I when to check my oil today and when I pulled out the dipstick it snapped off about 1/2 inch below handle. What is the best wat to get the broken piece out and is there any risk that I need to worry about?

Thanks in advance.

 

Try using a pair of needle nose pliers to reach in and grip the reaining dipstick and pull it out!

 

If necessary, the tube running into the oil pan is not too difficult to remove. As you follow the stem down you will find the one and only bolt.

Shouldn't be any risk. I have heard storys of nuts and bolts sitting harmlessly in the oil pan for extended periods of time. Sounds like your situation, while unfortunate, is not quite as bad as that.

Good Luck.

 

actually the bolt that holds the tube is kind of a ***** to get to since you have no space on the engine bay.

my advice is to try needle nose pliers if that doesn't work then either remove the tube at the bottom of the block or the oil pan.

the tube is not gonna damage anything but definitely get it off soon.
good luck!

 

Sounds good. I read through some of the other threads as well. Once the engine cools I will take a look at with removing it with needle nose or removing the tube.

 

MINE JUST SNAPPED TOO, BUT ABOUT 4" BELOW THE HANDLE. I FISHED IT OUT WITH A LONG SCREWDEVER AND A PARTS GRABBER. I WILL BE TALKING TO DEALER ABOUT REPLACEMENT. (BUT I ALSO ORDERED A CRAVEN UNIT FROM THR BOYS AT CUSTOM MINI SHOP )

 

Yeah I looked at it and it does not look good. I will try to get it out this weekend just way too much rage in me to work on it tonight.

 

I KNOW THE FEELING

 

If you're out of warranty you can pull the oil pan. I think that's what the dealership would do. Of course it involves an oil change.

Drain oil
remove pan
grab old dip stick
replace oil pan gasket
replace oil pan
fill with your favorite beverage..... or oil
do the oil filter while your at it.

 

I am reading this thread and wondering if my issue is related? I tried to check the oil in my wife's 2006 MCS and I stopped b/c I was unable to pull the dipstick out. I stopped for the fear of the subject of this thread...I was afraid of snapping the plastic on the dipstick. Is this a common issue? The car has just over 10K miles and had it's oil changed about a week ago. I think the oil level is fine, but when I tried to just check it...I ran into this problem. Anyone know of a way to prevent this? Thanks!

 

OK...I just went out and was able to get the dipstick out...then it took me about 10 tries to get it to go back in all the way . Is this normal or is this an issue with my car? The dipstick would go in about 80% then the plastic end would get hung up..so I would take it out and rotate it and try again. Finally I was able to coax it all the way in...again is this normal???

I consider myself fairly mechanically inclined and can handle basic tune up items on (I've changed Plugs, filters Oil.etc on many of my cars) and I've never encountered a problem dipstick like this. Not to mention since the damn thing has snapped on other owners it does not inspire confidence to want to just ram it back in the tube.

I dunno but the Craven Mini Dipper is looking like somthing I may invest in very soon.

IMO..Checking the oil is not something that should take so much time or pose the risk of having to drop the oil pan (in order to retrieve a broken dipstick)!

 

We just got an 04 and you better believe I'm going to replace it before this happens to my wife and I have to...fix it.

 

The dipstick is a major problem for our '04. We are on the second replacemnt. Tried the twist to insert and twist to pull out. No matter what there is some notch in that tube that bends and eats the plastic stick that is stock. I still can't believe a MINI engineer has not fixed this. The new '07 does seem to have this under control.

I will be looking for aftermarket "S" replacement now that we are at 32,000 miles.

 

This has been a problem since day one. The only way to help the situation is to be very carefull putting the stick back in the tube. Support it at the mouth of the tube and feed it back in slowly with both hands. Very poor material selection on the part of BMW or actually Chrysler .

 

+1

 

I have had two different aftermarket dipsticks snap on me. Sure wish I liked the look of stock better, but I am reluctant to try a third.

 

Big surprise there!

 

Really? What kind have you tried?

 

There aren't many out there.

 

I still have not gotten mine out. I have a appointment at a mini dealer but they did not seem real confident that they could get it out or what it will cost. Local garage didnt want anything to do with it.

It is just too far in to grab and taking off the tube seems to be like a nightmare.

For people that have had this happen to them how did you get it out and what did it cost?

 

I had my '02's dipstick break too recently. Thankfully it broke close enough to the handle so I could pull it out easily! Good luck pulling yours out; I'd say the two ways would be pulling the dipstick tube out, or dropping the oil pan.

 

is the craven dipstick worth the price? it's like $80 or something but i have to say, the factory dipstick really feels like dipsh**, always feels sticky when i pull it out and i'm constantly afraid of breaking it. should i replace it w/ the craven one? is it an all-metal piece?

 

I hope to have it taken out tomorrow but we shall see.

 

There is no way I am getting it out it broke off right before the bend.

Getting the tube off looks like I pita since there isn't much room to work with.

 

Mine broke about 8" below the handle..ended up dropping the pan and pulling it out from the bottom....I immediately bought and installed a CravenSpeed dipstick....didn't care what it cost...a broken dipstick is a ***** to remove and I wasn't going thru that again....If you compare the CravenSpeed to the factory dipstick, you'll notice what a POS the factory stick is..not to mention the lousy design.