this cheesy part snaps right at the first bend, about 5" in there. I went to the dealer, the parts man was out and even told me the same thing happened to his personal mini and he still hasn't fixed it. this must be a recurring problem.

any clever ways to pull out the remaining stub? it's too far in there for a hemostat or long tweezers. the obvious alternative is to pull off the front end and replace the dipstick housing. about an hour or two!

 

Can you get a magnet down the tube? Not sure if the material used for the dipstick is magnetic or not and if the tube itself would interfer. May be worth a try.

 

Looks like you are in for some surgery, by removing the oil pan. You know every time I check the oil I fear the dip stick will somehow break. Honestly, I am suprised MINI used such a crapy part.

 

try going to northern tools or a similar store and look for a snake with a working clip on it. It used to pick up parts that fall in hard to reach places... this might help you out.
I can't believe what a cheap part they used on the dip stick...

 

Just went out and checked...the dip stick is not metal on the "S" but I'm pretty sure the MC is metal, so if you have a MC then a long round magnet might work.

 

I like the snake-with-teeth idea...

the car is an S, the dipstick is plastic and has to make a couple of right angle bends; guess where it likes to break? and the lower borken-off part is held in by the bends!

I'm surprised there haven't been more reports of this.

 

Good luck pulling it out. The tip tends to snag which probably caused it to break off. I don't know of a tool that would have that kinds of gripping force in that narrow of area.

 

I guess the Cooper dipstick has no right-angle bends because I've never seen this.

 

Mine broke off, but it was reachable with needle nose. . .

I replaced it with an aftermarket metal stick with a MINI wings logo. No problems since.

 

How difficult is it to remove the dipstick tube? That may be the simplest option...

 

 

I had the same stick. It broke.

 

please provide us with info on the replacement stick... thanks

 

I felt it snag a few times while checking my oil but it hasnt broke ( yet ) . i dont see any complaints about this problem nor have we done any ourselves here.

 

Please do, I'll order one right away, don't want to be faced with that problem.

 

I need to replace the stock POS before it breaks but I haven’t found any that say they are for an MCS.

Moss Mini has a bunch but they all say they are for Coopers only.

http://www.mossmini.com/Shop/SearchR...WebCatalogID=0

YuccaPatrol- did you adapt one of these (if it is possible) for your MCS?

 

There's a thingy at Griot's Garage:

http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog....2050&SKU=65023

A flexible serpentine claw/magnet thingy. Not sure about the diameter, perhaps it's too wide...

 

I heard you laughin all the way over here in chi-town.

 

I rigged up a clever tool: an 8" long 1/4" strip of 20 ga stainless steel, cut a 1/8" beveled slot from the side near one end with razor sharp edges, and a slight bend. The idea being to fish it in the hole, fit the slot around the broken end (heh, heh) and as it pulls up, the bevelled edges and bend would jam on the rod and out it would come.


it almost worked, but the broken tip was too close to the tube bend and on the far side. my rig is going in for a last ditch warranty repair in two weeks, so they can do it. you have to pull the front end (service mode) and probably/maybe you can get at it without dropping the blower and intake runner

 

A MINI owner can't find a decent dip stick anywhere!

But I'll bet that wasn't funny when it happened. How did you fix yours?

 

FINALLY!!! A Cooper only part!!!!!

 

Is that the same crappy one that I also bought, Yucca? Remember how mine broke the first time sndwave checked the oil after it had been installed?


Clover

 

Has anyone compared the MC and MCS dip sticks side by side? are they the same lenght? Want the correct reading you know.
Anyone out there that has both MINI's please compare and chime in.

 

C4 should be able to tell us....YOOHOOOOO!! C4....help! Tee hee!


Clover

 

I haven't done a side by side, but the S dip has to rout around the blower, hence the bends. looks like a custom fix for P&D.