Why Is My Dipstick So Small ?

[Herbseesmoore]

I realize its not the size of my dipstick but how I use it, thats whats important.

So on our new old boat I,m doing my prestart checks and I've got this really little dipstick on my westerbeke 60, nothing like the normal looking one in the manual. Actually took me forever to locate the dang thang.

Anyway, 2 questions
the marks on the stick are really close and the engine sits on slant, how can I make sure it is an acurate measurement. We all know engines love their oil.

One of life's little mysteries, why, you pull the stick and it is clean, not a drop, put in, take it out there is oil on the stick.

[Philsboat]

Hi Herbster
Not familiar with Westerbeke but my Yannmar has a short dipstick for the transmission and a longer one for the engine.

Phil

[Blue Stocking]

[QUOTE=Herbseesmoore;520056]I realize its not the size of my dipstick but how I use it, thats whats important.


Anyway, 2 questions
the marks on the stick are really close and the engine sits on slant, how can I make sure it is an acurate measurement. We all know engines love their oil.

QUOTE]

You raise an interesting point. My W/beke 46 sits an the max allowed angle. Takes 7 qts of oil. Had the engine out for painting and new sump.
Put 7 qts in sump on the bench, tilted it to boat angle, and it overflowed the rear bearing semicircle stamping. Which means the crank is slinging oil up the cylinder walls. I know she makes a tiny bit of blue smoke when starting up, and figure this is the oil burning off. Had the head off when the engine was out, and no extra carbon in that rear cylinder. So I do know where to read my dipstick for correct level.
If you dont mind, I would like to hear the advice of guys like NeverMonday and Chief engineer et al, on this one.

[svcambria]

Once upon a time had an Isuzu Pisces engine with a tiny dipstick on the injection pump - which had its own reservoir. Is the stick you found tiny in the sense of short or tiny in the sense of overall small?

Michael

[Herbseesmoore]

short, gotta reach way down, and the marks are less than a half inch apart.

[barnakiel]

There are those tables, I can't recall the name - you know, those that they always push in the spam - and they are supposed to work fine.

b.

[zopi]

it's cold?

[SabreKai]

Man is that ever a loaded question. The come backs are varied and rude.

Just for yuks, get a knitting needle and see how deep the thing will go and what level of oil you get on it. It may be that the dipstick is set to read an arbitrary min/max as opposed to total volume in the pan. Using this psycology, the average joe would tend to keep the engine well supplied. Say the engine requires 4.5 qts. THe dipstick may only show 4.5 down to 3.5 quarts, so even if it was empty the engine wouldn't seize.


Sabre

[Ex-Calif]

Drain the oil.

Install a new filter.

Put new oil in one quart at a time checking the stick each time.

Start the engine / shut off the engine - note how much oil gets "hidden" in the filter and oil system.

It's the only way I know to "calibrate" your stick.