I am trying to source a new dispstick for my Gen 4 Prius . It looks like the old one has shrunk as it no longer reaches the oil.
Somebody had that issue after an oil change when the dealer (?) did not tighten the drain plug properly.
Hmm...if you drove the car with the "shrunken" dipstick, you'll need a new engine. The dipstick will be included at no charge!
Now that's funny, right there. Just say it and run. Then peek around the corner to see who believed it. Thing is, that some people are dumb enough to do something like that, so it leaves everyone wondering. Hmmm. Was he serious?
Ooh look at mister fancy with the shortie oil pan. Can't just half fill the sump with water to float the oil higher like the rest of us.
OK, so I won't mention that it's carbon fiber with the optional titanium bolts package; $1900 plus shipping (it's quite light tho' so I saved a lot on shipping charges.....)
Look at the positives....get to lower the car even more, less scraping with the shorty oil pan install
That's what the little hole in the end of the dipstick is for. Just poke a wire through it, hang a barbell weight from the wire, and hang the dipstick by the top loop on a peg until it stretches back out.
But won't the sand fill in the grain of the custom cross-hatch file marks on the dipstick? Plus you'd need the matching grain of oil; not the best solution if you live/drive in places with limited selection in these uncertain times.
Nope! After Googling it, I find that I was living in Honduras. I guess I saw it on the news, but didn't pay much attention. Most of the cars around me were clunkers. Mine was pretty solid, but it was over 20 years old.
Actually they used sodium silicate to kill those driveable traded in cars, seizing up the engines. Cash For Clunkers Cars Killed Using Sodium Silicate - Business Insider