Hello everybody, Roger here.

I dont appear too many times on the site because my Ford is now a Mercedes so we only have my wifes Focus.....its a 2005 Ghia 2.0 Saloon....nice car, black paint, black leather inside, but something of the night about it. By that I mean it does (or has done) some odd things. All of my cars have male names but I call this one Christine....

Anyway, to the chase. I believe that frequent changes of oil and filter are the key to an engines' longevity (I've had a '73 VW 1303 for 30 years and that doesnt even have a filter...) and wifes car does short runs from cold starts so I change the oil and filter every 10000 miles and have done since we bought the car in 2007. I stamp the service book and write the filter change date on the filter itself. Done about 80000 miles now, no problems except....

I do encourage wifey to check the oil at least once a week - I've told her that if she doesnt then one day she'll look in her mirror as she does occasionally and see bits of (Christine's) engine following her down the road.One day she asked me to come and have a look. So I did. The dipstick was clean. Tried again. Nothing. Car is on my driveway, level ground. How can this be? I changed the oil and filter two weeks previously. Correct amount of correct oil, same correct type of filter. So I put half a litre of oil in, ran it around the block and left it. Checked again after a couple of hours. Dipstick shows halfway up. Perfect.

A week later I check it again. Dipstick is clean. Nothing on it. Another half litre in. Same result as before, dipstick now shows half way.

And so on....next time I decide to drain the oil and measure how much comes out. Amount is half a litre short of what I originally put in when I changed the oil. Assuming there is some oil still in the filter then that should be OK. Put it back in, check level, OK. A week later, dipstick shows clean..what???

So where is the oil going? Car doesnt leak at all, doesnt rattle, doesnt apparently burn oil (no blue smoke). Told you it does odd things....

Have any of you come across this before? Is there a possibly a baffle in the sump which has become displaced? Have any of you stripped one of these engines/ Any ideas?

Sorry about the long post, but if a story needs to be told I believe it needs to be told properly......

.....something of the night about it. By that I mean it does (or has done) some odd things. All of my cars have male names but I call this one Christine....

A lady of the night, then

....next time I decide to drain the oil and measure how much comes out. Amount is half a litre short of what I originally put in when I changed the oil. Assuming there is some oil still in the filter then that should be OK. Put it back in, check level, OK.

Let's get this right - are you saying that next time you found the dipstick clean you drained it and found it half-a-litre short then put that oil back in and it came halfway up the dipstick?

I have found with my 1.8HE petrol that I need to dip it twice to get a true reading because an airlock seems to develop in the dipstick tube due, I think, to the 'O'-ring that seals it at the top. From what you've described this isn't the same as what you're seeing, though, which does, indeed, sound weird. If you'd really lost a litre or more that would have to have made a real mess.

A lady of the night, then

Let's get this right - are you saying that next time you found the dipstick clean you drained it and found it half-a-litre short then put that oil back in and it came halfway up the dipstick?

I have found with my 1.8HE petrol that I need to dip it twice to get a true reading because an airlock seems to develop in the dipstick tube due, I think, to the 'O'-ring that seals it at the top. From what you've described this isn't the same as what you're seeing, though, which does, indeed, sound weird. If you'd really lost a litre or more that would have to have made a real mess.

Mike, you may be familiar with the Stephen King book (later also a film) of the same name. Christine. She was I think (and somebody will correct me here, hopefully) a 1950's Plymouth Fury and for some reason possessed a supernatural power. As I recall, the opening titles saw her being built to the soundtrack of George Thorogood's song Bad To The Bone. As one of the assembly line workers put his hand on the radiator, the bonnet came down and took off his fingers. Yes, I would say that is about right....

But seriously. The engine does not leak oil. One of my pet hates is that, so if it did I would sort it out. It doesnt appear to burn oil either (yes, I know all engines do but this one doesnt emit blue smoke. Or any smoke at all...). I suspect that there is a baffle inside the sump where the end of the dipstick sits; this has become displaced so the dipstick end is floating about in mid-air...

I'll need to drain the oil again and measure the quantity removed. But I have already done that....

Or I could remove the sump and take a look...ermmm..dont think I'll bother...I have tried using a substitute dipstick AKA a straightened wire coathanger (v carefully, of course) and there is oil in the sump. But then I knew that...

Amongst the other strange things...well, about two years ago the central locking system decided that it would unlock all the doors except the front passenger door. I took the car to my local Ford franchise and every lock worked perfectly. The chief tech at the dealership (also called Mike) who I know well having taken all of my Fords there for the last ten years, tested the locking system intensively and even stripped down the lock on the passenger door, tested it and could not find any fault. Mike knows his stuff. I know that because he used to work on my Galaxy.....(aaargh, as he would say..)

Before I left the dealership I tried locking and unlocking the passenger door. No problem. When we got home, my wife (who was in the passenger seat) couldnt open her door.....

I couldnt open it from the outside either. She had to climb across and get out of the drivers door. Fifteen minutes later, she had to take my mother-in-law home. She went outside, fired the central locking and....the door opened. Took Mum home, door opened, no problem. Got home and out of the car, tried to open the passenger door and......no go.

Nice story, yes. And no doubt it can be explained. But what about the time when I used Chris for work...I turned up at an office in Manchester. It was chucking it down with rain, big time, but to get into my space I had to move a cone reserving the space. Didnt put my coat on because it wouldnt take long, left the engine running, lights and wipers on. Got out of the car, moved the cone, went to get back in and.....all the doors were locked. No kidding, Standing there in the deluge in my shirtsleeves, car sitting there in the middle of the car park with engine running, lights on and wipers intermittent...and all doors locked...huh?

Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters, of course....

So wheres the oil going then?

As an aside, would anyone like to purchase a very nice black Focus 2.0 Ghia saloon? Very well cared for....

Mike, you may be familiar with the Stephen King book (later also a film) of the same name. Christine. She was I think (and somebody will correct me here, hopefully) a 1950's Plymouth Fury and for some reason possessed a supernatural power. As I recall, the opening titles saw her being built to the soundtrack of George Thorogood's song Bad To The Bone. As one of the assembly line workers put his hand on the radiator, the bonnet came down and took off his fingers. Yes, I would say that is about right....

A '58 if I remember correctly. The cover of the book enticed me to buy the book and started me reading Stephen King, think I've read 90% of his books now.

Opening scene from Christine for you ;)