Perfect description of how to check the oil. Easy & free, no Craven dipstick needed.

 

^^^^!

The Craven Speed dip stick basically ends where you would grind off the tip on the OEM dip stick. I wouldn't take it to the dealer with the tip ground off.

 

Its gonna hurt, but buy the Cravenspeed dipstick. You can always sell it on the forum when your sell the car...

 

Did he elaborate on why? Sounds like a false statement to me.

I'm in the "some oil is better than no oil" camp.

 

Not really but basically he is saying if you are not sure add synthetic.

 

Couldn't you just check the oil level in the morning after it has sat over night?

 

Tell that to my old (sold) BMW 98 540i, that received a synthetic oil fill from an inattentive shop and wound up with a bunch of leaking seals/gaskets.

 

swapped to a craven, no problems reading it anymore here

 

The bottom bulb is still submerged in oil when cold, oil is thickest when cold.

 

What I normally do is pop the hood at night (usually friday or Saturday), pull out the dipstick, wipe it, and leave it out. Having the hood open reminds me not to forget what needs to be done. In the morning, I put the dipstick in and the first reading will be accurate (no oil in tube, no oil pulled up by the bottom bulb).
On my car, I add 1/2 quart when the level is at the bottom bulb. I check every weekend, and have enough history with the car to be confident that I will not run low on oil with this plan.

Mike

 

 

Exactly the same as what I do. Of course having a garage is a huge help with this process.

 

May I add

Even with the Craven stick. This is an excellent method.

 

Good thing these cars are so fun to drive with all the hassle they are. Dip stick hard to read, use oil, water pumps, thermostat housing,brake sensors, ect.
If I had never driven one and knew what I now know, after a month of owning the car, I probably wouldn't of bought it.

 

Thank you for this thread . . . I've never seen an oil dip stick this hard to read.
It begs the question, are the MINI techs as frustrated with it or do they just know something we don't as to why it was designed this way?...

Anyway I much prefer trying the few suggestion offered here first then rushing to get a new dip stick just yet.

Thanks for the tips! I like the overnight suggestion.


We've had our MCS for a little over a year now, with just 13,000miles on it, and I have not noticed any oil consumption. But with all the concerns on this forum I want to stay on top of it. Which means I'd like to be able to read properly the oil level dam it . . .

 

There's no dipstick on the new F56. People on that forum gripe about that too lol.

 

I realize that the new F56's are so new that a data base on oil consumption has not been established for them yet but, given the past history of Mini Cooper oil consumption and the relation of that to serious engine problems, I for one would not like the idea of not being able to physically check my oil levels (no matter how difficult).

 

Yeah a lot of people feel the same way. You can see how much oil is in there from the new app/screen. And I think it will warn you if you are low on oil (the R56 does not which is weird). Evidently BMW cars have not had a dipstick for several years. BTW my 2007 R56 didn't burn any oil until around 50k miles.

 

The OEM dipstick works just fine. Check your oil cold, I mean sitting all night cold, with the car on a level surface. Pull the dipstick out and check the level, do not reinsert the dip stick, that will drag oil up the dip stick tube and ruin your reading. The oil level will be obvious.

Dave

 

Your results make me scratch my head, my 07 MCS has burned oil as far back as when I first bought it at 45k. One thing is certain it is not getting past my rings because there's a really nice tight seal, only leaves two other places, valve seals and a poorly designed PCV system. This is my first car that hasn't had a flat blade type dip stick with the markings on either end, you could clearly see where it was wet with oil.

 

TheBigNewt,

On my 2008 MINI Cooper S, a car which I bought new, I first noticed the oil consumption problem at around 45,000 miles.

 

And no dipstick on my '10 C4S but I prefer the electronic solution to the brainteaser on the '12 MCS!

What was Mini thinking?!

 

FWIW... we sold the R56 today and I have a Cravenspeed dipstick listed in the 2nd ten
FOR SALE section.

 

Hey guys I had a question about the Cravenspeed dipstick. Mine just arrived and to be honest I was a bit surprised, every dipstick in every car I have ever owned has been a stiff metal stick but this one is like a limp noodle. Can someone reassure me that this is indeed correct and will work correctly without fault.

 

Yes it's supposed to be like that and will work exceptionally well.