[asdfvinay]

Hi,

I have a 2008 Tata Indigo LS TDI with 56K on the odo. Lately I observed that oil is coming out of the engine oil dipstick. Though I did not measure how much oil the car is loosing per every 100/1000km, there is definitely good amount of oil coming out. The dipstick is loose and is not fitting snug. When the engine is idling, I removed the dipstick and looked inside the pipe, there are droplets of oil jumping almost till the end of pipe. I closed the pipe with finger and did not feel any pressure from inside.

Are these droplets common?
Is it the loose dipstick because of which the oil is coming out or is there something else to be concerned of?

There are no other problems, engine temp is normal, starts up normally, runs normally, no abnomal black smoke. I took the car to TASS and they said the oil coming out could be because of compression loss. They also suggested replacing the dipstick with a new one so that it will fit tight. I asked them to replace the dipstick and also to do a compression test as they said there could be compression loss.

Is it possible that these droplets/oil coming out of dipstick tube is the result of compression loss.

Today evening I got a call from TASS that they have done the compression test. They said the first cylinder is weak with a compression of 17 and remaining cylinders are good with around 20, 20.5 etc. They say 17 is slightly less than normal and there is nothing to be concerned of.

The TDI engine has a plastic dummy on the right side of the tappet cover. There is oil leakage from this also since a month or so. Can this be something related to the oild leak from the dipstick tube?

I will be getting the car back tomorrow with a new dipstick, tappet cover dummy and gasket.

The car was always chauffeur driven, but it was never revved hard and all oils changed regularly. I'm concerned about the low compression part at just 56k.

Waiting for your answers as they will help me decide whether to keep the car or replace.

Soon I will have to change the clutch and power steering rack(it also started leaking oil lately) and I don't think the time and effort in this is worth when the engine itself is not in its best shape.

[Ashley2]

I am not sure of the problem here.
Wrt, dipstick how is the O ring in it. Worn out/ damaged?
If there is not proper - which is established by proper O ring sealing, chances are there might be some oil seepage from it.

[ramzsys]

Unless you have serious performance issues, don't worry about this oil from dipstick stuff.

Technically it may be as simple as a bad crankcase ventilation or complicated as in worn out piston rings, again no big deal for a tata engine.

[greenhorn]

Is it possible that these droplets/oil coming out of dipstick tube is the result of compression loss.

Thats what usually is the case. This is how most second hand dealers check if the engine is due for an overhaul or not. But given that your compression test came out negative, not really sure....

[asdfvinay]

Thankyou all for the answers. I'm still confused of what could be the cause.

Can someone tell me if the compression test numbers(17, 20, 20, 20) are healthy?

Originally Posted by Ashley2

I am not sure of the problem here.
Wrt, dipstick how is the O ring in it. Worn out/ damaged?
If there is not proper - which is established by proper O ring sealing, chances are there might be some oil seepage from it.

Do you mean the seal at the top of the dipstick? I think it is damaged/wornout because the dipstick is very loose and is allowing the oil to comeout of the tube even when it is inserted. This is the reason I'm going to replace the dipstick today. Is it normal for oil to comeout because of this wornout stick?

Originally Posted by greenhorn

Thats what usually is the case. This is how most second hand dealers check if the engine is due for an overhaul or not. But given that your compression test came out negative, not really sure....

Also there is no smoke from the tube, if there is compression loss, shouldn't there be some smoke coming out of this tube?

Originally Posted by ramzsys

Unless you have serious performance issues, don't worry about this oil from dipstick stuff.

Technically it may be as simple as a bad crankcase ventilation or complicated as in worn out piston rings, again no big deal for a tata engine.

No performance issues at all, just concerned about the oil as this could be the indication of a bigger problem to come. I will also check other cars at the TASS today to see if they have these droplets inside the tube at idling.
If it were PCV or piston rings, shouldn't there be some gas leaking out? Didn't notice anything like that.

