dipstick modification

[Rick in PA]

I always liked the dipstick on my wife's Ford. It has two small holes in it, one at the full line and one at the add line. The holes make it easy to see the oil level when the oil is clean.

The dipstick in my Chrysler doesn't have the holes, so I decided to add them. I tried drilling the holes with a standard drill bit (high speed steel), but no luck. The dipstick is made of steel with a bit of temper, maybe 1/2 hard. I ended up drilling 3 holes in the dipstick; full, half and 1 quart low. The holes are 1/16" diameter. I used a drillpress at the highest speed and a carbide drill. A light touch with a file then a countersink to deburr the holes. Now it's easy to see the oil level, even with clean oil.

[ May 22, 2003, 10:42 PM: Message edited by: Rick in PA ]

 

[digitaldrifter91]

hey cool. i have another story for my villager, i cant see the oil on there. its not a smooth stick, it has some mesh on it and it is super hard to tell if there is oil on the stick or not.

hhehe good job, had fun eh?

 

[porterdog]

Great tip! I've already modded the stick in my Miata once, but it wasn't successful. Mebbe I'll try your idea

 

[TheLoneRanger]

Good tip! I've modded all of my dipsticks for years. Except that I didn't have the confidence to drill holes. I take a miniature triangle file, and file two notches in the dipstick ('add' and 'full'). This makes them much easier to read.

 

[mph]

My Honda comes with this "mod" right from the factory.

It is easy to read.

I'll second the recommendation for cobalt bits. I had good results using one to drill the heads off of four 6mm brake disc retaining screws.

 

[Patman]

Both of my cars have holes in their dipsticks from the factory, but the one in my Firebird is better since there are four holes in it between the low and full range, while on my wife's Honda there are only two IIRC. Although my wife's car might as well not even have a dipstick, since I never need to top it up with oil between changes. I usually don't even bother checking it all that often. With my Firebird I check it once a week-although now that it's not leaking oil, I'll probably check the oil less often now too.

 

[labman]

I don't like the holes. Sometimes I will see an open one between 2 full ones. Perhaps one of the best arguments for checking the oil with a cold engine, is that it is easier to read. I think consistent readings may be more important than absolute level. Most engine do fine at up to a quart low as long as they are not quickly losing more. I prefer the old cross hatch, mesh?, lines. Having lost the original dipstick, I patterned the new one for my truck by squeezing it in a vise. I simply marked it by checking it the next oil change. The six quarts from the manual always brought it to the full mark.

Filling by the manual leaves my 02 Cavalier Ecotec over full by its horizontally grooved dipstick. There was a thread on this before, but no conclusive answer. Nobody seems to be able to say where the oil level needs to be in relation to the oil pan or seals.

 

[digitaldrifter91]

is there a way i can change my dipstick so i will just have 2 holes? 1999 mercury villager...can i buy a universal one?

 

[MolaKule]

BTW,

I have had excellent results with the Cobalt drills. If the carbides or titanium's won't cut it, the cobalt's will.

Excellent Tip Rick.

 

[cousincletus]

Good tip. For power steering dipsticks, try cleaning well with paint thinner and painting with light gray spraypaint. Can see a lot easier.