300 SDL oil dipstick dimensions, overfilled sump & sudden blow-by condition

[Sveinn]

Hello -
I have reason to believe that the oil dipstick in my 1986 300 SDL is not original and not the correct length. I think that the previous owner may have substituted a dipstick that is from a gasoline Mercedes, which caused the sump to be overfilled by about a gallon to 1.5 gallons.

Could someone with a 300 SDL do me a big favor and provide the following information: 1. What color is the plastic handle of the oil dipstick and/or 2. How long is the dipstick measured from the flat surface that makes contact on the top of the dipstick tube to the high oil level indicator.

A related question is this: the car initially had minimal blow-by and suddenly came down with a case of severe blow-by. A mist of oil spews out the fill hole when the cap is removed (with the engine running) along with a healthy flow of air. When I first purchased the car, there was no blow-by that I could detect. The blow-by developed over the course of about a 2 week period in which drove the car to work ~ 10 miles each way, with no lengthy weekend trips.

Could overfilling the sump have caused this rapid onset of a blow-by condition and if so, what components are most likely to have been damaged by the excess oil, resulting in the blow-by?

Thanks in advance for any help with this questions.
- Sveinn