Rusting dipstick

[190]

I just can't envisage how a dipstick gets to go that rusty when it's inside the engine.. The dipstick is constantly exposed to oil vapour when the engine is running so it can only have been rusty from new. Even if the oil got water contamination for some reason, it still wouldn't rust the dipstick unless it was so bad it would also have wrecked the engine.

 

[andy27168]

Moisture in the dipstick is possibly just condensation.

 

[Justintyme]

Judging from the pics, I'd say that this dipstick came into contact with a very corrosive substance at some stage in it's life. You can clearly see where the rusting begins,,,,about 6" above the plastic oil level indicator, and continues to within about 2" of the top of the stick. Maybe a careless mechanic checking the oil level, and using a cloth which had previously been used to dry the top of a battery which had been over-filled with distilled water, and was contaminated with batter acid to clean the dipstick too? Just guessing here,,,,I've never seen a dipstick corroded like this one.

 

[BlackC55]

Judging from the pics, I'd say that this dipstick came into contact with a very corrosive substance at some stage in it's life. You can clearly see where the rusting begins,,,,about 6" above the plastic oil level indicator, and continues to within about 2" of the top of the stick. Maybe a careless mechanic checking the oil level, and using a cloth which had previously been used to dry the top of a battery which had been over-filled with distilled water, and was contaminated with batter acid to clean the dipstick too? Just guessing here,,,,I've never seen a dipstick corroded like this one.

Its not unusual to see at all. The long A-Class 168 dipsticks are all like it pretty much.

 

[Justintyme]

Its not unusual to see at all. The long A-Class 168 dipsticks are all like it pretty much.

First time for everything,as they say !!!. I have never seen this kind of corrosion on a dipstick before. ever!!!..honestly !!! Is it specific to the A-class 168's?? Or are there other MB models where it occurs too? Would not be overly happy to have a dipstick shedding rust particles into the sump ( good filters notwithstanding !!! )

 

[ash1212002]

new oil dipstick arrived today, fits perfectly

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[Merc220cls]

Never been a fan of suction pumps. First you can’t drain all the old oil and second any crud which may be lying on the bottom of the sump.
My previous car, a Rover 75 I cut a access hole on the under-tray to allow me to drain the oil. I had another hole cut out to check auto fluid level which had to be done from underneath.

 

[Merc220cls]

Just realised that was my 500th post.

Do I get a free AMG badge

 

[louwdj]

I was also skeptical about oil suction but tested several times on a few engines. The first was a 230 eninge in a G-wagon where it was easy to open the sump plug after sucking. Literally only a few drops came out at the plug. I then did it on a E240 with the V6 engine where I removed the undertray beforehand. Same result. Provided you suck the oil rapidly before it gets much chance to cool, I reckon you are doing as good as using the drain plug, if not better. It is just so much easier with less effort, less mess, or having to raise the car and crawl underneath.

 

[BlackC55]

Never been a fan of suction pumps. First you can’t drain all the old oil and second any crud which may be lying on the bottom of the sump.
My previous car, a Rover 75 I cut a access hole on the under-tray to allow me to drain the oil. I had another hole cut out to check auto fluid level which had to be done from underneath.

If you have crud at the bottom of your sump there are serious issues. Sucking the oil out has been done all my Mercedes career, now 21 years. ALL of the oil is drained out. I have tested it myself by sucking oil out then opening the sump bung. Not one drop came out.There are some cars that can't have the oil sucked out such as the 211 E55K as it has two sumps.

 

[rf065]

Never been a fan of suction pumps. First you can’t drain all the old oil and second any crud which may be lying on the bottom of the sump.
My previous car, a Rover 75 I cut a access hole on the under-tray to allow me to drain the oil. I had another hole cut out to check auto fluid level which had to be done from underneath.

1. You're missing out on the easiest & cleanest method of removing oil without the old carcinagenic oil dripping up your arms.
2. Yes, you can drain all the oil, if crud is present, it's because the oil was not changed often enough, probably by someone who couldn't be bothered to lie under the car getting oil up his arm!

