Ford Fiesta (2002 - 2008) - Disappearing Dip Stick

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Mon 24 Sep 2007 13:26
Disappearing Dip Stick - TMax
I have a 1.4TDCi Ford Fiesta that keeps eating the bottom 2" off the plastic oil dip stick. I am now on my third dip stick which has only lasted three weeks and the end has again broken off into the sump.
Anyone else had this problem.
Is there a metal dip stick that might be of use before I fill my sump up with yellow plastic!
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Mon 24 Sep 2007 13:41
Disappearing Dip Stick - Screwloose
TMax

That's sump-off for a look why. Sounds as though there's something come loose and flying about; that's what's catching the stick - better to find it before it makes a bid for freedom through the side of the block.
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Mon 24 Sep 2007 14:05
Disappearing Dip Stick - TMax
Hi Screwloose,

Thanks for that.
I was thinking along the same lines but I have noticed that a new dip stick does deform after being hot and becomes rather 'curly' at the end.
Could it be deforming so much as to come into contact with the moving parts of the engine?
I can't think of anything on the engine that might be loose and flapping about in the sump area. Apart from that the engine runs as sweet as a nut.
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Mon 24 Sep 2007 14:18
Disappearing Dip Stick - milkyjoe
i wouldnt use a metal one if the ends are being chewed up! are you sure you have the right one ? if its a bit long it could be rubbing on the crankshaft or associated parts or even the oil pump mechanism
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Mon 24 Sep 2007 14:20
Disappearing Dip Stick - Screwloose
TMax

I'd have thought that Ford [Peugeot?] would have made the stick from suitably heat-resistant material. [Just how hot are you getting that oil....?]

Dip sticks do often fit close up against moving components like crank webs; so any distortion could be a cause.

What does the dealer say? Are they selling a lot of new sticks?
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Mon 24 Sep 2007 14:55
Disappearing Dip Stick - TMax
I have bought the sticks from a Ford Dealer and each time have to wait two or three days.
That could mean that they have run out of stock or it's a non-stock item.
They are only made from a yellow plastic material which is quite thin and cheap looking (even though they are not cheap!)
They always break off at the same point just on the 'max' mark, so level readings are just in sight
I don't know how hot the oil gets but there are times when the car is idling in standing traffic. I wouldn't have thought this to be a problem as the water temp gauge is reading normal and there is no smell of burning or hot oil. The oil is also changed regularly at 5000 miles with Mobil1 0w-40 without any top ups in between.
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Mon 24 Sep 2007 14:26
Disappearing Dip Stick - none
We have a similar problem with the small Peugeot cars on the hire fleet. The dipsticks are cheap and nasty, and they have to be sort of twisted and threaded back into the dipstick hole. No matter how careful you are, they break.
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Mon 24 Sep 2007 15:42
Disappearing Dip Stick - jc2
Must be a Peugeot responsibility-every Ford I've come across has had a metal stick-some flat,some round but always metal.
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