Dipstick color

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Hey everyone, recently i realised my dipstick's oil submerged area, is blackish in color.
I cleaned it well, oil changed, it is still blackish in color.
I gather it could be a metal material reaction to something.
I have never encountered dipsticks to be black in color on the lower portion.
Probably heat? Or probably because of my adding of Liqui-Moly Ceratec.
Anybody has this problem?
 
Originally Posted By: MarcosTan
Hey everyone, recently i realised my dipstick's oil submerged area, is blackish in color.
I cleaned it well, oil changed, it is still blackish in color.
I gather it could be a metal material reaction to something.
I have never encountered dipsticks to be black in color on the lower portion.
Probably heat? Or probably because of my adding of Liqui-Moly Ceratec.
Anybody has this problem?


"I gather it could be a metal material reaction to something." - Probably.
"Probably heat?" probably not heat alone.
"Or probably because of my adding of Liqui-Moly Ceratec." - Probably, though I've no experience with that.

Assuming you've got no history of gross overheating (this an aircooled engine?) you could experiment, if you care enough.

Get two small containers, (small bottles or cans, bottles better) and two pieces of bare, degreased steel (nails, or maybe pins or needles probably convenient. Alloy won't be the same but probably close enough)

Put a little treated/untreated oil in each bottle with a steel thing and heat both in a double boiler daily for a week or until you get bored. Don't cap the bottles. If the treated oil turns the pin/needle/nail black, and the control oil doesn't, you have your suspect.
 
Originally Posted By: Kira
^^ ABOVE QUESTION IS GOOD^^



No it isn't. At least not if "I cleaned it well" means "I cleaned it well".
 
Maybe an aftermarket dipstick made of some cheapy metal? I've never seen that, even on some old engines that haven't had their oil changed in a long time. It is always wipe the dipstick and it looks clean and shiny, even on diesel engines where the oil is really black and nasty. If the bottom of the dipstick has blobs of goo on it you have sludge in your crankcase. Time to run some cleaning stuff on short OCIs.
 
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Dipsticks are tough and springy, maybe you got a piece that was blued on one end from heat treatment or some process like that.
 
Originally Posted By: Ducked
Originally Posted By: Kira
^^ ABOVE QUESTION IS GOOD^^



No it isn't. At least not if "I cleaned it well" means "I cleaned it well".


Not familiar with ceratec additive. I was considering that a moly additive could make it look like that. I have used a liquimoly additive that made the end of the dipstick look olive black.
 
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It the car by chance a Chrysler product? I had a 2001 Dodge truck that for some reason the lower part of the dipstick below the safe zone was black from the factory. It was supposed to be that way.
 
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