I need a longer dipstick!

[Poledriver]

Checked my oil 1200 miles after buying my car (definitely full when I purchased it). The oil was off the bottom of the dipstick!! :oops:

It needed 2.5 litres to fill up! There are absolutely NO signs of leaking oil on my driveway, and no blue smoke in the exhaust.

Any ideas? :wacko:

[rovamota]

Did you check it when it was stone cold, i.e. first thing in the morning? I must admit, the BRM dipstick isn't the easiest thing to read.

Kev.

[Adam]

Have you got the usual cam carrier leak?

That can account for some loss of oil...

[Jon_A]

Could be HGF if the level drops with no obvious leak on the driveway. It would be a mix of oil into the water. The oil is at higher pressure when in use and if the gasket is failing can force its way through into the coolant.

You would notice a build up of gunk in the header tank.

Again though as the other guys mention the dipstick isn't the best and can take a couple of tries to get an accurate reading, best bet is to determine the level and then top up, alternatively an oil change may be worth while if it hasn't been done in a while.

[BenH]

I've noticed this as well - the dipstick is pants!

I must admit I've been doing loads of motorway stuff over the last 6 months, and have topped it up a couple of times, but the reading is inconsistent to say the least. After todays top-up* I fear I may have overfilled it a tad, will look again tomorrow, doh, although I have a feeling it may have been a little on the low side for a while.

Is there a technical 'knack' to achieving a correct reading, ie. putting the dipstick in slowly to dispel any air or similar magic?

* and this was using a trolley jack under the back of the car, and then using it's own scissor jack on the side to achieve perfect spirit-level, erm, level along the sill shiny 'BRM' strips and across the top of the engine cam-cover.

I've nothing else to do when work is quiet....!

[burrows]

I think I must be doing something wrong, I have my car serviced once a year and that's the only time the oil gets checked !!!!! Looks like I better learn how to lift the bonnet!

[Poledriver]

Had car checked for leaks when having new exhaust fitted. They did not find a drop of oil. I'll just have to monitor it to dse what happens!

[BenH]

I'm forever crawling about under and above mine and feeling around the back edge / front edge / sides of the sump / dipstick tube / oil pump / both camshaft ends / crankshaft seal / driveshafts as far as I can get to, in fact every possible bit I can reach.

And I know for a fact that the only leak as such on mine is a very slight weep on the rear LHS of the cam carrier, which after 300 miles or so of non-Gunking eventually results in a small drop of oil residue on the front LHS of the cam carrier 'join'.

So I now give it a bit of a Gunking (foam action Gunk is good) every two weeks and everything remains nice and tidy.

BUT THE DIPSTICK IS STILL PANTS!!!!!! :):):):):)

[Jon_A]

Never had a problem with the old 1.4K dipstick always got a good reading. The 1.8 one just seems to be impossible to read. No idea why and was always a pain as the only time I knew the oil level was correct was at the service each 10-12k.

If there was a leak then I doubt I would have easily spotted it.

[brmad]

I dont know whether its a similar problem but on my old tomcat it simply used to dump the oil if you used the loud pedal too much. I havent noticed it on the brm but i don't drive it quite the same.