[Catalyst_delhi]

Get a new dipstick and check if the oil is leaking still. You could check the PCV system as well. Get the compression test done again at another garage. I am sure this would be just due to weak o rings on dipstick.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by asdfvinay

...oil is coming out of the engine oil dipstick.
The dipstick is loose and is not fitting snug.
Are these droplets common?
Is it the loose dipstick because of which the oil is coming out or is there something else to be concerned of?

'Back compression' or blow-by past the rings doesn't do this. You get oil vapour pouring out of the dipstick hole, not oil itself. You're probably getting oil trickling out only because the dipstick is fitting loosely.

Change the dipstick. Or wrap the neck of the dipstick with thread seal tape (Teflon tape) to make it fit snugly, and then check again for leaks.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by asdfvinay

I removed the dipstick and looked inside the pipe, there are droplets of oil jumping almost till the end of pipe.

I think, this happens due to excess crank case pressure. This might be due to:

• Worn out rings
• Blocked PCV valve (crank case ventilation)

However, if rings are worn out, you should see some blow by air (smoke), from the oil filler cap, and also some smoke along with the oil from the dipstick.

In this case, as there is just oil, please check PCV valve. However, if you are unlucky, it might also be rings.

Also, if your dipstick is not fitting well, means the O-Ring is worn out. Please replace it ASAP, as it prevents contaminants from entering.

[mayankjha1806]

The other thing you should check is how much oil, in terms of quantity you are loosing, this should be checked when engine is cold and the dip stick to measure the oil level.

If there is a significant drop in oil levels over a decent time frame (probably one month), then its something i would be worried about. Otherwise it is a problem which needs to be fixed but not immediately.

[coriollis]

Originally Posted by asdfvinay

Hi,
Waiting for your answers as they will help me decide whether to keep the car or replace.

56k is not a huge mileage for failure.
I had 2003 Indigo Lx. Had experienced similar thing when odo read 65k, but nothing whatsoever happened and we clocked 130k on the odo(Stock clutch)
If there is compression loss then I feel that:
1.There would be noticeable drop in acceleration.
2.There is prominent gain in mileage as oil is also consumed as fuel.

If nothing of that sort is happening then:

Check your catalytic converter.. It has a tendency of getting clogged up, resulting in back pressure on engine causing untimely head gasket failure.

Please do have a check on your chauffeur's left foot. Clutch change at 56k is not acceptable.
Please don't lose patience. I made a blunder by selling mine. There is lot of life left in your car.
Drive safe
Cheers!

[asdfvinay]

Thankyou all for the responses.

Originally Posted by Catalyst_delhi

Get a new dipstick and check if the oil is leaking still. You could check the PCV system as well. Get the compression test done again at another garage. I am sure this would be just due to weak o rings on dipstick.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

'Back compression' or blow-by past the rings doesn't do this. You get oil vapour pouring out of the dipstick hole, not oil itself. You're probably getting oil trickling out only because the dipstick is fitting loosely.

Change the dipstick. Or wrap the neck of the dipstick with thread seal tape (Teflon tape) to make it fit snugly, and then check again for leaks.

Originally Posted by dhanushs

Also, if your dipstick is not fitting well, means the O-Ring is worn out. Please replace it ASAP, as it prevents contaminants from entering.

There are no gases coming out, so I'm hopeful that it is not backpressure, lets see. I got the dipstick replaced with a new one. At idling I did not notice any oil coming out of dipstick now(it was like this even with the old one), but I should check if the oil has stopped coming out after running the car a bit. I'll update on this.

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

The other thing you should check is how much oil, in terms of quantity you are loosing, this should be checked when engine is cold and the dip stick to measure the oil level.

If there is a significant drop in oil levels over a decent time frame (probably one month), then its something i would be worried about. Otherwise it is a problem which needs to be fixed but not immediately.

Yes, I have noted the level now, I will check it over the next 1000 km. Will update.

Originally Posted by coriollis

56k is not a huge mileage for failure.
I had 2003 Indigo Lx. Had experienced similar thing when odo read 65k, but nothing whatsoever happened and we clocked 130k on the odo(Stock clutch)
If there is compression loss then I feel that:
1.There would be noticeable drop in acceleration.
2.There is prominent gain in mileage as oil is also consumed as fuel.

