Dipstick Dip Stick popped, popping, blow, blowing, blew out [Merged]

[scrcco]

I just installed a different head after my timing belt went. Everything is back together and the break-in period is over. Last night i revved past 5,000 rpm. for the first time and noticed it was struggling, I let off at 5,500. Then a riced-out Honda cruised by so i stepped on it, went to about 6,000 rpm's, now theres a huge cloud of smoke behind my car. I opened the hood to notice my dipstick shot up, and oil sprayed all over the underneath of my hood, then dripped all over the motor and exhaust. What could be the problem? I already replaced the PCV valve and does the same thing???

 

[BOBS90TURBO]

When I get on the gas hard the oil dipstick pops up and oil blows everywhere, I have replaced the dipstick and the pcv valve. I thought it was doing this because I had about 1/2 quart to much oil in the engine, but I took some out to normal and still pops up. If I have bad rings or something like that would the car be smoking, because it is not, and it runs very strong.

 

[Lordpaxin]

there is a vfaq on this.

try bending the top of the tube a little.
to hold tighter,

 

[Syndicate]

Originally posted by BOBS90TURBO
When I get on the gas hard the oil dipstick pops up and oil blows everywhere, I have replaced the dipstick and the pcv valve. I thought it was doing this because I had about 1/2 quart to much oil in the engine, but I took some out to normal and still pops up. If I have bad rings or something like that would the car be smoking, because it is not, and it runs very strong.

thats going to happen no matter what with blow by .. what you wanna do is take a piece of hard metal wire make a S with it .. top part of the s should hold down the dipstick while the bottom ( connected to the dipstick tube ) should have a normal serp clamp ( ring clamp the ones you use a screw driver to tighten ) to hold it on there .. will only go as high as the top of the S is which should be about 0 unless you shaped it wrong.

 

[NOSNUSE]

I just used zip ties and connected it to the wire hold down on the alternator, that way when I want to check the oil I just bend the hold down up a little and the dipstick comes out. Later.

 

[nineD5_GS-T]

Here is a nice idea.

http://www.plymouthlaser.com/dip.htm

 

[Defiant]

From Mike, at RRE:

"Dipstick popping out - happens due to crankcase pressure pushing the dipstick up:
A good running motor will blow out a dip stick with a shriveled hard rubber seal
A dead motor (lots of blow by, busted pistons) will blow out a good dipstick
A 1/2 dead motor will blow out a 1/2 dead dip stick
Depending on the actual cause and the severity, the fixes can be:
A spring/wire to hold the dipstick down
Pinch the tube at the top a bit
Get a new dipstick
A full engine rebuild or new pistons
If it blows out under boost with a glowing red turbo and manifold, it makes a nice engine fire. If it happens even once, figure out the cause and fix it."

http://vfaq.com/index-main.html

"Short Tips"

 

[Enigma_Man]

Safety Wire.

Think of it as high-temp duct-tape.

-Jesse

 

[ImportWarrior]

i would check all vac lines to make sure none are popped off.

check the pcv valve

usually it is because the vac lines that are connected from the head cover or engine block somewhere that go to the intake pipe are not working properly. they can not suck out the pressures created durring high boost or backpressure. if you can find that out you might resolve the problem.

 

[BOBS90TURBO]

It snowed here in Tulsa so I have not had a chance to check the compression yet, man I hope it is not bad. I did a temp fix, the one that nineD5 said to try, I took a piece of hose and covered the dipstick, it is holding perfect so far and I can still check the oil with no probs. If I had blow by would the car blow smoke or pressure out of the oil cap when removed and engine running, other than crappy idle the car runs great(strong) no tail pipe smoke at all.

 

[Enigma_Man]

If the car's running fine w/o smoking otherwise, I'd just suspect that the dipstick was old/worn, and that your engine is fine.

It's just a DSM thing.

