Which is the correct reading on my dipstick?
 

Ok, so my 240D uses a lot of oil. It's old, it's go high miles, 322K and it's got both engine wear and leaks from literally every place that it could leak from. So much so that I have to clean out a lake of oil from the drip pan in my garage every weekend. So I know it uses oil and I'm ok with that. what I'd like to know is how am I supposed to know what the oil level actually is. On one side of the dipstick, the outboard side, away from the engine, it currently looks like this...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...psifbszce9.jpg
I read that as 50 percent and I need to add oil. But on the other side of the dipstick, the inboard or engine side it looks like this...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...pskissevo7.jpg

So which one is the accurate side? My previous 240D was pretty much the same but it didn't use nearly as much oil as this one does so I didn't have to check it as often. I'd just like to be sure I'm not adding too much when I top it up.

- Peter.

It is commonly suggested that one should not keep the oil level on these cars above the middle point between add oil and full oil.....
as it seems to use more oil above that mark .
I don't know why there would be so much difference side to side on your measurement.....
and interestingly.... you might want to check to see if the color of the dipstick handle is the proper one for Your car......just to make sure...

Dipstick handle is red, as was my previous I think. What should it be?

- Peter.

If I had a 616 engine that uses a lot of oil especially I would not hesitate to fill to the top mark.

The 60_ series engine is a lot more critical on oil level as there is no space between the top of the oil in the pan and the rotating crank and rods.

What if that CAUSED more oil to be used ?
This has been discussed a lot...and it is true on my car...
so that would be a true catch 22...
I suggest checking the oil level more often...

If you get a difference from one side to the other, wipe the dipstick off and try again. For a while I had some variance in readings like that and found that my oil pan was dented. A new oil pan fixed that issue.

My practice is to check oil at every fill-up. If the dipstick is not at least half full, I add oil.

If the oil drops too much between fill-ups, it's time to fix the leaks or get another engine.

Dkr.

That is what I did before I took these pics.

I've been under there looking and can find no signs of dents or damage to the pan.

I check more frequently than each fill up. At least once per week, sometimes more.

- Peter.

I found on my 190 that if I wipe the dipstick, insert it, and pull it out quickly (like right away) the measurements disagree side to side. Putting it back in, counting to 5 slowly, pulling it out, and holding it parallel to the ground made both sides very close.

I just have one piece of advice, and that is to NEVER skip a check or get lazy with topping it off. My IP to block oring leak went from a major nuisance to a critical catastrophic failure in 5 minutes. It went from a quart every two weeks to a quart every 10 minutes. That's a pressurized oil channel so that made it really bad, but if your engine is leaking from everywhere you really have to stay on top of it or else. :(

I've owned over a dozen 616s and have never found filling them to the upper line caused them to use oil. I know a lot of folks report that is so with theirs but I have not found it to be the case for me.

Thanks for acknowledging that if I am imagining this I am not the only one.
Saved me from trying to find those threads in the archives...

Thing is, though, he's losing a lot of oil to leaks... so, unless he's also burning a lot of oil, I don't see that making a huge difference.
Are there more critical points on the engine where the seals could cause a sudden increase in oil use? I would wonder if those are areas that should be addressed to keep the car reliable in the long term. For example, if the rear main is leaking, that's probably not going to get out of hand without plenty of warning, but turbo seals* could be something that would lead to big badness very quickly.

*I realize that Peter's car is NA; I'm using that as an example.

If you look at one side of the dipstick and the oil level is at a different level than the other side then you need to leave the dipstick in the tube at the bottom for a bit longer before pulling it out.
Here's the proper method:

Pull out dipstick, wipe it off.

Stick it back in to the bottom and leave it there for 5 seconds.

Pull it out and read it.

Most diesel engines use more oil when the level is at or above the high mark.

Any place there is oil, a gasket can leak. Any place there is pressurized oil (like my oring) the oil can spray out. On an NA engine, I suppose the oil filter housing gasket and the orings on the stem of the oil filter housing lid. The turbo adds that oil feed and drain into the mix.

If I were the OP, I'd start replacing gaskets and seals. Even if it's just easy to get at ones that don't leak all that much. It all adds up. Evdntualy you'll have to tackle the big ones, but it isn't as hard on a 616 with all the extra room you have. :)

I know that I need to replace gaskets. Especially upper an lower oil pan ones. Also it's leaking slightly from where one of the oil lines joins the oil filter housing. Probably the rear main and the front as well. and quite likely also the head gasket, towards the rear. Maybe even the valve cover gasket though I'm not sure of that. If I had the time and expertise to tackle these I'd start with the oil pans as I think these are the worst of the leaks.

- Peter