dipstick replacement R56 cooper
Discussion
They are irritating as the bulbous end seems to drag oil back up the tube giving false readings.
If you search on the North American Motoring forum there are some useful mods you can do to make it easier to read. I filed the end of mine flat on 2 sides and it now seems to do the job OK.
If you search on the North American Motoring forum there are some useful mods you can do to make it easier to read. I filed the end of mine flat on 2 sides and it now seems to do the job OK.
I agree its unfathomable, especially with clean oil. But then I came across this thread on minitorque and it put me off the Cravenspeed:
https://www.minitorque.com/forum/f544/cravenspeed-...
No idea if overblown or not.
https://www.minitorque.com/forum/f544/cravenspeed-...
No idea if overblown or not.
My new ‘craven’ dipstick has arrived, tried it out and find it is very good at what it is supposed to be for.Engine oil level very easy to detect. Expensive to buy but worth every penny for piece of mind.
Why couldn’t BMW provide such a piece o equipment from the outset? Poor effort from them.
Why couldn’t BMW provide such a piece o equipment from the outset? Poor effort from them.
I bought one of the Cravenspeed ones too and then read all the scare stories on their version. I am happy with it so far.
I think you just need to re-adjust what you consider to be the full mark and the low mark on these. When I put them up against each other the dots on the Cravenspeed ones are slightly different from the OEM one.
You also need to look carefully if the oil is very clear and the light is poor when checking on these aftermarket dipsticks.
Pip
I think you just need to re-adjust what you consider to be the full mark and the low mark on these. When I put them up against each other the dots on the Cravenspeed ones are slightly different from the OEM one.
You also need to look carefully if the oil is very clear and the light is poor when checking on these aftermarket dipsticks.
Pip
csd19 said:
I replaced the original useless spiral wound metal POS with the one with the red nylon bottom section.
Best thing I did was file down the width of the lower section to remove the bulb shapes, now it reads the oil no problem
Vital on the N14 engines...
Yup I did the same and is now nice and easy. No idea why they didn't just do that! Best thing I did was file down the width of the lower section to remove the bulb shapes, now it reads the oil no problem
Vital on the N14 engines...
Henz said:
csd19 said:
I replaced the original useless spiral wound metal POS with the one with the red nylon bottom section.
Best thing I did was file down the width of the lower section to remove the bulb shapes, now it reads the oil no problem
Vital on the N14 engines...
Yup I did the same and is now nice and easy. No idea why they didn't just do that! Best thing I did was file down the width of the lower section to remove the bulb shapes, now it reads the oil no problem
Vital on the N14 engines...
keep the mini atm, seems to much hassle with the thing.
I have the same type as 'csd19' above - it's not the best, but what I find that helps is to spray some brake cleaner on the end of it and wipe it... it then goes very matt in appearance and after dipping again, the oil level is much easier to see.
It would help if it were a different colour though - something like yellow would help!
How can a car manufacturer get it so wrong?!!
It would help if it were a different colour though - something like yellow would help!
How can a car manufacturer get it so wrong?!!
Drekly said:
I agree its unfathomable, especially with clean oil. But then I came across this thread on minitorque and it put me off the Cravenspeed:
https://www.minitorque.com/forum/f544/cravenspeed-...
No idea if overblown or not.
I'm confused.https://www.minitorque.com/forum/f544/cravenspeed-...
No idea if overblown or not.
That Minitorque thread seems to be about R53 Minis not R56s. Is the R53 dipstick as hard to read as the R56 one? Are both liable to snap or is it just the R53 one?
I struggle to read the oil level on my Countryman Cooper S (N18 engine) and it's worrying me...
csd19 said:
I replaced the original useless spiral wound metal POS with the one with the red nylon bottom section.
Best thing I did was file down the width of the lower section to remove the bulb shapes, now it reads the oil no problem
Vital on the N14 engines...
Sorry, I am possibly being a bit thick here but do you mean you bought a completely different oil dipstick or you did some sort of Heath Robinson change of the end bit only to the red one shown - ??Best thing I did was file down the width of the lower section to remove the bulb shapes, now it reads the oil no problem
Vital on the N14 engines...
Pip
Just been reading about people who file the end of the dipstick.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/stock...
https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/stock...
Pip1968 said:
csd19 said:
I replaced the original useless spiral wound metal POS with the one with the red nylon bottom section.
Best thing I did was file down the width of the lower section to remove the bulb shapes, now it reads the oil no problem
Vital on the N14 engines...
Sorry, I am possibly being a bit thick here but do you mean you bought a completely different oil dipstick or you did some sort of Heath Robinson change of the end bit only to the red one shown - ??Best thing I did was file down the width of the lower section to remove the bulb shapes, now it reads the oil no problem
Vital on the N14 engines...
Pip
When I got my R56 MCS it had a stock spiral wound metal dipstick, like a long spring if you like. This was a nightmare to read the oil level from so I bought the newer OEM disptick (one with the red nylon bit as above) then filed the lower bulb down until it was the same diameter as the section between the bulbs.
Heath Robinson? Nooooo.... just some fine workshop engineering thank you
Dift said:
If you pull OEM dip stick out and leave it for 5 minutes before taking the reading the OEM item is perfectly acceptable.
The 5 minutes allows all the oil the dip stick has dragged up the dipstick tube to flow back into the engine, and makes reading the level easy.
That sounds like a great tip (no pun intended) - will give it a try!The 5 minutes allows all the oil the dip stick has dragged up the dipstick tube to flow back into the engine, and makes reading the level easy.
Dift said:
If you pull OEM dip stick out and leave it for 5 minutes before taking the reading the OEM item is perfectly acceptable.
The 5 minutes allows all the oil the dip stick has dragged up the dipstick tube to flow back into the engine, and makes reading the level easy.
How are you reading the level if the dipstick is already out? Does putting it back in not create the same supposed problem with dragging the oil? My morning caffeine hasn't really kicked in yet.....The 5 minutes allows all the oil the dip stick has dragged up the dipstick tube to flow back into the engine, and makes reading the level easy.
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