I want an aftermarket blade style dipstick for a 2.3 motor. Anyone know where to get one? I've tried the usual auto parts stores: Auto Zone, O'Reilly's, etc. Also, Amazon, ebay and Rock Auto. I would love to know the story behind the oil dipstick for this motor. For those unfamiliar, rather than the ubiquitous blade with two holes in it indicating the high and low oil level, there is a cast metal piece at the end of the stick. At either end of the casting,it is round in diameter and slightly smaller that the tube it goes in. In the center of the casting is a flat area with the marks for high and low level. The problem is when checking the oil, the round area at either end seem to gather the oil on the side of the tube and smear it all over the whole casting, making it hard to impossible to read. I've tried checking the oil according to the owner's manual. Blade style dipsticks have minimum contact with the side of the tube and don't have this problem. I want an aftermarket blade dipstick.

 

Try wiping the dip stick with a paper towel getting all the oil off, placing the dipstick in the tube and removing it VERY QUIKLY pulling it out. This way you should be able to read it better without the oil covering more area on the dip stick. Also you may need to wait several minutes with the engine off before checking the oil.