Freaked out by Redline climbing dipstick

[nel]

I changed my wife's car over from GC (9.1K OCI--hope to have UOA to post soon) to a blend of 6 qts. Syntec 10W40 and 1 qt. Redline 10W40. I had both oils in my shrine, so I thought this would be an interesting comparison (planning on taking this blend out to 9-10K). Anyway, I checked the oil level this morning after the car's been sitting overnight.

The oil level on the dipstick was nearly two inches higher than where it should have been. My first thought was "oh, no, I hope the engine's okay", then "did I screw up?" to "I hope it's not coolant" to "I may have to extract a quart". I calmed down and checked the level a few more times and it was fine.

I don't know if it's the Syntec 10W40 or the Redline, but I've never seen oil climb up two inches on a dipstick before--not with GC, not with Delo, etc. Anyone else with a similar experience? I did a search of this forum but found only one mention of this with Mobil 1: thread on nature of synthetics

 

[Al]

Whatever happened..its not the oil. (IMHO)

 

[darkdan]

ADBV go bad and allow the oil to return to the sump?

 

[Steve S]

It is not the oil, it may be the checker.

 

[oilyriser]

o-ring on dipstick handle creating suction as engine cools

 

[moribundman]

Maybe the vehicle has one or several defective oil check valves in the head(s). My Audi has a couple oil check valves that ensure that not all oil drains from the heads into the sump when the engine is turned off. This ensures almost instant oil flow to the cams and valve train on startup. Check valves can go bad, usually resulting in (hydraulic) lifter tick on startup.

 

[nel]

moribundman, good idea on the check valves. It's a BMW 328i that does have clicking lifters on a cold start. I'll check the level tomorrow. The car wasn't run today so I'll know if it's the oil or something that's related to the car.

For those who think it's a "checker-related" phenomenon, it's kind of hard to get a reading that's too high (especially two inches too high) rather than the other way around.

 

[srivett]

I've had this happen to me too. The oil level in my Suzuki GS400EZ was ALWAYS full in the morning when I checked it. The oil would climb the cross hatching (or perhaps it wouldn't drain off?) so I had to whipe the dipstick and check a second time every morning. There were a couple times that I had the oil light turn on the same day I checked the oil but I caught on to this little trick eventually.

On my VW there are deep holes that the lifters live in. If I park on a hill these holes will empty and give a false full reading. The angle of the car alters the level a bit but not as much as the oil coming out of the lifter area.

Steve

 

[BlazerLT]

What car has a 7 qt sump?

 

[Rand]

quote:

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Originally posted by nel:
It's a BMW 328i

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[boxcartommie22]

i use redline 10w30 in my cobra engine and it does the same thing..after i wipe it off and check level again then it shows normal

 

[ediamiam]

I never forget to wipe.

 

[bulwnkl]

This happened on all the Subarus I've ever had regardless of oil brand or type.

 

[Blue99]

quote:

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Maybe the vehicle has one or several defective oil check valves in the head(s). My Audi has a couple oil check valves that ensure that not all oil drains from the heads into the sump when the engine is turned off. This ensures almost instant oil flow to the cams and valve train on startup. Check valves can go bad, usually resulting in (hydraulic) lifter tick on startup.

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Very interesting, Moribundman. So with the check valves stuck open, the oil from the lifter hydraulics is draining back into the crankcase & elevating the dipstick level reading. How much oil are we talking about?

Yikes, I acknowledge the superior engineering of automobiles from the "fatherland", but what does it cost to replace one of these check valves?

 

[Bob The Builder]

The humor abounds.

quote:

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I never forget to wipe.

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