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Old 07-28-2021, 05:33 AM   #1
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Read the oil dipstick...?

Changed my oil for the first time in my E450.

This feels like a really stupid question since I have been working on and changing the oil in cars since I was a teenager.

When I pull out the stick after running there is oil up and down the stick.
I wipe it off and stick it in, pull it out and I can barely see oil at the end of the stick.

This was true before I changed the oil and it was true after I put in 6 new quarts.

The markings on the stick have a small smooth part, a line, then a cross-hatched part, and then a MAX area. The best I could read was some oil from the end to the first line.....

I know I have 6Q in there but it sure does not look it.

I wonder what it looks like if it's low !!!!

So I let the RV sit for a few hrs and walla I can read the stick.

See the Picture...some oil ran up the stick when I was taking the photo. It's a bit hard to see but the meniscus of the oil line, unlike before, is easy to see.

Does this suggest that you cannot read the dipstick soon after the engine has been running???

So if I am stopped to get gas I cannot read the stick reliably??
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Old 07-28-2021, 06:14 AM   #2
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The oil you are looking for is in the top end of the engine and takes time to trickle down.
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Old 07-28-2021, 07:27 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by muckinfuss View Post
The oil you are looking for is in the top end of the engine and takes time to trickle down.
Are you saying that the oil arrives there via the dipstick tube? I've never seen a dipstick stay dry at the tip with oil above it as seen in that photo, and I can't understand why a dipstick would be engineered that way. While it's true that it takes time for oil to trickle down to an accurate level in the pan, it should cover the bottom of the dipstick first. What am I missing?
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Old 07-28-2021, 08:12 AM   #4
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Are you saying that the oil arrives there via the dipstick tube? I've never seen a dipstick stay dry at the tip with oil above it as seen in that photo, and I can't understand why a dipstick would be engineered that way. While it's true that it takes time for oil to trickle down to an accurate level in the pan, it should cover the bottom of the dipstick first. What am I missing?
Ever had the valve covers off an engine? There are oil galleys all through the top end of any piston engine. The oil pressure pushed the oil up to the top end where it bathes the valve train etc., gravity takes it down to the oil pan. The dip tube is there to hold the dipstick. The crankshaft spinning in the oil that is in the oil pan during operation, splashes oil everywhere, even part way up the dip tube. The splashing is how the oil rings and the bottom end of an engine without pressure galleys get lubricated.
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Old 07-28-2021, 08:35 AM   #5
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The oil, as stated, is flowing under pressure through various channels from the bottom of the engine to the top of the engine.

If you read your owners manual you may find a statement that says something like shutdown the engine, wait a minute or two and then check the oil.

When you stop for fuel and want to check the oil:

Shutdown the engine
Open the hood
Fuel up the vehicle
Check the oil
Add oil if necessary

Checking the oil after fueling allows the couple of minutes necessary for the oil to flow back into the oil pan.

As a note: This is from the section on checking oil in my operator's manual

"Park the vehicle on a level surface. Allow several minutes for the oil to drain back into the oil pan to ensure an accurate reading."
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Old 07-28-2021, 08:42 AM   #6
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Put six in it and call it a day. I see this a lot here at the dealership.

Always wait to check your oil. In the morning before first start is the best time. Never check it after running the engine.
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Old 07-28-2021, 08:47 AM   #7
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What he said^^^. Cold engine is the only accurate oil read you will get.

Learned 10 minutes was the wait time if you must check a hot engine....in 9th grade auto class. 1963. If after 10 mins. the hash marks have any oil, no matter how little, hold off adding any. Too much oil will risk a blown front and/or rear main seal, oil carbon soak of combustion chamber and so on.
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Old 07-28-2021, 08:54 AM   #8
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I understand all that, but it still doesn't explain why a dry dipstick placed in the dipstick tube would remain dry at the bottom and covered with oil above it.

Now I think I see why my confusion. The OP apparently turned the stick upside down to get a picture, and the oil at the tip must have retracted away from the tip, making it appear to have remained dry even when fully inserted into the tube.

