Reading the dipstick

Has anybody figured out how to read the oil level in the 3.0 Liter Mitsubishi
V-6 engine that can be found in Voyagers and other minivans?

1. I tried leaving the dipstick out for 15 minutes. This seems to give a
somewhat clear reading on the BACK of the dipstick.

2. It appears that oil is always leaking down the stick so it appears FULL when
it is not.

3. Why did they do this? I have enough things in life to make me feel stupid.
Dipsticks used to be easy to read.

Why do many sharp bends in the dipstick? I was tempted to feed a tiny tube down
the hole to try and get an accurate reading.

Anyway, I am using 5W-30 semi-synthetic Conoco/Kendall. I am going to add
dinosaur 5W-30, a cheap brand for topping off.

I noticed that Conoco/Kendall has a:
CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY (KENDALL MOTOR OIL) KENDALL GT-1 HIGH MILEAGE SYNTHETIC
BLEND 5W-30 SL

Would this be the cat's meow for the coming 200,000 mile club?

I wonder where I would get this stuff anyhow.

Talking of fluids, I was amazed to see that ATF+3 is being sold by a variety of
oil companies now. Okay, how much risk is there as compared to the ATF+3
[7176E?] of OEM by Chrysler? I would still prefer the Chrysler product. Any
thoughts from those in the know?

 

I've always found it easiest to check mine with the engine cold. That
way the oil is fairly thick and stays put on the stick. Also, any oil
that found its way up the tube has had all night to drain back down.

Matt

Why? That just defeats the purpose of using synthetic. Why not top up
with the same oil you are using in the engine?


Matt

 

I have used both the Quaker State and Pennzoil ATF+3 available at my local
auto parts store with no ill effects or problems in two of my older vehicles
in the past. ATF+3 became available from 3rd party vendors at roughly the
same time (1999 or 2000?) that ATF+4 (which is only available at a Chrysler
Dealer) hit the market. I use the ATF+4 exclusively in my 1996, 1999, and
2001 Chrysler products, but still use the ATF+3 in my 1991 Mitsubishi
3000GT.

Bob

 

I use offbrand ATF+3, and I have very good luck with it. I've had three
4-speed Chryslers, no tranny failures yet.

 

I am taking the reading with the engine stone cold. When I said I leave out the
dipstick for 15 minutes, that's something I read on allpar.com to help get a
clear reading - but again, that's after the engine has been cold. On my engine,
it's just not an easy read. I have never seen a car with a dipstick so hard to
read. Makes me feel like an idiot. More than necessary. The oil mark is all
over and most of the time appears full or more than full. And I have yet to
figure out why the dipstick has very sharp bends in it when the tube in which
it sits is an ordinary curved shape. I would love to meet the person who
designed this dipstick. Twisted. Must have been wasted on too much saki.

Good point. The dealer is using this in bulk. I can ask if the dealer will sell
in single quarts or look around to find this one or another semi-synthetic of
the same caliber. Maybe 10W-30 for the summer? Or keep it simple. Who sells
Kendall anyways? Performance shops still?