No oil read on dip stick
 

Morning Gents,

So, I just did an oil change on my 2005 4.4i and I added the 8.5 quarts that it needs, but, the dip stick isn't reading any oil! What the hell? Should I add more oil, let the car run a bit to circulate the oil, what to do?

You ran the car, oil light indeed went out? Assuming so, perhaps the oil is so clean / light in color, that it's not easy to notice on the dipstick.

Getting a bit of a read now, but it's odd, one one side of the circular reader it reads near full, but on the other side it reads Minimum. Oil light never came on, I have a gasket behind the alternator bracket that is shot and it pisses oil out, so I change to replace the lost oil often.

M62 has a specific list of known things to attend to - oil leak at the alternator bracket is indeed one of them. Resolving this and proactively covering the other known issues is the best way to enjoy the car over time. Look at it this way, we no longer loose much value in depreciation compared to a new or very recent car, so spending $1K on many things (unless you can do it yourself) is still cheaper than a newer car (which will also cost more to insure).

I clean the dipstick including the grooves, then dip in fully pull it out and set on a piece of paper or clean paper towel. The wet registers absolutely no guessing at all.

Dry dipstick is only about 1.5L low it won't even set off the low oil light.

I recently diagnosed that alternator bracket leak for my buddy. It's a chore to replace a $3 part but you can do solo in a couple evenings or maybe one solid grueling day.

What Gregory says it's very true I could probably sell my car for within $1000 of purchase price 3 years later! $333/yr (plus the $40/month I spend on repairs). Amazing value nodoubt.


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I'm waiting for the hot weather to come back before I tackle that leak...not really looking forward to it! But, I plan on taking a week off from work to fix it. Until then, I have time to figure out a permanant fix to those two worthless holes!

Two things. New gasket. Install with liberal application of permatex grey/black gasket maker. Never have to do it again. Good luck. :thumbup:

Not looking forward to having to do mine in the future. Will probably combine it with motor mounts and timing cover gaskets for added fun factor. :rolleyes:

Follow correct procedure when reading oil on the N62! There is a reason BMW removed the dipstick; cause nobody knows how to read the oil level! Oil should be checked when engine has reached operating temperature and then been shut off for 1 minute...

Manual for M54 says five minutes


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THANK YOU!!! I've been searching for a permanent fix! And same as you, I might as well do the motor mounts and other gaskets, since one side is leaking oil on top of the header as well.