The Countryman and Paceman All Four cars are assembled in Austria. As there is already a Prince engine plant in France, that BMW helped build, it make sense that they would source their engines from there for the European built cars. The British made cars have engines assembled in Great Britain.

Dave

 

looking at window stickers at my dealer, about 1/2 of r60/r61 have English built engines and 1/2 have french

 

To save time going all the way back thru this thread, for the OP who can't read his dipstick, did anyone go ahead and tell him how the story ended?

 

Think with your dip-stick Jimmy!!!

 

Oh, the OP got plenty of advice. You really need to read the entire thread, there are a few good chuckles in there.

 

It was entertaining. Personally, I've never had a problem discerning the difference between oil and not oil.

 

I have an 07 MCS and similarity having problems reading the dips stick but mine looks nothing line the red ended one you guys have - the end is a point and it has two knuckles along what looks like a coiled spring and all metallic. I'll post a photo once i dig my mini out of last nights snow storm. Anyone else have similar dipstick?

 

Same as mine. I still went with the Craven.

 

A common problem with reading any of the stock dipsticks, modified dipsticks, or the Craven dipstick is when the oil is overfilled. I made the following thread on the best method I have found to read the oil level when it is overfilled.


https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ecommends.html


Morris, 2011 MC, PW/B

 

Cravenspeed!


QUOTE=Mib4840;3876055]Cravenspeed[/QUOTE]

 

Mine was the metal coil type. Mini has since changed their dipstick in the N18 engines, still a far cry from the Craven dipstick.

 

Hey guys, as promised earlier I made a video. Hopefully it helps.

 

Thanks for taking the time to illustrate your method. I have two concerns. The first is you cannot tell where the actual level is or if it is overfilled. The second is your recommendation of adding a quart of oil if you think the level is somewhere between the high and low level marks. Overfilling is not recommended by MINI even though dealers regularly do it. I think the overfilling makes the carbon buildup of the S models worse.


Morris, 2011 MC, PW/B

 

You are right that my method does slightly overfill the oil. However, I have been doing this for about 20,000 miles now with no bad consequences. It seems to me that max to min on the dipstick is about 1.5 quarts, so adding a quart when the dipstick shows half (as I stated in the video) is really overfilling by maybe 1/4 of a quart. Underfilling the oil, however, will cause bad things. Allowing the oil to dip below the minimum line can result in the following:

1. Low oil can cause the timing chain to overheat, causing it to wear out prematurely.
2. Low oil can cause the brake booster vacuum pump at the end of the exhaust cam shaft to seize, causing the bolt holding the timing chain gear to the exhaust cam to break. Since this engine uses a valve interference design, if this happens you'll be replacing or rebuilding the engine.
3. (edit) Low oil, even if still barely in the "ok" section of the dipstick, will cause what oil is left to wear out faster, causing increased sludge buildup in the engine.

This is why I'm a bit "generous" when it comes to oil...

 

Thx for the video. Once I have a few thousand miles on the oil, I could see the level on the original stick. My problem was when the oil was new. I just couldn't see it on the stick. The cravenspeed stick has notches on it, very easy to see the oil level even when the oil was new.

 

Well got my craven speed. I did not realize the
Spring was stretchable so easy , thought it
Would be more sturdy. It did confirm that dealer
Was overfilling oil and I was reading stock
Stick right, I guess 1/8 qt over. And since its
Been 1k miles that my Breakin was good ,
No oil used.

Over its far better at reading oil.

 

I thought the same thing but it is amazing how easy it you can put it back in.

 

Once you feed the Craven DP into the tube it goes in easily, it just needs to find the tube hole and then you're in. Gravity does the rest.

 

I got my CRAVEN in today for my 09 Club S and I sware the Craven when held next to the stock stick looks a tiny bit shorter???????

 

Sorry to revive an old thread but with the Cravenspeed dip stick... when testing when I pull it out the first time all the holes are full of oil. I wipe it put it back in and pull again, no oil in the holes but the thicker nub above the shaft with holes has oil on it?

I'm assuming that is a sign of low oil and the oil on the nub is just from the dragging through the dip stick shaft itself?

 

For al that have a dip stick, I envy you. This is the first car I've own that doesn't have a dip stick, and I really hate checking it with the computer. I don't trust it.

For those that have a hard time seeing the oil on the stick, using the paper towel method works and is cheap. Been using it as an alternative for 52 years and never had a question as to the liquid level.

 

Thanks for the response AnOldBiker.

I was asking for specifics from other users with the Cravenspeed dipstick.

 

That sounds about right, dez. I would add 1/2 quart and check it again, if it were me. Wait a few minutes after adding before checking again. A good way to get an accurate reading? Open the hood and pull the dipstick. Leave it out and the hood open for an hour or so, or overnight, whatever, then check the first reading you get. Inserting and pulling the dipstick again may give you a false reading, due to some oil being pulled up the tube by the dipstick.

 

Some people have trouble checking the pressure in their tires too.

 

Listen to the jeep. Sounds like you're probably low. When I pull my cravenspeed DS, there is oil in all the grooves (ie holes). Like he recommends, pull it and wait a while..