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Un readable dipsticks

Tugger2

Tugger2

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Mar 22, 2018
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British Columbia
This seems like a dumb thing to be asking. How often do you guys come across a dipstick on a machine that wont show a reading ,no matter how many times you wipe it clean ,try it hot, try it cold turn it in a different direction ect. Ive got a 910 Cat loader with a 3204 in it , engines pretty tired and has lots of blowbuy so im sure its using oil. Every time you pull the stick its a scrambled reading. When i service it it gets the right amount of oil ,but theres still no reference to go by on the stick even with clean oil. My latest thought is a bigger tube so it wont wipe the stick but theres really not room
 
H

hosspuller

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Aug 27, 2014
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North Carolina
Do you mean there's oil in the tube that's obscuring a good level reading ?
Perhaps the seal on the dipstick is shot. The crankcase blow by is forcing oil up the tube. A better seal or crankcase vent should stop that.
 
D

Delmer

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Jan 3, 2013
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Location
WI
Are you reading the oil level cold?

I always thought clean oil was way harder to read than sooty old oil. Either one can be a pain after the engine's been running, but if you read it cold the dipstick is usually mostly clean. I assume you're talking about the oil that rubs onto the side of the dipstick making it harder to tell where the oil level is. If you can't distinguish the oil level line on the dipstick because the surface is too glossy, try roughening the surface, like clean the dipstick with a solvent and pickle it in sulfuric acid (dip in a scrap battery) until you get the right texture.
 
O

ol'stonebreaker

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Idaho
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retired
Check with the engine cold and stopped. If it reads overfull it has enough. Next time you change oil, start it and let it run for a minute, shut it off and walk away for awhile. Pull the dipstick with it stopped, now you know what full is with it stopped. I've seen dipsticks in older Cat engines that had marks on two sides, one for running and one for stopped.
Mike
 
Vetech63

Vetech63

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Aug 10, 2016
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Oklahoma
I have painted the end of dipsticks before with a thin coat of flat black paint. Works real well to take that dam sheen off.
 
D

DIYDAVE

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Feb 18, 2007
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MD
You might also try stamping a cross hatch pattern, on the bottom inch of the stick...;)
 
Tugger2

Tugger2

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Mar 22, 2018
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British Columbia
My older cat stuff has the running and stopped marks ,they always read right. The loader has only one set of marks, i can leave it sit for a month ,you would think the oil would settle at its level. I like the pipe cleaner idea and the seal as this engine has excessive blow by. I know what you mean about those phony wire dipsticks they are almost as bad but at least if you wipe them and put them back in you get a reading.
 
JPV

JPV

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Aug 20, 2015
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S.W. Washington
Cat 320C excavators are the same way, you have to read both sides of the stick a couple times and take an average, don't know why it gets smeared all over.
 
John C.

John C.

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Machinery & Equipment Appraiser
I've gotten to where when I do an inspection I just make sure that oil is on the stick. I remember a lot of Cummins engines used that plastic tube which always smeared oil on the tube when you pulled the stick out and then messed up a reading when you put the dipstick back in and pulled it out again. On some engines I would see the level when first pulled out would be way high and then settle back down when you checked it again and others would show no oil when you pulled the stick out and then show OK when checked a second time. Those were clues to start looking for other issues when the engine was running.
 
V

Volvomad

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Joined
Jul 13, 2011
Messages
476
Location
Ireland
With any dipstick down a long skinny tube ,I usually pull the dipstick and leave it out for a minute ,clean,dip for 5 seconds, pull and then check . I rekon the tubes are often airlocked by the top seal showing off the wall readings .
 
B

Birken Vogt

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Joined
Nov 30, 2003
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5,324
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Grass Valley, Ca
My lawn mower does that bad. I have to remember to leave the oil cap unscrewed when I finish if I want to get a reading before I start the next time.

That brings to mind what I think might be the root cause of the problem here. Tier 4 stuff usually has a tightly sealed dipstick. Might cause the oil to creep up the tube overnight. If the tube enters below the oil level.
 
heymccall

heymccall

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Feb 19, 2007
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JPV said:
Cat 320C excavators are the same way, you have to read both sides of the stick a couple times and take an average, don't know why it gets smeared all over.
Click to expand...

My 321C w/3066 and my 320D w/C6.4 are the only ones in the whole fleet like that. The 3064 and C4.4 read right every time. And, it's not oil smearing, it's different readings for first 3 tries.
 
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