how the hell do you check the oil?
Discussion
cant help you with the mini but, like you I've owned quite a few cars and would say that most of them have a convoluted dipstick tube and by the time you pull the dipstick out all the oil which was on the end between the two marks is either brushed off or spread out rendering the thing useless.
Most recent: my son's Citroen C1
Most recent: my son's Citroen C1
peter2704 said:
ok ,so with the wifes n18 cooper S i want to keep on top of the oil situation.Can someone explain the best way to check the dipstick ,I have had over 25 cars in my life time and the mini is the most confusing and hard to read ,is there a correct way...help
Turbo or supercharged?softtop said:
peter2704 said:
ok ,so with the wifes n18 cooper S i want to keep on top of the oil situation.Can someone explain the best way to check the dipstick ,I have had over 25 cars in my life time and the mini is the most confusing and hard to read ,is there a correct way...help
Turbo or supercharged?OP - The dipstick is a known issue, sometimes people find it hard to read others not. I think you can buy an aftermarket one but its expensive. Some others have made a groove into the dipstick to help make it easy to read.
I had an N18 GP2. There's two issues: a dipstick that's hard to read and a dip tube that holds oil.
There's a technique for this though...
- Get the car warm and turn off.
- Remove the dipstick straight away, clean it thoroughly and set it to one side (or rest across the engine).
- Wait 10 mins or so for all the oil in the dip tube to run down into the sump, as well as the oil from the rest of the system.
- Dip and check the level.
It should be nice and clear and easy to read at that point. But if it's not (because dark oil on a dark dipstick is a challenge), lay the dip 'end' on kitchen roll and 'roll' it along. You'll clearly see a line of oil where the level is.
Worked for me every time. Good luck!
There's a technique for this though...
- Get the car warm and turn off.
- Remove the dipstick straight away, clean it thoroughly and set it to one side (or rest across the engine).
- Wait 10 mins or so for all the oil in the dip tube to run down into the sump, as well as the oil from the rest of the system.
- Dip and check the level.
It should be nice and clear and easy to read at that point. But if it's not (because dark oil on a dark dipstick is a challenge), lay the dip 'end' on kitchen roll and 'roll' it along. You'll clearly see a line of oil where the level is.
Worked for me every time. Good luck!
MDifficult said:
I had an N18 GP2. There's two issues: a dipstick that's hard to read and a dip tube that holds oil.
There's a technique for this though...
- Get the car warm and turn off.
- Remove the dipstick straight away, clean it thoroughly and set it to one side (or rest across the engine).
- Wait 10 mins or so for all the oil in the dip tube to run down into the sump, as well as the oil from the rest of the system.
- Dip and check the level.
It should be nice and clear and easy to read at that point. But if it's not (because dark oil on a dark dipstick is a challenge), lay the dip 'end' on kitchen roll and 'roll' it along. You'll clearly see a line of oil where the level is.
Worked for me every time. Good luck!
Just to support this method. Does indeed work every time.There's a technique for this though...
- Get the car warm and turn off.
- Remove the dipstick straight away, clean it thoroughly and set it to one side (or rest across the engine).
- Wait 10 mins or so for all the oil in the dip tube to run down into the sump, as well as the oil from the rest of the system.
- Dip and check the level.
It should be nice and clear and easy to read at that point. But if it's not (because dark oil on a dark dipstick is a challenge), lay the dip 'end' on kitchen roll and 'roll' it along. You'll clearly see a line of oil where the level is.
Worked for me every time. Good luck!
I've had this problem before but after reading around, it seems that the options are:
a) faffing around a lot when you simply want to read the oil
b) buying a £60 aftermarket dipstick
c) file it
I chose option c and its made a world of difference. Take out the dipstick, clamp the bottom end in a vice and take a file to two sides to create two flat sides (so instead of the dipstick looking like O, it looks more 0 with flatter sides). I was sceptical but its made a massive difference for the sake of a 10 minute job.
a) faffing around a lot when you simply want to read the oil
b) buying a £60 aftermarket dipstick
c) file it
I chose option c and its made a world of difference. Take out the dipstick, clamp the bottom end in a vice and take a file to two sides to create two flat sides (so instead of the dipstick looking like O, it looks more 0 with flatter sides). I was sceptical but its made a massive difference for the sake of a 10 minute job.
MDifficult said:
Skyedriver said:
Never been able to find the dip stick on my wife's 17 plate Cooper Cabrio. Is there one? Where do I look?
Ooo.. think I can answer that one too! 2017 MINI is very much a BMW. No dipstick. You check through Vehicle Status in the iDrive.
Boom! Two for two!
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