At 600 miles.. I got fed up with that stupid dipstick.

Here's my 20 second zero dollar fix!

File it, file two flats on each side.

IT'S PERFECT!

Repeated dips... NO LONGER A PROBLEM!

Mounted it in a vice. Filed it, flipped over.. Filed other side.. Wiped it off... FIXED!

 

Looks good! Did you try and just sand it down a little bit all around ro did you just file it down half way?

 

Nope - just as shown. Mounted it in the vice.. Filed two sides flat with a fine file.

It works soooooo much better - I could do a happy dance!

 

What exactly where you doing with it for 600 miles that got you fed up?

I know some people are sensitive about their dipsticks, but really, I check mine once every ~3K miles, and it always shows engine oil at full mark (my MCS doesn't burn any oil). The next time I check it is after I do an oil change.

a

 

Fed up with trying to read it! I checked the oil the day I got the car... ( so I could see just what "full" looked like..)..

And then today while I had the bonnet open after washing/waxing it..

I tried several times in good light to see just where the level was... It seemed to change as the bulbs dragged the oil up the tube...

It dawned on me that every other dipstick on the planet has flat sides.. So I made some flats.

Now that goofy reading doesn't happen any more.

I had read that it was hard to read.. I thought people were blowing it out of proportion... But it's just a poor design. What's so hard about a metal stick or a steel cable? They had to go put this dumb barb shaped thing in it and make it cylindrical...

 

It gets easier to read once the oil gets nice and dark

 

I've noticed when the dealer fills it (from new + oil solenoid fix) he 'brims' it and the dipstick never makes sense. Like most, I choose to 'between interval change.'

When I change the oil myself (twice now) I only ever measure out 4litres and the oil level can easily be seen hovering on the 80-90% mark of the stick despite numerous successive 'dips' afterwards.

Of course, I check the oil weekly (who in their right mind doesn't?) and I've never seen the need to top it up (touches wood).

I can see why the dealer feels the need to stuff it to the very top if people 'can't' do their own checks. What's the weekend for, anyway?

 

When I first tried reading my dipstick while my MINI still had the factory filled oil, it always looked over the top bulge. When I read the article in the MC2 magazine about the problems reading the stock dipstick, I tried the methods they suggested. Using their methods the oil level was just below the top bulge and the top bulge was completely clear of oil. Learning to get a good reading saved me some major damage. The following link explains the problem and gives several solutions.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-dipstick.html

2011 MC, PW/B

 

while that works.. its ridiculous that you have to wave a dead chicken over a dipstick and look at tea leaves to get a good reading the first time. The issue is that lower bulb... stupid design.

 

Yes, byron h, good advice.
I always check it your way as well just to be sure.

 

Nice fix! I went with the Craven wet noodle dipstick after trying the bottom bulb removal mod, which didnt work well for me. I would have tried this method had I known about it.

 

I haven't ever had a problem with reading the dipstick in my MINI.

But then part of my job is reading the oil level on a lot of different equipment, some of them are pretty weird.

Dave

 

I also wanted an easier way to read the dipstick so I made BlackIces modification (see link below). Your modification is much simpler to make and appears to work well. I made the previous post and link to explain what causes the problem in reading the stock dipstick. Many people do not realize that the oil wiping off the dipstick tube can make the level appear to be full when it actually is well below the full level.

Your method appears to be a great idea.

Morris, 2011 MC, PW/B

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...68-post17.html

 

Yea, I read about BlackIces mod before I even got my car... I was going to do it... but then I realized that drilling the holes ran the risk (IMHO) of cracking the stick as it aged.. (not a huge issue, but a problem..)..

Plus I kinda suck at drilling holes... I just eyeball stuff... lol.

edit - Oh, I see he filed his too... I missed that... I thought he had just drilled the holes.. I think the file is all thats needed.. (on both sides..).

 

For those who may not want to improve the car, I noted this technique recently... I don't know if it's AS visible here in pictures as with the Eyeball MARK I, but you get a clear line accros the dipstick knurling this way, and where this indicates now is from 4.4l of oil replaced within the last 1000km or so... This level hasn't moved appreciably since the change.

The routine is to 1. Remove dipstick. 2. Clean and insert as shown. 3. Remove and read.

'12 N18.

I apologise in advance if this method has been documented a billion times already and/or is terribly wrong somehow!
E

 

Your method is the best I found for reading the stock dipstick. This method works because the reading is far enough away from the upper bulge that the oil wiped onto the dipstick does not interfere with the reading. The distance from the contact point you show to the contact point of the fully inserted dipstick is almost exactly 1". I marked my dipstick 1" below the center of the top bulge. If the oil level using your method is above the mark it is overfilled or if below the mark oil needs to be added. I tried BlackIces's modification because the holes he added made it extremely easy to see the level.

Morris, 2011 MC, PW/B

 

Yes, I always use this method of inserting up to the black gasket and then add a 'finger' to the final oil mark. It goes to show how uncomfortable we are that a system that works easily for everyone else doesn't cut it for us.

 

I just pull mine out, wipe off, insert until about that black gasket, pull it back out and wipe it off again, do that one more time... then sit it on the engine. Go about doing whatever it is I'm doing, and in about an hour I come back, fully insert it and read, works like a charm. I do this almost every weekend.

Granted if I was trying to read it on the fly at a gas station or something, that wouldn't work... I just make sure I read it about every weekend or every other weekend while it sits in the garage.

Sometimes I'll even leave it out overnight and check in the morning... this allows all the oil to drain back down out of the tube so you don't get any on the bulbs of the dipstick.

 

I do believe I'll give that two-sided trim a try. Thanks for the idea!

Kind regards,

Charlie

 

Works great, except I put the file in the vise and pushed the dipstick longways. Comes out smoother that way, but what the heck, makes no difference!

 

I've seen this somewhere else on the site and it works for me:
1. Warm up the engine and take the dipstick out. Of course, wipe it clean but do NOT put it back.
2. Let car sit for 5-10 minutes (The person who posted the suggestion lets his sit 30 minutes! I doubt it needs to sit that long)
3. Put dipstick in BUT stop once the bottom of the **** touches the edge of the tube.
4. Pull out and wipe it off.
5. Repeat once or twice.
6. Finally, put all the way in and take a reading.

The poster of that thread said that because of the steep angle where the dipstick bends, oil is rubbing on the sides, messing up the level reading. The in-n-out motion done first is to scrape the excess off the walls. This is why you do it three or four times before taking a reading. Interesting but it makes sense. Before trying that, my dipstick was totally useless, the oil was smeared all over no matter how many times I cleaned it off. Makes me suspect the dealer's mechanics were using their own "top secret" dipstick!

 

I like this;

1- File off crappy bubbles.

2- Use dipstick like normal for the rest of the cars life;

No dances required.

 

Probably the best bang for my time mod I have done.... Took all of 10 min.

 

Nice; wish my '08 had a similar stick. Mine looks like a spring and is hard to read until the oil gets a bit dark.

 

I am going to do that. Except instead of holes, groove lines at low, 25%, 50%, 75%, full.

I hate the stock dipstick!

I saw geofox784's post on Reddit the other day. Nice!