2004 Citroen Relay (Jumper) 2.2 Oil level weirdness

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cmmjenkins
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Joined: 03 Sep 2016, 19:50
Location: oxford
My Cars: Peugeot 106

2004 Citroen Relay (Jumper) 2.2 Oil level weirdness

Post by cmmjenkins »

Can someone explain the following please?

I went to look at a 2004 Citroen Relay 2.2 diesel today which I am thinking of buying.
The engine was cold having not been started since the previous day.
The van was level, and I removed the dip stick (which was fully inserted into the engine). The dipstick was completely clean - no oil on it at all.
I then put the dipstick back and removed it again. This time it came out with smears of oil on it stretching from the bottom to someway above the max mark - but with no area where there was a solid covering of oil. I cleaned the dipstick and repeated this a couple of times and the result was the same. i.e. smears along its length.

We then went for a test drive and ~30 minutes after this I checked the oil again and this time the oil came to just below the max on the dipstick i.e. completely normal. I also noticed that "Oil High" was displayed on the dash when starting. The engine seemed fine when running.

Why would the dipstick be completely clean when I first removed it when the engine was cold, and is this a problem?
Is it recommended that the oil level is checked shortly after the engine has been running rather than when the engine is completely cold? i.e having been left overnight.

Many thanks, Matthew
Bick
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Joined: 19 Feb 2006, 17:35
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Re: 2004 Citroen Relay (Jumper) 2.2 Oil level weirdness

Post by Bick »

They all do that sir - pain in the ass to check the oil level cold the oil will not stick to the dipstick. Like you found it will be fine when hot. By the way are you sure you have done your research on the 2.2 engine! Why not the ultra reliable 2.0 hdi?
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