If nothing of that sort is happening then:

Check your catalytic converter.. It has a tendency of getting clogged up, resulting in back pressure on engine causing untimely head gasket failure.

Please do have a check on your chauffeur's left foot. Clutch change at 56k is not acceptable.
Please don't lose patience. I made a blunder by selling mine. There is lot of life left in your car.
Drive safe
Cheers!

Thankyou Coriollis,

The problems loss of acceleration, gain in mileage are not happening. Car is normal to use, I may not have noticed anything at all had I not opened the hood to see the source of oil drops on the floor(power steering oil, not the engine oil)

How do we check the catalytic converter? I'll ask the service guys next time but they seem to be mostly unaware of anything other than the routine oil changes and routine problems.

Actually the problem is not with the clutch itsel, but the clutch release bearing is making noise. TASS asked me to use it till the clutch needs replacement, but somehow I'm not happy with the noise so thinking of a change. But I will observe the car for two more months before deciding on anything.

The next day after the car came from TASS, I opened the hood to check the oil leakages, and guess what, the morons at the TASS left the intercooler hose unconnected. This is heights and a call to them gets us the same usual answers. I will probably never go back to a TASS.

I'll update on the dipstick oil leak after observing it for a week.

[1self]

asdfvinay,

Your car is turbocharged. Get your PCV valve checked/replaced. Your problem will be solved. Your compression numbers are fine.

[coriollis]

Originally Posted by asdfvinay

Thankyou Coriollis,
How do we check the catalytic converter? I'll ask the service guys next time but they seem to be mostly unaware of anything other than the routine oil changes and routine problems.
the morons at the TASS left the intercooler hose unconnected.
I'll update on the dipstick oil leak after observing it for a week.

Hi,
The service station where I serviced my Indigo followed a simple procedure for catalytic convertor clogging removal:
The guys there used to pump in high pressure water via the exhaust pipe, and the clogged soot used to flow out. At first I was not sure of this practice but TASS people also did the same thing.
And what can we say about TASS guys?
Cheers.

[asdfvinay]

Thank you for all the replies and apologies for not updating. I was away from tbhp for quite sometime and actually forgot about this thread that I started.

The problem was the loose dipstick, it was not fitting snug and replacing this with a new one solved. I was very happy to see the price of the dipstick, probably one of the cheapest TATA spare parts. It costed around Rs.30.

Bad part, TASS has no clue why this was happening when I initially took the car with this problem. One says back compression, one says engine life is over, one says car is already 4 years old. The car has run around 10k after the dipstick replacement and i have no issues.

Before replacing the dipstick the oil was coming out and finding its way down through the tubes outer surface which was touching someother cable. Oil then followed this cable and finally dripping on the alternator. Without noticing the oil path, I complained this as oil over the alternator and they serviced the alternator chaning the oil seal, bearing and I think rectifier costing a total of around Rs.2k. When there was oil around alternator again in two weeks, I noticed the oil path and fixed it myself.

Originally Posted by 1self

asdfvinay,

Your car is turbocharged. Get your PCV valve checked/replaced. Your problem will be solved. Your compression numbers are fine.

It turned out to be the dipstick. Good to know the numbers are fine. Car has done around 10k so far and no issues with respect to pick up, mileage or engine sound. Thankyou.

Originally Posted by coriollis

Hi,
The service station where I serviced my Indigo followed a simple procedure for catalytic convertor clogging removal:
The guys there used to pump in high pressure water via the exhaust pipe, and the clogged soot used to flow out. At first I was not sure of this practice but TASS people also did the same thing.
And what can we say about TASS guys?
Cheers.

Got it done(if they really did it). Do not know how they did it, but when I talked about silencer they offered silencer flush and got that done.

[rajeev k]

If it is solved with proper fitment of the dipstick you are lucky.
usually, the compressed charge escape to the crank case from the combustion chamber and comes out through the dipstick tube. this happens, probably due to worn out piston rings. This is also termed as a blow back.