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Dipstick hard to read

Digitalwiz

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Hi,

I don’t know about you guys, but I find it very hard to read the oil level on the dipstick on my 350 accurately. I run the car around, turn off the engine, wait 15mintues and then pull the dipstick. I wipe it and put it back, and pull it to read it.

Unlike every other car I’ve ever had, the oil level is smeared unevenly along the stick. It takes several attempts to try to figure out where the oil really is. Often I dont see any oil on the hashed side, but the other side will have a bead line.

Are you having the same experience?

Any recommendations? It should be pretty straight forward, but as it’s not in my case, I wanted to check.

I just added a bit more than a half qt for the last 400 miles driven and it looks like its around the bottom hole.

Thanks
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JAJ

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Hi,

I don’t know about you guys, but I find it very hard to read the oil level on the dipstick on my 350 accurately. I run the car around, turn off the engine, wait 15mintues and then pull the dipstick. I wipe it and put it back, and pull it to read it.

Unlike every other car I’ve ever had, the oil level is smeared unevenly along the stick. It takes several attempts to try to figure out where the oil really is. Often I dont see any oil on the hashed side, but the other side will have a bead line.

Are you having the same experience?

Any recommendations? It should be pretty straight forward, but as it’s not in my case, I wanted to check.

I just added a bit more than a half qt for the last 400 miles driven and it looks like its around the bottom hole.

Thanks
i finally figured out how to stop overthinking this issue. Basically, Ford punched two holes in the dipstick. Follow the instructions - after fifteen minutes of draining, if the lowest hole has oil in it and the upper one doesn't, you can put the dipstick back and get on with your day. If both holes have no oil in them, add some.
 

Alain

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The first thing I am doing when my R gets delivered on Tuesday is checking the oil. But I am not looking forward to it if this is the case.

My Camaro has the same issue. It’s an absolute pain in the ass !!! The oil is all over the place on the stick and it’s a pain in the balls to read.

I don’t think there is really any way to fix this.
 
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Digitalwiz

Digitalwiz

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Napa Ford is a pretty great dealer, I called service over there and they said, “bring it by, one of our techs will double check it for you”.

They jumped on it right when I got there, waited 15m and they checked and confirmed it was still low. I bought a qt from them and just added half that qt.

I just got back home, I’m letting it sit 15m and will see where it sits. I scheduled a change and will have them mark the stick to show 9 and 10qt level so I can see it going forward.

Thanks, I’m glad I’m not the only one thinking this is harder than it should be.
 

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rocsteady

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i finally figured out how to stop overthinking this issue. Basically, Ford punched two holes in the dipstick. Follow the instructions - after fifteen minutes of draining, if the lowest hole has oil in it and the upper one doesn't, you can put the dipstick back and get on with your day. If both holes have no oil in them, add some.
And this post is why I belong to forums; someone always comes up with the "no bs" answer while everyone else, including me, is hung up on the minutia! Kudos to you brother!
 
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Digitalwiz

Digitalwiz

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Agreed, all of us are smarter than one or a few of us. I see oil in the bottom hole and smeared everywhere else. Done for the day.
 

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key01

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That video was a bit of fun from other posts regarding checking the oil level. Pulling the stick from the firewall side of the strut brace as illustrated here works best for me to get a good measurement. Try it
 

3rdRGR

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It sucks. I took several readings after doing my first oil change today. I got some where it looked too full, some where it looked low. I put 10 quarts in it. I pulled the filter with the drain plug still out and let it drain for a good while with both the oil cap off and the dip stick unsealed, so I guess I drained it about as good as I possibly could. I checked it and it looked like it was a little over the top hole. I took it out for a drive for about 15 minutes and checked it not long after shutting off the engine. Looked like it was a little over the lower hole, but definitely not much higher than that. So, I'm hoping I don't have it over filled, but it's been so inconsistent that I'm really not certain one way or the other. I didn't see high oil pressure readings while cruising. It goes high when you are up in the RPM's, but it always did that anyway. I'll check it again tomorrow when it's cold and see what I've got. I think about my Cub Cadet Pro Z 100 mower with the solid plastic dipstick that is so freaking easy to clearly see, even with a thin oil, and I'm just baffled why something so darned critical to measure in a car is so stupidly designed. I love my car, but some things it's like they sat around a table and said "lol, let's eff with em..."
 

UXXR

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well, as others said, the back side of dipstick shows the 'clear' line a little better.
But I agree with your frustration, as in the dipstick placement on this engine is awful and especially with the strut and oil catch can in the way, it's impossible to pull the dipstick straight up, you bend it while pulling it out, which causes the smears.
Could have been designed better. Is it a dealbreaker? No.
 

NDALLAS40

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well, as others said, the back side of dipstick shows the 'clear' line a little better.
But I agree with your frustration, as in the dipstick placement on this engine is awful and especially with the strut and oil catch can in the way, it's impossible to pull the dipstick straight up, you bend it while pulling it out, which causes the smears.
Could have been designed better. Is it a dealbreaker? No.
For how much coin we shelled out, it should be a dry sump with an oil level window right up front!
The drain plug is a joke also. Oh well......
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