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Dipstick reading on either side

Posted: Aug 23, 2020 12:06 PM
by JND
What do ya’ll make of the dipstick differential on the front vs. the back side?

I’m not questioning the ideals of any particular level, but more asking that if I were to
fill it up so the top mark is met on the front—where the back would then read high—would I be overfilling it?

Should I follow the marked front and ignore the back?

I guess it’s at such an angle that it makes a difference:

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Re: Dipstick reading on either side

Posted: Aug 24, 2020 4:01 PM
by Mike W.
I would go by the reading on the front. I'm not sure just how much, but I'm also sure there is some margin for overfilling before it's really overfilled to the point of having an effect. Probably half a quart or more I would guess.

Re: Dipstick reading on either side

Posted: Aug 26, 2020 7:20 PM
by Randomg
This feels like the type of thread where amrchair speculation is ok:

In the case that the oil level is below the bend, the stick is bent down, so as you remove it, the back rides against the bend of the tube, the front bottom edge of the stick rides against the front of the tube. In this case the front is scraping up more oil and the back is being wiped off by the bend.

In either case, if you angle the stick more upwards during removal, I'd think that the bottom rear edge would scrape more oil into the stick and if your angle is enough the top end of the tube might scrape oil off the front of the stick. If you angle the stick downwards (don't believe this is possible because it's angled into the coolant res) it's the opposite and more oil ends up on the front.

Regardless, trust that its been accounted for in the design and read the front. Also the closer you get to the upper line, the less likely hard cornering will trigger your oil level light. I'm not aware of the s38 being especially sensitive to overfilling like the s85 where they warn you not to overfill.

Re: Dipstick reading on either side

Posted: Aug 29, 2020 11:02 AM
by JND
Thanks for the replies!

I'm definitely a max-mark filler so I'll add a touch.

Coincidentally, I now have to deal with the ramifications of an issue resulting from a separate filling capacity mishap, and am soliciting advice on that as well.

A separate thread incoming.