anyone got any tips for reading this thing. i've checked the oil in it a few times in the 700 miles i've driven it so far and can't seem to be able to get a clear reading from the stick. i kind of want to know if i need to add oil or not. all suggestions welcome.

 

I modified mine a very low tech way. With a small drill bit I made some marks by the high / low lines. If the lower mark is dry, I need to add oil.

 

I like to check the oil when the engine is cold.

Pull the dipststick out and wipe it clean.
Reinsert dipstick
Pull out again and turn it so it's now horizontal. (So the oil doesn't run all over the dipstick)
There should be a line at the bottom, one in the middle, one at the top. Stay in between the middle one and the top one and you should be good.
If it's near the middle one, you'll need about a half a quart of oil

 

I don't really understand this question.

 

What Jedi said

 

Do you have the old dipstick, or the new dipstick?

http://www.finishlineperformance.com...7-04-1438b.pdf

 

Are you, or are you not, fitted with the anti-foam tube??

http://www.finishlineperformance.com...09-05-1450.pdf

 

Do you like movies about gladiators?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/lis...Fencoding=UTF8

 

Hold the dipstick at an angle to the light, you can see it that way and check both sides.

 

I read the manual....from back to front...yes I am sad...however the manual says to run the engine until at normal running temp. then let the car rest for 5 minutes and then check the oil. It seems that checking it cold my not give you an accurate reading?? Anyway checked mine for the first time....where is the simple dipstick design...why are there so many lines??? Oh well (LOL) back to the manual..... Oh yeah and what Gomez said also.... Good Luck

 

Hot oil expands that's why check after 10 minutes of shutting down engine for the oil to drip back down to the pan.

 

check it at home in your driveway when cold, it's the only way to get a consistent reading since it'll probably always sit in the same way and at similar temperatures.

edit: just check it the same way every time and you'll be ok

 

rotor convert, i red the manual too. still i couldn't tell if it was ok or not on the stick. on every other car i had it was so easy to read, but it must be a combination of the 5w20 and the skinny little stick that increases the difficulty. i'll try it cold later today at work. if that doesn't work i'll try to get the new dipstick. and if that still doesn't work, i just do what expo1 did. thanks.

 

Nice try

 

I too find the dipstick very difficult to read. The color of it just makes no contrast with the oil. I end up having to do a little dance with it until I find an angle where the light hits it right and I can read it.

 

I have the "old" style dipstick and found it difficult to read as well. What I did was to lightly sand the flat part on both sides, being careful not to sand off the high/low markings. I used a very fine grit sandpaper, it lightened the color of the dipstick, more to silver color and made it easier to see the oil on it. I also took care to really clean off the dipstick before putting it back into the engine to avoid any filings getting into the engine.

 

Mazda needs to do three things regarding the oil dipstick:

1) Make it easier to access.

2) Make the frickin thing easier to read (what a stupidly designed dipstick).

3) Add an underhood light so that you can read the thing without a flashlight after sundown.

 

Add a light so you can find the damn pinhole of a oil sheath while you're at it.

And make some way to siphon off that oil/water frothy mess that shows up. Yeah, I know there's a plastic tube you can put in there, but that's a pain in the *** too. Besides which, I'm guessing that chocolate milk looking oil/water froth isn't something you want in your engine anyway.

 

a little trick to make reading the oil levels on the stick easier:

when you insert the dipstick, make sure the side of the stick with the markings is FACING THE ENGINE when you insert it into the tube. I have found that by inserting the dipstick in this orientation gives VERY clear reading on the dipstick.

 

I can't belive you guys are having problems reading a DIPSTICK! it's not THAT hard!!

 

wtf @ thread

 

Jedi, I agree that it isn't that hard especially when it is warm outside. On the other hand if you were in the colder climes where you get a nice brown froth (in Philly that is between Late October to Late February) and I've even tried reading it after over an hour of driving you still have the foam on the dipstick. Now, in the dark recesses of the engine try dipping and reading over six times to clear the foam, cussing the skinny a$$ little dipstick and the tube to put it in....then having to crane around under the station lights to read it. All the while the biting wind blowing up your own a$$. LOL, guess I should move out to Newport Beach...

 

Top that off with in MN, it's dark when you get up, and it's dark when you're coming home from work. That cold wind is a nice -30 windchill and see how much fun it is to be dicking around with a dipstick in the dark.

I will say that I've never had a problem in the summer, it seems like the winter is when it's really noticeable.

 

Am I the only one with lots of lights in my garage??

 

I tend to use a 6 step process to precisely monitor the oil on the dipstick. Please feel free to make this a sticky or add in to the DIY section:

Step1: Using my left hand on the right side of the car, reach for the dipstick in a reverse overhand position, with my bodyweight evenly distributed over the special non-slip floor mat made specifically for this purpose.

Step2: Take a deep thoracic breath using the rib muscles and expanding the rib cage.

Step3: ****** and grab the dipstick in a continuous motion with a standing forward bend (Pada Hasthasana).

Step4: Once the stick has emerged from its stem, hold in a horizontal Still Cobra pose (Bhujangasana) and focus on the golden fluid at the tip of the stick.

Step5: This is the most difficult step, requiring tremendous strength of will and intellect. Monitor the liquid between the upper and lower indicator bars on the tip of the stick. Channel and transmute your emotions and concentrate on the golden liquid.

Step6: Recite the mantra "Om Gum Gurubhuyo Namah" (Om Salutations and Prostrations to Rotarswati) and return the stick of wonder to its recepticle.

Repeat as required

Oranje