How To Remove Broken Oil Dipstick

How to remove broken oil dipstick? That’s the question that most people are asking when they experience this problem with their car. The dipstick is an important part of your vehicle. It gives you the necessary information about your engine’s performance. If it breaks, you may not be able to tell whether or not you have enough oil in it or not.

When a dipstick breaks it can be an expensive repair to the vehicle if left unattended, therefore it is important to remove a broken oil dipstick. If you have tried all you can to remove a broken oil dipstick and still have no luck then continue reading this article for the best possible solution.

I’m going to teach you exactly what to do if your oil dipstick breaks. The steps are easy and the process is very quick. We’ll also give you a couple of other options in case you can’t get your old dipstick out of your car engine.

How To Remove Broken Oil Dipstick – Step by Step Guide

Removing a broken oil dipstick is straightforward and can be accomplished with the help of only a few simple tools.

Here are the steps in detail to remove the oil dipstick from your vehicle:

Step 1 – Use a wrench to remove the oil dipstick.

You can use a wrench on the end of your broken oil dipstick to twist it out of its hole in the engine. This is usually easier if you have help from another person, especially with larger vehicles. Make sure that you are using the right size wrench for this task by giving your dipstick a good wiggle. If it rotates easily with a little force, it should come right out.

Step 2 – Prepare the oil filter for removal

You will need to prepare the new oil filter you have on hand by removing the cap from its top and also undoing the plastic safety ring at its base. You can do this by turning it counterclockwise.

You can then use your wrench to remove the steel oil filter ring from the base of your new oil filter. If you are having trouble removing these pieces, spray some lubricant on the oil filter and try again.

Step 3 – Prepare replacement dipstick tube

You will need to prepare a replacement oil dipstick tube for installation. You can get one from a local parts store. Remove the cap and plastic safety ring from your replacement oil dipstick using a wrench and remove it in the same manner as you did with your old one (counterclockwise).

Step 4 – Prepare engine block

After that prepare the engine block of your vehicle for the installation of your new oil dipstick. First, clean the end that fits into the engine using a wire brush and some diesel fuel.

Make sure to wear gloves and face protection if you choose to use the diesel fuel method as it is very flammable and could harm your skin or eyes.

Step 5 – Install new dipstick and tighten

You will be inserting the new dipstick into your oil tank after you prepare it to make things a little easier. If you clean the end of the dipstick tube and the hole in your engine (using diesel fuel) before inserting the new one, this process should go fairly quickly.

You can attach a wrench onto both ends of the new dipstick to help you turn it smoothly into place.

Step 6 – Repeat for the other side

If your oil dipstick is a two-sided one, repeat steps 1-5 on the other side. Make sure that you screw each piece back in tightly so that there are no leaks or spills. You may have to replace some rags if you spilled oil.

Step 7 – Add new oil to your engine with the dipstick in place

After you have attached the old broken dipstick back onto the top of its metal tube, add some fresh motor oil to your engine with it still in place.

You can do this by wiping off the end and adding a bit at a time until it spills over. Fill up your engine completely so you can get an accurate reading of the oil level when you check it later on.

Step 8 – Check oil level

You will want to check your oil level after driving around for about 30 minutes or traveling some distance. The dipstick should be located on the right side of the engine compartment.

You will want to remove it and look at the level of oil on the end. This is where the markings on your dipstick will determine whether you need to add more or if it’s good for now.

Different reasons why a dipstick can become stuck inside the dipstick tube

There are numerous reasons why an oil dipstick can become lodged inside the tube that holds it. Sometimes you can remove it yourself and other times you will need to call a mechanic.

A broken end to the dipstick can become stuck in the tube if you twist it out of its proper place with a wrench (or similar tool). If you are using diesel fuel or another alternative, flammable chemicals to clean the metal parts on either side of the oil hole then something could have happened during this process that caused your dipstick to become stuck.

This is a fairly common occurrence and it can happen if something goes wrong during the cleaning process you are using.

There are a lot of materials that could cause a broken end of a dipstick to jam inside a tube because there isn’t much room for error in this narrow area.

There is also a possibility that too much oil was added to your engine and it spilled over into the tube that houses the dipstick. This could have pushed the broken end into a place that you can’t reach.

A broken end of an oil stick could be pulled into the tube during installation or removal if you use too much force, don’t let enough lubricant get on the tube, or use tools that are not intended for this process. If you spill any flammable chemicals near where the oil stick goes then this could also cause it to come loose and get stuck.

Another reason why a broken end of the oil dipstick could get stuck in the tube is that something was wedged inside it. If you have small children or pets then this is always a possibility. There also isn’t much room for error, so if you were working on your vehicle and using too large things to remove them when they are still jammed in the tube, this could also be a cause.

How does the dipstick affect your maintenance of the engine?

There are several ways in which the oil dipstick level affects your maintenance of the engine. One of these is that if you have an accurate reading on your dipstick, you will tell when you need to add more oil. If there isn’t enough oil in your engine, then it can cause lots of problems for this vital part of your vehicle.

Another way that the oil stick level affects your maintenance is that if you don’t have enough oil in there, it may cause damage to important components inside the engine. This could even mean needing to replace the entire engine which can be very expensive. You will also need much more than just a dipstick adjustment because the engine will need to be taken apart and put back together.

If you make sure that you have enough oil in your engine then it will also help prevent rust. Most of the materials used to construct your vehicle are made out of metal, whether on or inside it.

If there isn’t enough oil inside of this engine, then rust will start to form on these parts because they aren’t being protected enough. Not only does this look terrible but it can also cause damage to an engine so rust needs to be prevented at all costs.

FAQs

Final Thoughts

When a dipstick becomes stuck inside a tube that holds it, then you can follow the steps outlined above to remove the broken end from this tube. There are several reasons why this could become lodged in there and it may be necessary to have somebody who is more experienced with car engines help you through this process.

If you want to try removing the broken end of it yourself though, you will need to purchase a set of tools that will work on your specific vehicle. You also want to make sure that this is an oil stick and not something else that could have been added to the tube by mistake.

This process requires a lot of patience and a steady hand so if you don’t feel confident that you can do this yourself then it is best to let somebody more qualified than yourself handle the job.