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Folks, I have a lot of trouble reading that dang bullet dipstick in my 2010 HHR 2.2. Here's why: I can pull the thing out once a day, more than once a day, for several days and it appears that I have a full crankcase. But then I'll pull it out and it'll be dry as a bone. I have a leak; but that's not the issue. The issue is that the dipstick will tell me for days upon end that I have a full crankcase when I know I'm leaking oil; then suddenly I'm three quarts down, or, like the other day, completely dry. Why does this happen? Is there some way to keep it from happening? Can this bullet be replaced with a flat stick that will read more accurately?
Folks, I have a lot of trouble reading that dang bullet dipstick in my 2010 HHR 2.2. Here's why: I can pull the thing out once a day, more than once a day, for several days and it appears that I have a full crankcase. But then I'll pull it out and it'll be dry as a bone. I have a leak; but that's not the issue. The issue is that the dipstick will tell me for days upon end that I have a full crankcase when I know I'm leaking oil; then suddenly I'm three quarts down, or, like the other day, completely dry. Why does this happen? Is there some way to keep it from happening? Can this bullet be replaced with a flat stick that will read more accurately?
Thank you, all.
let the car sit a bit to settle, wipe it dry then dip it, pull and lay on a clean towel or rag. do it several times if needed, to get an accurate reading. laying it on a towel or rag will show the level if you cant see it (especially with fresh oil )
Thank you, Bonez, Your suggestion is interesting, since the owner's manual tells you to hold the stick vertical. Letting the car sit is standard with any car, as is pulling, wiping, reinserting, and pulling again. Curiously, I used to read the stick horizontally. I was having the same issues, which is when I read the manual and found they suggested reading vertically. But the question, really, is why yesterday it looked full, today it looked full, tomorrow it'll look full, the next day suddenly I'm down three to five quarts. I know I'm not losing that much oil that fast.
Don't even bother pulling the stick out for 10-15 minutes after shut down. Then pull and wipe reinsert and pull ANYWHERE in the crosshatched area is OK..
Thank you, Donbrew. The point, though, is why the oil level looks completely full (even though I know I have a leak) until suddenly the bullet tells me I'm down three quarts, five quarts, whatever. There's no gradual loss of oil according to the stick. That's the issue.
If you pull it out, but not wipe it, then re-insert & pull to get a read, it can give you false readings, as the oil will cling to the dipstick for a while.
If it’s reading full on Tuesday morning, is it showing down some on Wednesday, then back up on Thursday? Or just down on Tuesday and you ad the dipstick amount, say 2 quarts
Do you check the oil each morning, prior to start up?
Or each evening after driving home?
Have you looked inside the rubber elbow at the throttle body, is oil being sucked out of the valve cover thrust the PCV hose?
No, it's not full on Tuesday, down on Wednesday, back up on Thursday; it's full on Tuesday, full on Wednesday, full on Thursday, three quarts low on Friday. I don't check first thing in the morning; the engine's cold (and so is the oil). I usually check after I get home from work after the car has sat for a while. I do have an oil leak; I'm told I need a new oil seal (although my mech wants to replace my control arms first; he says they're a safety issue).
02-08-2021, 08:08 PM
