Hi all... been a while since I’ve come online, I don’t drive my S as much as I used too, want to keep her in top shape. But get this...

So I go to check my oil and the dipstick won’t come out. I wiggle it a bit, starts to come out then stops. I then notice the plastic right under the large piece you pull on, is half gone! Ordering a new dipstick is easy, but how in hell do I find where the broken plastic went?

Odd thing to fail on a car too, it’s a first for me. Included a pic, you can see the plastic under the pull is just gone and thats as far as the stick comes out.

 

only one place for it to go and that is straight down, if not in the valve cover portion then in the oil pan. It should still pull straight out unless the lower portion of the dipstick is bent, a good yank should cause it to come out once you get a replacement for it.

 

Thanks.. i actually did get it out when i first discovered it and yanked hard, but since i havent tried because i didnt want to force it. The stick itself was fine when i did get it out. I have a local shop down the street ill have them pop the cover off to look for it, or drain the oil. Just an odd thing to fail.

 

It is odd, must have been brittle. Was the dipstick perfectly straight when you pulled it out ? perhaps the broken section jammed it up in the lower openings requiring extra force to remove.

 

Thats what im thinking. If it was in the pan i would have no issue removing the stick. Im quite sure its jammed in the valve cover

 

Just an update, i got a new OEM dipstick and forced the old one out. What an odd part to fail.

 

Good news !

 

maybe someone stood on it..

 

Not odd at all. Dipstick gets very hot, as it sits in valve cover. Many heat cycles to embrittle the plastic. Followed by dormant period where o rings can form a habit bond (just like a radiator hose can bond to a metal radiator nipple its clamped to).

That plus area of dipstick just above o rings appears to be less robust.

Perfect recipe for obvious failure.

Prevention is as simple as enjoying the car more often (which would necessitate checking oil occasionally, which would solve the problem)