Oil Sump Dipstick

[Allister]

Good evening,

I'm currently working on a 1969 4.2 2+2 E-type, US version.

A new piston ring set has been fitted. I filled the oil sump with the required volume oil, I mean 8.5L. But when I control with the oil sump dipstick, the oil level seems to be just under the lower mark !! Don't ask me how it was before the piston ring changement, I don't know...

Is there different dipstick according to the E-Type version ? Same question for the sump ?

Should I thrust the dipstick and then add some oil or the 8.5L that I put in are enough ?

Kind regards,

Julian

[mgcjag]

Hi Julian.....its not uncommon for the dipstick to not go in straight and get caught in the baffles in the sump and then give a wrong reading......take the stick out and make sure its straight....then feed it in carefully...making sure it dosent catch inside and go in again crocked.........haveing said that it could also be an incorrect dipstick..ic your still haveing trouble there is info on the forum if you search ..dipstick..... http://forum.etypeuk.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=11544 Steve

[malcolm]

Don't force anything. The dipstick may be bent and not going into the correct area. The amount of oil is right, the rings have nothing to do with the readings.
Few things to check:

Is the car level? It's a long engine, and if it's not level the readings can be way out

Is it the right dipstick? Should have the letter "E" stamped on the bottom.

Is the dipstick bent? It should just drop into the sump when you introduce it into the tube.

[malcolm]

Think I was writing while you were posting Steve!

[mgcjag]

The more the merrier

[Allister]

Good evening,

The car is on my car lift, which is supposed to be horizontal !

The dipstick is very slightly bent. I will take some pictures of it tomorrow... And will have a look if a E is on its bottom.

See you tomorrow,

Julian

[Allister]

Hello,

As promised, I checked my engine oil dipstick and I join 3 pictures. The 2 first ones are the dipstick under different angle. The third one is the level displayed by the dipstick for 8.5L of oil.

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Screen Shot 2018-12-12 at 12.22.46.jpg (153.07 KiB) Viewed 3645 times

Screen Shot 2018-12-12 at 12.23.09.jpg (64.62 KiB) Viewed 3645 times

[politeperson]

Is your dipstick tube fitted at the correct height?

[Allister]

That's a f... good question !!!

I don't know. What is the supposed correct height ? Any mark on the block ?

Julian

[malcolm]

I'd say it looks bent to me. That could mean you're not going straight into the sump. Do you have to push it hard to get it in? My car is a '69 2+2, and your dipstick looks different. Certainly different at the top where you pull it out. Maybe they were different in the American market? But if you've put in the amount of oil you say, it should be at the top of the hatch so something is wrong. Can't get to my dipstick at the moment to take a pic, but maybe someone else with a 4.2 can post a pic of their dipstick angle?

[politeperson]

If the dipstick is hitting the baffle you will be able to feel it when you put it in the last few inches of travel.

I would have thought your dipstick would show no oil at all if it was hitting the baffle.

If you have the correct amount of oil in the engine and the dip stick is in the sump oil, I would be tempted to think about tapping the tube further in an cm or two. You have the perfect opportunity to adjust the dipstick to give an accurate reading.

As an aside, I have spoken to a few service engineers who worked on the XK engines in the day for fussy customers. The consensus of opinion seems to be that running the oil level at the top of the dipstick range can cause leaks from the rear main. Running at a lower level (half way up or less) causes fewer oil leaks generally.

Works for me I must say.

James