-Jesse

 

[Bullitt]

So i was coming home from a nice exciting evening, and after a bit of spirited driving, i hit a HUGE pothole (it was about 1:15 am, and it was invisible). Soon after, i noticed my car running VERY rough. Since home was not far away, i know this was stupid, we just went to our garage and checked it out. it sounded like it was missing. No oil spray, so didnt expect this, but the dipstick was popped. well, pushed it in and a noticable sound change, but when i went back out, it wouldnt boost. Is this to be expected? i am almost positive its not the piston rings or any of that stuff as the motor was just rebuilt about 1k miles ago. Would running with the thing out long enough cause this? and secondly, would it be possible that the huge pothole somehow jarred it out? this seems very unlikely to me, but a just to be safe question i wanted to ask. Oh, car is a 90 Talon TSi AWD. K&N intake w/ cut aircan and catback exhaust are only mods. I hope to run a compression test on it on 2/1, but i'm pretty sure it's gonna check out fine. Anything else i should check? if i check the PCV, what should i look for? I already read all the other threads and couldnt find anything specific to this. As far as i know, the dipstick is as new as the rest of the bottom end.

And sorry for the speech-long post.

Brett

 

[blk91tsiawd]

Boost leak, pothole probably knocked a IC pipe off...

 

[RiceKiller_TSi]

What he ^^^ said.

 

[Bullitt]

Well, it looks like its the turbo gasket. The gasket is basically shattered, but i dont think that the pothole did that. It looks like thats the only problem. *whew* 200ish dollars to fix (dont have the time to do it myself, but a nice mechanic gives me flat rate labor +cost of parts). Looks like i ruined a few turbo bolts too, BUT to me thats not nearly as bad as having my boost restricted since i have yet had the time or funds to buy fuel management or logging equipment.

 

[WadexTSi]

After i got my car back from the shop (they replaced my engine cradle) my oil dipstick and the one from my transmission keeps poppin up. It usually only happens after wot. I drove around the block slow paced and checked it, all fine. Did it again but punched it and both dipsticks were up. I checked the fluid levels and the oil is only just over and the tranny is right on. Im totally lost on this one.

 

[Mike97-2GRS]

My dipstick popped out on my z28 and it was due to blow buy of the piston rings. This much blow buy is not a good thing. I am not sure about the tranny but the oil dipstick popping out means that you pressurized the crankcase enough to where the air pushed out the dipstick.

 

[WadexTSi]

Well I figured It has to do with high pressure, but Im not quitesure what to do about it. Theres a small bit of oil appearing on the side of my engine, so its probably getting to my gaskets. What did you do about it in your z28?

 

[heavyD]

Normally I would say its the dipstick o-ring but if it never happened until after the work that wouldn't be the problem. You should immediately take your car back to the shop as via blow-by or soomething else major pressure is building up in your crankcase. Not sure why it's happening in your tranny but the shop definately did something wrong.

 

[WadexTSi]

It was the PCV valve, a $6 part and 5minute install. That was all too easy.

 

[BOBS90TURBO]

Hey, Just take a 3" hose line that fits tight over the top, push down on it as long as it is a tight fit and it should hold, if not use a zip tie.

 

[Enigma_Man]

Dipstick-poppage is a common DSM occurance, and a couple of things can cause it, some bad, some not very bad.

Main cause: Worn dipstick rubber gaskety thing. It's just loose in the tube. You can either crimp the end of the tube slightly, so it holds onto the dipstick better, get a new dipstick, or do something like safety-wire the dipstick down to the tube. Simple.

Other cause: You have a problem internal to the engine. Something is causing the crankcase to become pressurized. It could be due to damaged/worn rings. It could also be that the crankcase ventilation is clogged up, as someone else mentioned.

How to fix: Do the "main cause" fixes, and then do a compression test on your motor. You might want to invest in a new PCV valve anyway, just for peace of mind. If the compression test turns out normal, you're all set. If not, you have more work to do.

-Jesse

 

[flyers27]

why did my oil dipstick come out on my last long trip? this has never happened before and is on my mind now every time i drive. how can i tell if and when it happens agian, and how can i prevent it? 90 talon tsi automatic, 75,000 miles. thank you

 

[1990CherryTSI]

or live with it. Search around, it's pretty much "normal" Mine does it when I get WOT alot. Get a new gasket, tape it down, or live with it etc etc, not really a problem from what I've seen. Just a

 

[flyers27]

what kind of gasket? where can i get it? thanks

 

[slowAWDTSi]

Youve got BLow By welcome to the club. The only real way to fix the problem is to rebuild the motor, but you can get a dipstick out of a 3.0l (chrysler preferred) and cut it down to the same size as your stock one and make new marks for the oil. It has a lot better seal on it and it wont blow out as easilly
Hope that helps
Dru