Zoltan Finks wrote: > As a pump-jockey, I ran into that many times (I'm sure others have too). > Sometimes it's downright irritating. I seem to see it with auto tranny fluid > dipsticks more. You have to re-dip half a dozen times and sort of use the > most common reading.
I always have that problem with ATF dipsticks. Either that or the whole stick ends up coated no matter how I try to read it. Some engines are easy to read the dipstick on and some aren't. My Mercedes was always easy. My VW Cabriolet is easy. But my Crown Vic is a trial. The oil won't form anything like an even line on the stick. It wicks up it in some places and runs off in others. The stick has holes drilled at the ADD and FULL marks, so I've been going by those. If there's oil trapped in the ADD hole I figure the level is above that point. Cars with short, stiff dipsticks that go in straight seem to be easiest. The Cabriolet's is like that. I used to have a diesel Vanagon with a short, bright-orange plastic stick and that one was a piece of cake to read. Long, floppy dipsticks that follow convoluted tubes seem to be the worst.
