Had a Zetec engine put in my Sabre last autumn and I distinctly remember the chap who did it put a kink in the bottom centimtre or so of the dipstick so it'd bend into the modified sump.

Checked the oil level at the weekend and the kink's gone and there's no oil showing on the dip stick, I put half a litre in anyway and it still didn't show on the dipstick, so I reckon the kinked bit must have snapped off (???) and is sitting in the bottom of the sump. Impossible to get the sump off without taking the engine out so I'm hoping the broken bit will just stay sitting in the bottom of the sump. Any thoughts as to why it won't?

Anyway, on to the question. It's a 2.0 litre blacktop Zetec out of a 93 Focus and the dip stick's a twisted wobbly one. Can anyone measure their's and let me know how long it is please?

Put a magnetic drain plug in it, the roving piece of dipstic will find it.

There's mesh on the pick up pipe so if the bottom of the dipstick has snapped off it wouldn't find it's way up there anyway

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how long is your dipstick?

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3 times a third of its length...

Depends how excited it is

once worked with a six foot six dipstick

I just knew I was setting myself up for some p8sstaking with the thread title, but I thought maybe, just maybe SOMEONE would give me a sensible answer?

Can't help on dipstick length, but I'd just fit a magnetic sump plug and wait for the bit of dipstick to attach itself. That's if the piece isn't sluiced out when you drain the oil anyway.

Just as a hijack on the side, I am wondering if I might have b*ll*cks'd my dipstick for the Pinto when I shortened the sump. is there a way I can decide if it's too long or too short?

Ummm ... drain & refill with correct volume of oil? (inc filter)

I snapped the bottom of my pinto dipstick and ended up removing the sump to get it, plays on your mind its snapped off no matter how much you tell yourself not to worry.

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Originally posted by bartonp
Ummm ... drain & refill with correct volume of oil? (inc filter)

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So come on you guys with blacktop Zetecs.

Could one of you please measure how long your dipstick is 'cos at the moment I don't know if the end's snapped off or the oil level's too low.

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Originally posted by Daddylonglegs

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Originally posted by bartonp
Ummm ... drain & refill with correct volume of oil? (inc filter)

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OK, you tell me the volume of my sump after modification and the 'new' oil amount and I will

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Originally posted by bartonp

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Originally posted by Daddylonglegs

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Originally posted by bartonp
Ummm ... drain & refill with correct volume of oil? (inc filter)

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OK, you tell me the volume of my sump after modification and the 'new' oil amount and I will

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Shirley your engine will want to use the same volume of oil as before?
The mark on the dipstick won't mean b*ll*cks if you've reshaped the sump anyway!

Phil.

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The lipstick measure remains constant regardless of the dump size .it is an oil level,not a measure if that makes since

I shortened the sump and shortened the dipstick by the same amount (I hope!). I couldn't find the bit I'd cut off when I came to do the dipstick so am not sure if it was exactly the same measurement.

If I had left the dipstick untouched then it would hit the bottom of the sump probably so that's why I shortened it.

I must admit, I am now totally confused All I want is to make sure that I have enough, but not too much in the sump.

Help!

Of course its to measure the amount of oil!. The level is irrelevant if you have changed the depth of the sump withough increasing it somewhere else. Other wise you have less oil, if you have less oil then that may not be enough once pumped around the engine, and even if you have enough, that oil is working harder than if you have oil 'in reserve'. Thats why proper shortened sumps have wings to keep the volume of oil at the required amount.

I did add to the sump to try and accommodate a similar quantity of oil by adding side and end plates at the rear of the sump.

Cor you lot do like to make a mountain out of a mole hill don't you?

Ignore what mods may or may not have been doen to my sump, all I want is to know the length of a blacktop Zetec dipstick.

Is that too hard for someone to do for me please?

Pretty please?

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Originally posted by loggyboy
Of course its to measure the amount of oil!. The level is irrelevant if you have changed the depth of the sump

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Originally posted by MikeRJ

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Originally posted by loggyboy
Of course its to measure the amount of oil!. The level is irrelevant if you have changed the depth of the sump

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Sorry but this is incorrect; the LEVEL is very important, you can't simply raise the level to make up for any volume lost when you modify the sump or you may cause all sorts of other problems. Having a reduced volume of oil means more frequent changes may be required, but as long as sufficient volume of oil remains to feed the engine the level should not be increased.

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My blacktop unmolested dipstick is 50cm from top of tube, 47cm to full mark, 48.5 to low mark.

"You have misunderstood what I was trying to say. I was saying the level shown on the dipstick is irrelevant (ie no longer accurate) if you have changed the depth of the sump without retaining the same volume. Of course the level would need to stay as close to that of standard as possible as you would want to ensure the pick up remained immersed and that it wasnt too high so that the bottom end could 'hit' the oil in the sump"

Isn't this a contradiction! The full mark is the safe level below the crank,and this is a constant, not from the bottom of the sump and not an indication of volume. If you cut the sump and reduce the volume by 2litres but add 2litres to compensate, you will have problems with crank thrash.

40 inches you're a star. Well actually if you have got 40 inches you're a porn star but that's another story.

Thanks mate off to measure mine now. Dipstick of course what did you think I meant?

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Originally posted by ColinM
40 inches you're a star. Well actually if you have got 40 inches you're a porn star but that's another story.

Thanks mate off to measure mine now. Dipstick of course what did you think I meant?

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Originally posted by 40inches
My blacktop unmolested dipstick is 50cm from top of tube, 47cm to full mark, 48.5 to low mark.

"You have misunderstood what I was trying to say. I was saying the level shown on the dipstick is irrelevant (ie no longer accurate) if you have changed the depth of the sump without retaining the same volume. Of course the level would need to stay as close to that of standard as possible as you would want to ensure the pick up remained immersed and that it wasnt too high so that the bottom end could 'hit' the oil in the sump"

Isn't this a contradiction! The full mark is the safe level below the crank,and this is a constant, not from the bottom of the sump and not an indication of volume. If you cut the sump and reduce the volume by 2litres but add 2litres to compensate, you will have problems with crank thrash.

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Forgot to give you an update so somewhat belatedly;

Checked my dipstick and it's only 48cm, so looks like I've lost a bit in the bottom of the sump. I reckon as long as I keep the car upright, it'll not cause any problems!!!!

Now using a piece of plastic tube as a dipstick to check levels that I keep in the garage marked at the right points.

So thanks for the help and advice:

And loggyboy, see your point. Not sure how mine's been modified offhand without getting it up on a ramp and looking, but do you know how much oil there should be in 2.0 blacktop Zetec?

[Edited on 13/4/11 by ColinM]