Is my bent dipstick normal? (2004 - VY2 - Commodore Wagon).

[vk4akp]

Hi guys,

Just wondering, is having a bent dipstick a normal thing?

I"m a new owner of a VY2 commodore. (Not used to the newer cars) my last car was a 1981 Starfire 4cyl Commodore of 16+ years.

The Auto transmission dipstick has a decent bend just before the tip. About an inch down from the end. Almost perfectly where the "Low" mark is.
It juts out about 22 deg from the long shaft section.

The whole thing is quiet long apparently I have a deep pan version? So need a really long one to get it all the way in.

The car was owned by an old gent who religiously serviced the vehicle with only the best spot on service dates regardless if the kilometers were up or not so I want to continue to look after it well.

I'm not 100% sure yet how to check the trans fluid levels correctly.
I don't think I'm getting the car hot enough as it seems to show on the low hot mark after a short run, or on the low cold mark from stationary.
I put it in park while at idle?
The fluid is very clean, clear, no burnt smell etc. In fact so clean it's hard to be sure where it stops on the stick.
I've bought some dextron III and can top it up a bit if you think it's necessary.

First complete change I will go fully synthetic. He suggested this and has been running synthetic in the engine already.

Any info appreciated.

P.S. I can take a picture of my dipstick if anyone wants to see and comment?

.-.-.

 

[vy1tonnerbloke]

Probably should go see a doctor about that...

 

[vk4akp]

Humm, Well I still don't know if this is a normal thing.

I tried to check that transmission oil again last night a good 5-6 times.
Very hard to read the thing.
The car was definitely hot, it had just had over an hour of constant driving.
I ran the gears up and down before leaving it in park.
I also now note that written on the stick is the instructions to leave the car running while in park to check. So I have been doing it correctly.
If I am reading it right it's sitting at the very bottom of the indicator hot marks.
It's not a very big gap between the two so I wonder how much oil to add to top it up just a tad to the top mark?
I'll take a picture later and post here.
The other thing I've noted is that the stick doesn't seem to want to freely go in all the way.
It bottoms out at the end of full insertion. I have tried all different angles but it just seems a tad too long. Perhaps this is why it's bent?

.-.-.

 

[goony]

Doono if this helps, but some trannys have twisted dipsticks I'm told. Probably harder to read correctly in that case.

 

[SaUte]

Hi guys,

Just wondering, is having a bent dipstick a normal thing?
It juts out from the long shaft section.
The whole thing is quiet long So need a really long one to get it all the way in.
The fluid is very clean, clear, no smell etc. In fact so clean it's hard to be sure where it stops on the stick.

P.S. I can take a picture of my dipstick if anyone wants to see and comment?

You sure your on the right site

 

[kiwicon]

so much win in this thread... but as goony said, try twisting it when putting it in..

 

[vk4akp]

OK. So as promised. Pictures and even a video today. Sorry I took so long. I was going to try and take one on level ground to show the actual oil level when hot but didn't get a chance. Maybe next time.

[video]http://shazam.zapto.org/igal/vy2-commodore-1/VIDEO0317.mp4[/video]

So is this normal? Or should I chase a new one?

.-.-.

 

[Dirbatua]

its fine, dont worry about it.

 

[vk4akp]

its fine, dont worry about it.

OK, So you can confirm that yours is bent also?

.-.-.

 

[kiwicon]

OK, So you can confirm that yours is bent also?

I hang slightly to the left on warm days..