Purchased a used 2003 MCS w/JCW a few days ago and have noticed the dipstick is broken down in the tube....anybody have an idea on what the dealer would charge to remove it ? also, I am fairly handy..has anyone done this themselves and if so, what's the process and potential issues involved...thanks

 

I heard a zip tie or a pencil and superglue works. I think.

 

Had a mechanic break the dipstick of my MCS off down in the tube, he use a easy out to drill into the plastic and then just pulled it out, took him less than 10 minutes. He replaced my dipstick with a new one but i went and purchase a metal one so it does not happen again - MCS dipsticks are plastic.

 

Where did you buy the metal dipstick?

 

I've broken two on mine, but luckly both times a little was still sticking out. I replaced my last one with the one that Craven Speed makes.

Nik

 

heat up a end of a metal coat hanger till its red. melt it into the plastic and let it cool, then just pull it out. had to do it this way a couple of times on other cars.

 

What part of the dipstick broke? If only the tip broke, but the rod came out, you dont have to worry. Its to big to cause problems and wont block the oil intake. My mechanic friend said that he has worked on cars with nuts and bolts in the oil pan. They just sat nicely at the bottom and didnt interfear.

My dipstick has never broke. Be sure to twist the dipstick slightly at the bend in the tube. I feel this is what has kept mine from breaking.

 

It broke about 6 inches down from the yellow handle.....I can see the other end down inside the tube where it starts the first bend but can't reach it with any tool. Yes, I have thought about just pushing it all the way down into the pan and installing the new dipstick but that's a little scary...thoughts ?

 

I replaced mine with the one that Craven Speed makes before this happened to me.
Put the front end into service mode and remove the dip stick tube to get the broken dip stick out.

 

OK..so here's an update.....Dealer ended up doing this on warranty. Had to remove the oil pan and pull the stick out from the bottom. They also threw in a free oil change....car is fine now BUT I have ordered a Craven dipstick..I am not going thru this again...

 

I stock OEM dipsticks for this reason, and sell them for around $17.00 plus shipping.

Brad
custom Mini Shop

 

+1 ^
I'd like to think that my "bent not broken" dipstick was what planted the seed for Brad 'n Steve to open the Custom Mini Shop.

 

Kulmini,

I'm also asking where you got the metal dipstick? I see the Craven one is super secret material, is that the only option?

fill us in....

 

As quoted from Gary 442, OK..so here's an update.....Dealer ended up doing this on warranty. Had to remove the oil pan and pull the stick out from the bottom. They also threw in a free oil change....car is fine now BUT I have ordered a Craven dipstick..I am not going thru this again...

As adamant as BMW is about not changing the oil early, I'm surprised they didn't save the old oil and put it back in, hehe.

YD

 

Geez, how many threads have I posted on about that stupid failing OEM dip stick. I said in one of those threads that I wouldn't be happy till I fabbed up a metal one that I could read with ease and not break off.
Mine just broke recently. I guess six years out of the original is OK but it should have lasted the life of the car.
So now I have a metal one and a permanent no worry solution. If anybody's interested I could post pictures of my fix for you DIYers.

 

Same happend to me. Buy one of those metal clasps to pick up tools for $4 and flatten the prong/hooks slip it in squeeze handle and wala pull out.

 

mine broke but luckily it was attached by a tiny thread and i was able to pull it out i just bought a stock replacement for like $15 or something online.

 

OK, I took off the front end and removed the two bolts that hold the dip stick on. It will jiggle, the tube is loose, but it doesn't want to come out. Is there anything else holding it on? I don't want to force it not knowing if there is a clip or something holding it in.

Any help appreciated.

 

Do you still have the OEM dipstick Handel?
I would like to have it to make another metal dip stick.

 

Im sorry I through it away, I would of gladly gave it to you too!

 

Here is my solution;

 

Better than OEM, hehe

 

Odds are that if your dipstick is still in the tube, then the resistance you are feeling is the end of the dipstick in the crank case. Wiggle it up and out around the supercharger to get it completely out of there, I will warn you that if you break the dipstick below where the tube mounts, you'll have to drop the oil pan to get the rest out.

 

Could you share the details how you made it? Thanks.

 

Yep;
I measured the OEM dip stick 3 times from the stop on the handle to the high and low level points at the bottom on that stupid thing you can't read.
I did that sometime ago before it broke.
*Note* the last step is trimming the stainless steel spine.
Do not cut the stick to length yet
Disclaimer here, these are the measurements I arrived at and used, your results may be different.
Stop to high oil level = 55cm
Stop to low oil level = 57cm
The metal for the stick is the stainless steel spine from a 26" windshield wiper blade. I was all set to buy a new one but lucked out when I got to the auto parts store. I found what I was looking for sitting right there in front of the store in their trash can, they replace wiper blades for customers right in front of the store, score!
Anyway, cut off whats left of the stick from the handle, then drill or Dremel the handle out enough to just go past the two O rings. Test fit stainless steel spine into hole often, you don't want it to big. Well there isn't much there to work with anyway.
Now cut some notches in the end of the spine. I used JB Weld, two part epoxy to bond the spine into the handle.
Let it sit and harden up per JB Weld instructions.
Now you can measure 3 times and cut once at about 59cm.
I used metal number and letter stamps to mark high (55cm) and low (57cm) level lines and filled in between those lines with IIXXXXXXII> stamp to give the oil something to cling to.
On the end of the stick you want to shape it like a spear point and polish it up so it will slip by that step you can feel when inserting the dip stick.

That's about it.