Guys was driving back home in the mk4 focus 1.5 auto and noticed a tappet type sound when I pulled up on revving the motor 

I definitely do not like the dip stick on the focus I find it hard to read! Attached imagine is the current engine oil just above the min line? Or am I reading this wrong?? 

 

Pic not great il get some more added tomorrow 

I have also found it hard to read . It seems that oil on the sides of the dipstick tube gets deposited on the stick making it hard to see the level . You have to pull it in and out several times to be sure where oil line is.Also because oil is very thin not much stays on the stick. Cant really tell anything from your pix but probably ok. These engines are noted for noisy valve gear.

Yes, it does seem to stick above the marks.

On any car you need to wipe it first with a tissue or rag then place it back in and out to get a correct reading otherwise you are just speading it.

32 minutes ago, F0CUE said:

On any car you need to wipe it first with a tissue or rag then place it back in and out to get a correct reading otherwise you are just speading it.

Of course you do ? But this is one is exceptionally difficult to read accurately.

1 hour ago, Comares2001 said:

Of course you do ? But this is one is exceptionally difficult to read accurately.

Exactly this I've wiped it but hard to tell exactly where the oil is sitting, such a poor design is there any aftermarket dipsticks you can actually read properly? 

One side showing max perfectly 

The other side showing above max? How irritating 

3 hours ago, Jay035 said:

Exactly this I've wiped it but hard to tell exactly where the oil is sitting, such a poor design is there any aftermarket dipsticks you can actually read properly? 

One side showing max perfectly 

The other side showing above max? How irritating 

I see it looks stained like it's getting too hot that is not good. As long as it's near the fifth hole it's good enough if u can read it tho. If it was me I would investigate if there is another type that would work but read better.

Yeah not great the motor is still under warranty il be taking it in and highlighting this issue at the same time the seatbelt sensor gets sorted 

I don't know if the 3 cylinder unit generally runs hotter than the 4

looks like a great idea if the engine is clean and the oil is new you can't see the level on many cars.  when you check on a warm engine running 20 or 30 weight oil it drains off before you can see it.  This improved design, I expect you look to see if the holes are filled and it just works

they give book called an "owners manual" it will explain how use the car

1 hour ago, Botus said:

looks like a great idea if the engine is clean and the oil is new you can't see the level on many cars.  when you check on a warm engine running 20 or 30 weight oil it drains off before you can see it.  This improved design, I expect you look to see if the holes are filled and it just works

they give book called an "owners manual" it will explain how use the car

Unfortunately the stick design doesn't really help as its the oil stuck to the sides of the dipstick tube that obscures the reading when the stick is pulled out.I have also found its actually harder to read when engine is cold as opposed to warm/hot. I have had similar on other vehicles but not as bad as this one.

 

Hi All,

just resurrecting this thread as I am fed up with not being able to read/understand this stick. 
 

in the good old days with an all metal stick you just took it out wiped it and got a reading. I’d like to think I’m reasonably intelligent but I just can’t get to grips with this stick as it always reads differently- maybe I’m the dipstick!

Has anyone found a replacement or found a reliable way of getting a reading from these ones? Eg reading it when engine cold or engine hot and step by step how to get a reliable reading.

I feel like an idiot posting this but I can’t figure it out!

cheers all!
Si

 

I thought the oil level should only be checked when cold? to get a correct level.

Thanks Mark, I’ll give that a try

When the engine is running there's an amount of oil circulating through the engine, and therefore not in the sump where the dipstick is.  It doesn't really matter about the oil temperature, but basically you're just waiting for all the oil to drain back to the sump again after switch off.  The 1.0 EcoBoost is well known for taking ages for all the oil to drain back to the sump, which is why they often end up with the wrong level after servicing, as the tech doesn't have time to wait for another level check after drain down.

Take the reading from the semi-clean side of the dipstick blob.  As the side showing an overfill has just picked up oil from the inside of the tube as it was pulled out.  I wouldn't worry about a bit of excess on this engine, would be more worried if there's nothing showing on the dipstick!

 

Thanks Tom, that’s a big help!