The 'E' Type Forum

Today’s job was to change oil and filter in my series 2, so armed with a new filter (old cartridge type) and 10 litres of Millers finest, all went well until I filled up with new oil. According to my owners manual 15 pints or 8.5 litres will do the job. Well, 2 cans later (10 litres), the oil was barely registering on the dip stick. So another litre or 2 later I was full, totalling nearly 12 litres. Is this unique or have I got the wrong dipstick? Daft question, I know, but not unheard of! My dipstick has “hatched” area which I assume to between min and max.

Might have wrong dipstick. Should have the letter "E" stamped on the bottom of the dipstick. You don't want to run with too much oil - not good for the engine. I'd drain it again, completely, put in 14 1/2 pints and mark the dipstick as "full" at that point. One other thing - it takes for ever for the oil to find it's way to the sump - are you sure you waited long enough before dipping?

Hi Andy just check that your dipstick is going in straight.....it can easily catch on the baffals in the sump as you push it in and its then bent and sitting in the wrong position and gives a false reading... Steve
Have a look here.... viewtopic.php?f=4&t=11544&p=93551&hilit=Dipstick#p93551

Yes, over filling will damage your engine so do not run it until you have resolved the issue. With two much the crank will start slapping the oil causing it to aerate and foam does not pass through the oil pump at all well. Result will be knackered bearings.

The dip stick looks wrong to me.

I have the wrong dipstick, advise as Malcolm says put in the required amount and mark on dipstick.

Things that could be wrong......
1. Dipstick collar in wrong place.
2. Car not level.
3. Garage floor not level.

The collar for the dipstick, which limits how much is in the sump, should be approximately 10” from the tip. This means the top of the hatch marks, indicating the full level, should be approx 2” from the tip. The image of your dipstick, with the E stamped on the end, is the same as mine.

If the car suspension isn’t right, too high at the rear or too low at the front, this will affect the level of oil on the dipstick. Remember that the dipstick is towards the rear of the sump, so a car that sits low at the front will show a low oil level, when the correct amount of oil is in the sump.

The same goes for the garage floor. As an indication, I park my car with the rear end about 1” higher than the front, and the front suspension is also low by about 1”. This 2” bias means I can put an extra litre in the sump before reaching the top of the hash mark.

Neither car attitude ( unless extreme ) nor floor out of true can affect the reading to the extent you have found. I agree with Chris Fell that you need to check the collar distance, but the most likely problem is that you have bent the dipstick by pushing it against the baffles. It should be virtually straight from top to bottom, and if straight it should fall into its resting position without any pressure being applied to it at all. If at any time you have pushed it against a resistance, you will have bent it - it is very easy to do

Just to through some other thoughts in, if the block has been changed for an XJ6 at some time in the past then how does the dipstick tube length compare....so the only real way is to fill with the known quantity of oil then mark the dipstick to suite... Steve

Thanks for your replies. My dipstick is bent and doesn’t sit naturally on the stop, I have to push it down a few mms. The attached photo also shows the length from the stop to the end is less than 10 inches, which suggests it is sitting “short” in the sump and therefore under reading, ie it needs to sit further down, which explains why i have put 10 litres plus in. Does this make sense or am I missing something!

Also, my dip stick is bent! By straightening it, is it going to interfere with any moving parts?!!

There we have the definitive answer. The dipstick needs straightening. What is happening at the moment is that the dipstick does not go through the aperture provided in the horizontal baffle plate in the sump, but is resting on top of it . If you straighten it, it should drop straight through without any need to push, and you will then get a proper reading . It is mandatory , to avoid engine damage, to drain it off completely again into clean containers, ( I use washing up bowls ) and refill with only 8.5 litres . You can keep the rest for top ups

Chris you are absolutely right! I’ve just straightened dip stick in vice and checked current level as per attached photo. OMG! You can see how much I have overfilled.?just spoken to my local friendly garage and they are going to remove oil via dipstick hole which will save a lot of faffing!
Thanks to everyone for taking interest, a very satisfying result.