(I'm well aware of the reliance on oil dripping down for lubrication. The early Volvo turbos had to be kept running on idle for a while before shutdown, because the turbo shaft kept spinning after the dripping had essentially stopped, leaving the shaft bearing unlubricated.)
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Old 07-28-2021, 09:47 AM   #9
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The reason it is dry at the end is that the dipstick tube makes a turn that can wipe off the end of the stick when pulling it out. To some extent, the reason is also due in part to having the twist at the bottom of the dipstick which is there to help it navigate the bend in the dipstick tube, but can also wipe the oil off of it. ~CA
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Old 07-28-2021, 11:41 AM   #10
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check the owners manual they may tell you how long to wait after running it.. on my diesel it is 2 hours min over night preferred...
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Old 07-28-2021, 11:48 AM   #11
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If you really wanted to be more accurate, you could check the oil level first thing in the morning before starting the engine, and then again 5 minutes after shutting down the engine. That way you would get a better idea of what is normal 5 minutes after shutting down vs overnight. I often find about a 1/2 quart difference. In part, I think that is part of the reason the hatched section on the dipstick is for a full quart and Ford states not to add oil if it is anywhere in the hatched section. ~CA
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Old 07-28-2021, 12:33 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TWP723 View Post
Put six in it and call it a day.



This is what I do - put fresh six quarts in, look underneath. If no puddles, start it up and watch the inside gauge.


If I'm motivated to check the oil, it's in the morning after sitting level all night.


Since I do my own oil changes, I can also see how much old oil comes out an get a sense for consumption.
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Old 07-28-2021, 01:41 PM   #13
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Sorry, I created some confusion with the picture.
The oil did run up the stick and away from the tip.

My main point was that the picture showed a clear meniscus of oil that allowed you to read the level.

UNLIKE:
To my surprise checking it after the engine running showed NO oil.

I know to get an accurate reading you need to wait, it's just that I never saw a situation where it read nothing...

-----------------
In my defense I said: ..."some oil ran up the stick when I was taking the photo"

Thanks for the help..... I will check oil before starting from now on.
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Old 07-28-2021, 02:47 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by don_kleinschnitz View Post
To my surprise checking it after the engine running showed NO oil.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh! Sorry - my reading skills failed me again.


I've never checked the dipstick on a running engine. I guess I'm not that surprised that the stick wouldn't reach all the way down into the pan.
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Old 07-28-2021, 02:50 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by don_kleinschnitz View Post
Sorry, I created some confusion with the picture.
The oil did run up the stick and away from the tip.

My main point was that the picture showed a clear meniscus of oil that allowed you to read the level.

UNLIKE:
To my surprise checking it after the engine running showed NO oil.

I know to get an accurate reading you need to wait, it's just that I never saw a situation where it read nothing...

-----------------
In my defense I said: ..."some oil ran up the stick when I was taking the photo"

Thanks for the help..... I will check oil before starting from now on.
Just a thought to share and I am not saying this is why you didn't read any oil.

For me and my old eyes, and with the new synthetic oils, the clarity of them is so good that I often have a very hard time seeing the oil level on the dipstick. I have found that at an angle under direct sunlight I can find the oil level on the stick but you have to be careful not to allow any to run up the stick which the new synthetic oil can do after only a second or two. I hold it downwards close to level and many times can see the oil level better on the back side so I place my thumb there and turn over the dipstick.

I will add that I have at times had to check the oil level with several dipstick dips, just because I wasn't sure I was seeing the oil on it correctly, I figure if I get the same reading 2 or 3 times then I am seeing it correctly. ~CA
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Old 07-28-2021, 02:55 PM   #16
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I have a 2019 E450 (26XD) with the K motor. 6.8 liter.
My owners manual says 6 qts with the filter change. However when I had the oil changed at a Ford Dealer they told me the 2019 6.8 V10 is 7 quarts with the filter change. This is the same info given on the Amsoil web site. When I changed my oil before this trip I added 6 qts started it up and when the oil pressure rose to normal I shut it down and left it to the next morning. Next morning I checked it and. It was 1 qt low. I don't know about the dip stick, but I know the owners manual I received when I bought this rig new last April is 1 quart short.
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Old 07-29-2021, 08:53 AM   #17
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Docsource; this capacity discrepancy worries me. I am going to check again and see If I can get good pictures.
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Old 07-29-2021, 09:16 AM   #18
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Docsource; this capacity discrepancy worries me. I am going to check again and see If I can get good pictures.
I wonder if the discrepancy is due to some (maybe all) E450's (and perhaps E350's) have oil coolers and based on how you change the oil (like the front tires on ramps vs flat) that some of the oil coolers will drain more of the oil and some less. I have found on mine that 6qts doesn't fill the oil level based on the dipstick to 100% full, usually I have to add about a half a quart more so ~6.5 qts to bring the oil level to the top of the dipstick. Also, I use some ramps to raise the front end a little, not a lot as the ramps are the leveling ramps I have.

Do all of the Class C V10's have oil coolers?

~CA
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Old 07-29-2021, 09:51 AM   #19
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Is it just me, or does anyone else find it to be a real PITA in having to try and read a yard long dipstick?
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Old 07-29-2021, 10:50 AM   #20
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typically, the oil cooler on the V10 is the piece the oil filter spins onto.
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