Trouble reading dipstick

[seadawg]

When the engine is cold, I can read the dipstick because there is a little bump in the oil on the stick. When I run the engine for a period of time, I cant get a read on it. The oil is all over the stick. What am I doing wrong? Ive checked it on the water, in the garage (on the hose). Am I looking for that same oil bump (not the notches) after the engine runs? Anybody

[RXPDAVID]

I don't know what you mean by a bump. You will get a different reading with a hot engine. Put a paper towel in your storage compartment and go ride after about 10 minutes- stop pull seat back- pull dipstick- wipe clean and put back in- pull back out and you should be able to get a good reading. Should be about 1/2 to 3/4 between marks.

[bic1]

David is right. The key to getting a good reading is to get the engine HOT-5 mins on the hose is insufficient, IMO, you have to ride the Ski. As a consequence, the oil is very thin and is pumping through the engine. This means that you must WIPE the stick first. I know what you maen about the "Bump". The level then can be difficult to read 'cos the oil is thin and there is only a very faint witness line at the level. I turn the stick in the sunlight to see where true level is.

[jack]

I got my ski back from its 10 hour service recently. I rode it for a while, checked the oil and it is about 1/4 inch above the top bump.

How much oil do I need to remove to put it in the center?

Why is this such a common problem? When it is cold and the dealer puts in the oil, does it read lower?

How is this product? Any other reccommendations?

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=10001&productId=10677[/url]

[bic1]

From my experience, the temperature of the engine, and how level the Ski is, is CRITICAL to checking the oil level. I think some dealers must check the oil using the hose to warm the engine and then don't allow for it not being up to full temperature! If I check the oil first after a ride then on the ramp - when maybe I've queued for 5-10 mins to get a slot on the hose - I can easily get a 3mm difference (drop) in Oil evel! I imagine if you use the hose from a stone cold engine the difference is even more and could lead to overfilling.
I've also noticed that once you get a false reading, the level won't come up by simply l"eaving the ski longer to let the oil settle". My personal explanation for this (and I'm NO expert - lots of people on this forum know far more about this than me!) is that when cooler the oil has less volume. Because of the dry sump design, oil is trapped in various chambers before it can run down into the measurement area. When cold, a larger percentage of the oil is therefore trapped in the chambers when cold, giving you a permanently lower reading until the thing's run up to FULL temperature (and therefore correct volume) again. The theory may be wrong, but this concept works for me when I'm checking the Oil level.
In short, I believe these things are easy to overfill!!

[jack]

any idea how much oil I would remove if it were about 1/4 inch above the upper limit?

[watermedic]

Try removing 1/2 a quart. That should get you between the marks. MOST times 2 and1/2 quarts is what it takes to get the desired level. The dealerships (at least the one I have dealt with) throw in 3 quarts.