in the car but decided to check it again and 'low and behold' I got an accurate reading of "next to no oil in the sump".
I reckon the reason for poor oil reading is this, because there is an element of vacuum in the Dipstick tube due to sealed engine operation, you can tell this by pulling out the Dipstick when the car is running and it should drop in revs, (Ps; if no drop in revs you have a fault elsewhere and thats another issue).
So the best way to get a totally accurate reading is to take out the Dipstick, clean it, and leave it out or the car overnight allowing any oil in the Dipstick tube to drain back into the sump as it can't do that when the Dipstick is in place.
(Much like when sucking up water through a drinking straw and putting a finger on one end the water won't fall out until you allow air in, same principal).
All my future oil level checks will be done this way thanks to my accidental discovery.
Cheers
Doug
I've read somewhere on the Forum sometime back that the A2 has a terrible Oil Dipstick reading and have been experiencing this very problem.
The stick is Black so oil level is hard to see, so using White enamel paint I sprayed the end of the Dipstick, this works to a point then discolours after a short time but never seems accurate to me regardless of painting.
After dipping several times when the car is cold to get a stable indication I continually get a indecisive reading, I would surmise that this is caused by the oil getting dragged up the tube by the Dipstick from the sump, so fed up with bad readings I thought I'd repaint the end of the Dipstick once more using High Temperature paint this time. I took the stick out and degreased it over night and left it to dry before repainting, got an urgent call on in the morning to go out so I had to put the stick back in the car but decided to check it again and 'low and behold' I got an accurate reading of "next to no oil in the sump".
I reckon the reason for poor oil reading is this, because there is an element of vacuum in the Dipstick tube due to sealed engine operation, you can tell this by pulling out the Dipstick when the car is running and it should drop in revs, (Ps; if no drop in revs you have a fault elsewhere and thats another issue).
So the best way to get a totally accurate reading is to take out the Dipstick, clean it, and leave it out or the car overnight allowing any oil in the Dipstick tube to drain back into the sump as it can't do that when the Dipstick is in place.
(Much like when sucking up water through a drinking straw and putting a finger on one end the water won't fall out until you allow air in, same principal).
All my future oil level checks will be done this way thanks to my accidental discovery.
Cheers
Doug