rusty dipstick. 3¼ yr old BMW

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Sat 24 Dec 2005 02:49
rusty dipstick. 3¼ yr old BMW - Duncan
I noticed the dipstick in my 1 and three quater year onld BMW was badly corroded in October and had it replaced. On checking the car over two months later I notice it is rusty again. This does not sound right to me and sounds like it could be indicative of moisture in the engine.
This was highlighted to the dealere whilst in warranty who just replaced it but now it is out of warranty.
Any thoughts or am i reading something into nothing
Thanks
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Sat 24 Dec 2005 11:27
rusty dipstick - Roly93
This is very strange, having an item that is bathed in oil go rusty is like, { 8< SNIP 8< . DD}
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Sat 24 Dec 2005 12:12
rusty dipstick - mss1tw
What colour is the oil? Also what sort of journeys do you do?
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Sun 25 Dec 2005 06:40
rusty dipstick - Duncan
Hi there
The oil is black, and changed as per BMW service schedule. I used the car to travel daily to and from work, about 40mins n motorway each way, and propably a 400 mile return journey on the motorway every other month (probably more).
I presume all can read this, so in answer to the other responce, it is the upper portion of the dipstick that is rusty not the lower part immersed in the oil.

Do you think this is an issue?
Thanks
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Sun 25 Dec 2005 09:55
rusty dipstick - Altea Ego
No
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Sun 25 Dec 2005 10:12
rusty dipstick - dollygolfmids
is it a 316 or a 318. these engines are prone to it, its abit of moisture getting onto the dipstick, apart from making it difficult to pull out and not looking nice, its fine and wont harm your engine. the only thing u can do is check your oil regulary and when doing so use a rag and clean it.
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Sun 25 Dec 2005 19:06
rusty dipstick - Screwloose
Duncan

There's one way to reduce the effect. Try lagging the dipstick tube with some proprietory small-pipe lagging. Even some plastic wiring sheathing round it might help. [It worked for Maestro's!]

It's only the flow of cold air past the tube that is allowing water vapour in the crankcase gases to condense in there before being extracted.

Alternately; buy another new dipstick but first take it to the electroplaters for the application of a suitable rust-resistant [zinc?] coating.

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Sun 25 Dec 2005 20:37
rusty dipstick - Civic8
cheaper way is to coat it in oil,use an oil soaked rag minimal amount of oil is needed and rub whole dipstick affected. shouldnt happen again
--
Steve
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Mon 26 Dec 2005 08:38
rusty dipstick - CJay{P}
This is quite 'normal'. I have had 3 E46 318iSEs in the past few years - they all had rust. Engines never gave any trouble. The six cylinder pots do not suffer from this 'characteristic'.
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Mon 26 Dec 2005 10:16
rusty dipstick - Oz
This is quite 'normal'. I have had 3 E46 318iSEs
in the past few years - they all had rust.
Engines never gave any trouble


Correct. My BMW dealership says the same.

Oz (as was)
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Mon 26 Dec 2005 13:00
rusty dipstick - Dynamic Dave
I assume this is just surface rust on the dipstick?
Will the rust over a long period of time corrode the metal to such an extent that it *could* let the dipstick detach itself and fall into the engine?
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Mon 26 Dec 2005 13:37
rusty dipstick - jc
No;the dipstick will probably outlast the car.
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Mon 26 Dec 2005 14:41
rusty dipstick - bell boy
better for it to rust than them silly plastic ones that a certain manufacturer made in the eighties that did break off,or the ones on astra"s corsa"s etc where the plastic top broke of at the end of the dipstick tube,add k11 micra"s on here as well.
Bedford cf dipsticks used to rust through as well.
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Mon 26 Dec 2005 17:51
rusty dipstick. 3¼ yr old BMW - Victorbox
You could try some Plasti-Dip as here: www.frost.co.uk/item_Detail.asp?productID=9051 This link is for yellow but other colours available. Yellow would make it look like how my Cavalier's metal dipstick came from Vauxhall - 17 years old & no rust.... on the dipstick at least!
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Tue 27 Dec 2005 14:20
rusty dipstick. 3¼ yr old BMW - Duncan
Thank you all for your suggestions and advice. It was my first ever new car (the 316), and I was just a little surprised.
I will propably check it and wipe it with oil periodically.
Thanks again, and all the best for problem free motoring in 2006
Duncan
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Tue 27 Dec 2005 18:01
rusty dipstick. 3¼ yr old BMW - Dude - {P}
The reason this happens on all BMW dipsticks is because they are fitted with two rubber `0` rings at the top of the dipstick which prevents any pressure built up within the sump from forcing oil up the dipstick tube & venting into the atmosphere.

Consequently the top of the dipstick never comes into contact with any oil and all you need to do to prevent rusting is to coat the top of the dipstick with a film of oil occasionally.

Because of the presence of these `O` rings, it is imperative to never read the dipstick after initial withdrawal, as it will always read low, because of the pressure built up within the tube. For an accurate reading the dipstick must be removed and cleaned before reinserting and removing again for reading. There have been several instances where people with new BMW`s have not followed the correct procedure and have overfilled them which can lead to serious engine damage.
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Tue 27 Dec 2005 18:18
rusty dipstick. 3¼ yr old BMW - Armitage Shanks {p}
Same procedure for SAAB 9-3 Diesels. The dipstick seal prevent the oil rising up the dipstick tube, thus giving a false low reading unless the dipstick is removed and then repalced to take the true reading. If the correct procedure is not followed terminal damage can be caused to the engine by the consequent overfilling of the sump.
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Thu 18 Aug 2011 17:42
rusty dipstick. 3¼ yr old BMW - Searcher

My BMW has same rusty dip-stick

The grommets at the top make sense as to the cause.

However rust is Ferrous oxide = Jeweller's rouge = very hard!

This will likely be taken round the engine = extra wear!

This constitutes a design fault?

Could it be painted with Hammerite?? or other?

Anyone know of BMW's responce?

Brian

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