The dipstick for my 2005 S has broken and I am making a replacement using the metal from a windshield wiper that was done by norm03S. I was not able to measure the lenght of the stick or the length of the Hi and Low marks. Norm kindly provided his measurements, but I was hoping that someone could confirm that those are correct before I cut the stick. According to Norm, the measurements from the shoulder of the dipstic are: Hi = 55cm, Low 57cm, End = 59cm.
Thanks in advance for any help.

 

A new one is cheap. Hell, my local dealer just gave me a new one before it broke.

They are $21 bucks at Atlantic British.

Explain to me why you would jury rig the most important quantitative oil measuring device on your engine to save $21 dollars?

 

Mine broke too. Luckly while I was pulling it out and could retreave the other end. I paid I think $19 and change for a new one that I had the local BMW dealer order for me. I aggree... is this mod really worth it?

 

i just replaced mine 2 days ago. the mechanic removed the dipstick from the oil pan. Just wondering i just put a bnew dipstick is it normal for a bnew dipstick to not go smoothly when you're putting it back? mine was difficult to put. (not sure if the mechanic misalign the dipstick housing(or whatever it called ). thanks

 

Let me be the first to answer your question. On my dipstick, there is a rectangular indent at each end of the knurled part and I will give you dimensions to the center of the rectangular indent from the base of the dipstick that contacts the tube.
54.9 cm top
56.3 cm bottom
56,9 to end of stick
Let me know your results of fabricating one. After the trafiic a few months ago about the wiper ionsert idea, I went out and bought a replacement stock stick even though the original hadn't broken yet assuming these things are failing in fatigue from bending. I'm tying around with using welding rod for a replacement.

 

Hi Orville, well, first of all because I know that the steel one will not break, whereas the OEM replacement will break again and I like fixing things myself if possible instead of paying others. Also, 21 bucks is 21 bucks and my powersteering pump just went and I seem to have an oil leak, and my windshield is cracked, so I have lots of other things to spend my money on.

Thanks Ramjet77 for the measurements. It is interesting that your high level measurement is within .1cm, the low mark is within .7 cm, but the total lenght of the stick is 2 cm shorter than Norm03S' measurement. Is your Mini an S? Also I imagine the total length of the stick is not important, it is the high and low marks that count. Thank you again for taking the time to measure.
I've made the stick by drilling out the handle and inserting the windshieldwiper steel with JB Weld just as Norm03S did and it is solid and looks and feels just like other dipsticks I've owned and I know I will not have another break and stick int he tube. That alone is worth the few minutes it took to make it. And I also found a discarded windshield wiper in a trashcan outside a Big O Tire shop. As they say, a penny saved is a penny earned :-)

 

Went to the parts department here to help you out with a few pix. Let me know if you need any other pictures of it.

 

I usually have to turn mine a little when inserting into the tube. Also the last inch or so is very tight due to the two o-ring seals at the top of the dip stick.

 

Thank you very much MiniofChicago. As they say a picture is worth a thousand words!

 

I also replied to some of the previous posts, but I don't see my post. Something about it had to be approved? Well it will show up sometime. In the meantime thanks for all who took time to respond.
Bert

 

Anytime! Let us all know how it goes!!!!

 

OK Here it is. The pics aren't the greatest, but they show the endproduct. It was really a quick and easy project except for the time it took for the JB Weld to cure. Also I didn't have any metal stamps or a tool to make the marks to show the oil level, so I just used a hacksaw blade to score the metal. Not pretty, but it should work.
Thanks again to all who took the time to help.

 

The pics didn't show up. I'll try again

 

I don't quite understand which part you used to make this. Was the original posted on NAM?

EDIT: Found it: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ml#post2877470

 

Yep, that's the one. All the credit goes to norm03s!
Also my original reply to some of the early questions still hasn't shown up so,
To Orville: Hey, 21 bucks is 21 bucks and the OEM is a bad design since so many fail. The steel one will not fail and will last the life of the car. Also it was free with a discarded 24" windshield wiper from the trash. I'm retired and living on a fixed income and my power steering pump just went, plus while removing the pump I found oil all over the bottom of the engine, so I must have one of the standard oil leaks for the R53 mini . So I have lots of other places for that $21. Plus I do enjoy being able to fix things on my own

To ramjet77: thanks for taking time to measure. You seem to be a lot closer than the original poster. However, I don't think the tolerances are all that important as long as the oil gets checked regularly.

 

OK, so I just wrote another answer to Orville (explanation of reason to do it) and ramjet77 (it was a thank you) and got a message that the post will have to be reviewed by a moderator. What's up with that? I was polite and did not use any naughty words or inferences.That's the second time this happened.

 

thanks. at first it was a little difficult inserting dipsick in the tube maybe the last 6 inches of it. I'll be doing this mod in the future i still have my broken dipstick with me. thanks!

 

Alllright, good job, you don't owe the questioners any answers. When the stock dip stick breaks off and ends up in the oil pan those questions will answer themselves.

 

Hey norm03s, glad to see you're reading about your innovative idea. BTW my disappearing post also credited you for being so creative! Thanks again!

 

Well done bksquasher!

 

As I'm writing this, you're below 10 posts. I think the forum restricts some content (did it have a link in it?) until after you've made 10 posts.

 

Is this the dipstick ypu sell for all Mini's? I have an 2011 Clubman and am having the hardest time reading the one that came with mine. Is this something that can be purchased from you for my Mini?

Thanks

 

I believe that one is specific for the R53. Let me talk to my parts guys to see if they are the same for the 2011 Clubman. Shoot me a PM with your VIN and I will see if the part numbers are the same.

 

Hey alwzopn, the message had no links, it did have a reference to money using the name for a male deer which has three of the letters in common with an anglo-saxon word for fornication - perhaps some algorithm caught that. Anyway that's all I can think of.

 

This is a really good idea! I almost wanna make one for the sole fact that the stock dip stick is hard to read in certain light. Why couldn't they just make a regular dip stick like every other car out there? Do you worry about the JB Weld failing?