 

[Justintyme]

Never been a fan of suction pumps. First you can’t drain all the old oil and second any crud which may be lying on the bottom of the sump.
My previous car, a Rover 75 I cut a access hole on the under-tray to allow me to drain the oil. I had another hole cut out to check auto fluid level which had to be done from underneath.

I've used both methods over the years, and never had any problems with the amount of oil drained....vacuum or drain plug, there will always be a minute amount of oil left, but that would not bother me. I'd be more worried about the frequency of the change's, and that they were done at least on time, or even before.

 

[Petrol Pete]

If the sump plug is to the rear and you are concerned about a bit of old oil remaining using the suction method just drive the car on to a few short lengths of 2" x 4" to elevate the front slightly. Same if the plug is on one side or the other, just pop one 2"x 4" under the opposite wheel. And make sure the pipe gets pushed right to the bottom.

Once I started using the vacuum method I can't for the life of me think why I didn't take it up years ago. As I have said on here before the irony is that this method is no good for my saddle sump M113 V8 . Good for everything else though. And I have used it on hydraulic power packs at work ....saved hours of complicated work stripping poorly designed machinery down to get to the drain plugs ..but thats another story.

I have also used it drain toilet bowls at home ! I have a bleed nipple fitting for mine so it could be used to change brake fluid by vacuum on many systems.

 

[190]

I have also used it drain toilet bowls at home !

My Pela type pump has also been used for plumbing duties. It's been a god send for draining low level copper pipes before soldering and yes I've emptied a toilet bowl with it. Can't think how I manged without it.

 

[Petrol Pete]

My Pela type pump has also been used for plumbing duties. It's been a god send for draining low level copper pipes before soldering and yes I've emptied a toilet bowl with it. Can't think how I manged without it.

Last time I had to empty a toilet bowl at home before I bought the vacuum pump I did it the 'old fashioned way'...by mouth on a bit of hose. You know when you used to siphon petrol that way in our youth ?...this was worse, a gob full of 4 star would have been nectar.

 

[Justintyme]

If the sump plug is to the rear and you are concerned about a bit of old oil remaining using the suction method just drive the car on to a few short lengths of 2" x 4" to elevate the front slightly. Same if the plug is on one side or the other, just pop one 2"x 4" under the opposite wheel. And make sure the pipe gets pushed right to the bottom.

Once I started using the vacuum method I can't for the life of me think why I didn't take it up years ago. As I have said on here before the irony is that this method is no good for my saddle sump M113 V8 . Good for everything else though. And I have used it on hydraulic power packs at work ....saved hours of complicated work stripping poorly designed machinery down to get to the drain plugs ..but thats another story.

I have also used it drain toilet bowls at home ! I have a bleed nipple fitting for mine so it could be used to change brake fluid by vacuum on many systems.

I use a hydraulic jack to lift up the passenger side front of my w212 E class, which allows all of the engine oil to flow towards the area of the sump where the dipstick measures the level, I measure what is drained out, and allowing for the qty in the filter, each change takes the 6.5 ltrs which is the factory amount. And all done while above the car, with the bonnet up. Great job.

 

[grober]

Using suction pumps to change the oil in the sump was/is very popular among boat owners* with inboard engines. The alternative being to cut a hole in the hull, which boat owners assure me is not a good idea!
* there was time that ship chandlers were a good place to pick one up before they achieved widespread acceptance

 

[Justintyme]

Petrol Pete, Once you had a sufficiently long piece of clear plastic piping.......so you could see "what was coming down the line", ( maybe thats where that expression came from???? ) you would be in with a fighting chance....not that it would ever be a job that you would be looking forward to.......

 

[Petrol Pete]

"Clear plastic piping"....'clear'..?? Now you tell me !!

 

[Justintyme]

As in transparent.....I well remember as an apprentice, when siphoning various liquid's from vehicle's ( Petrol / Diesel, for the most part ) you quickly learned that a short pipe was not the best choice...but a longer transparent pipe which allowed a dip towards the ground, showed exactly when the liquid would start to flow, and where it was in the pipe, relative to your mouth.....so you could quickly remove the pipe, and put it into the receptacle, and all without having to taste the stuff... because, like everyone else starting out., I swallowed enough liquid's too. Not something that happen's nowadays, I think...if only for the health and safety issues......or in an emergency !!!