[Ovine.Aviation]

I have tried searching the forums but cant find an answer.

The dip stick has a strange looking orange plastic bit on the end making it difficult to tell how much oil is in the car. So far have removed the stick, wiped it, re-seated it for a couple of seconds and then removed to have a look. Cannot see any oil on the orange bit of plastic. Worried that the oil could be very low I added 1 litre of oil to the engine. Ran for a short time (2 miles), waited an hour for oil to settle then checked again with same result. Cannot see any oil on the orange bit.

Am I missing something here? Checking it wrong? I am used to the normal dipsticks which are much easier to read.

The car seems to run fine. No lights on dash and not overheating.

Thanks guys.

 

[o2sys]

The yellow end has two square notches where the oil will seep into. One at the top and one at the bottom.

If the top notch is filled with oil it's full, if it is reading at the bottom it's low 1/2qt of oil.

If nothing then I would be worried.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Ovine.Aviation]

The yellow end has two square notches where the oil will seep into. One at the top and one at the bottom.

If the top notch is filled with oil it's full, if it is reading at the bottom it's low 1/2qt of oil.

If nothing then I would be worried.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Hi o2sys and thanks for the reply and info.

Do I need to try to clean out the tiny notches before checking? Only ask as I would have expected to see oil on the plastic piece itself as well as the notches but definitely dont see any.

I will try later today to see if I can clean the notches to get a better check.

Thanks again.

 

[Ovine.Aviation]

I have tried searching the forums but cant find an answer.

The dip stick has a strange looking orange plastic bit on the end making it difficult to tell how much oil is in the car. So far have removed the stick, wiped it, re-seated it for a couple of seconds and then removed to have a look. Cannot see any oil on the orange bit of plastic. Worried that the oil could be very low I added 1 litre of oil to the engine. Ran for a short time (2 miles), waited an hour for oil to settle then checked again with same result. Cannot see any oil on the orange bit.

Am I missing something here? Checking it wrong? I am used to the normal dipsticks which are much easier to read.

The car seems to run fine. No lights on dash and not overheating.

Thanks guys.

Just wanted to answer my own question, in case any one else is having doubts about the same issue...

The dip stick works the same as any other... You should see oil on it when checking. Inbetween the notches mentioned by o2sys. Its very obvious if there is oil in the car and can be seen easily.

My own experience meant I had hardly any oil in the car, now rectified. After adding 1 litre at a time until I could see the oil on the dispstick I know I was running with around 0.5 to 1 litre in the engine. It was any bodies guess how close to having an engine fail I was, but now have oil in the car and will be attempting to address just where the oil is leaking from. Would be happy for anyone to point out the most likely places to check.

Consider this question closed by a grateful idiot.

Thanks o2sys.

 

[Smoothdriver]

Just wanted to answer my own question, in case any one else is having doubts about the same issue...

The dip stick works the same as any other... You should see oil on it when checking. Inbetween the notches mentioned by o2sys. Its very obvious if there is oil in the car and can be seen easily.

My own experience meant I had hardly any oil in the car, now rectified. After adding 1 litre at a time until I could see the oil on the dispstick I know I was running with around 0.5 to 1 litre in the engine. It was any bodies guess how close to having an engine fail I was, but now have oil in the car and will be attempting to address just where the oil is leaking from. Would be happy for anyone to point out the most likely places to check.

Consider this question closed by a grateful idiot.

Thanks o2sys.

The oil level on Minis needs to be kept at the maximum mark as the sump capacity is low at 4.2 l.

 

[Ovine.Aviation]

The oil level on Minis needs to be kept at the maximum mark as the sump capacity is low at 4.2 l.

Good to know. Topping up to the max mark. Thanks Smoothdriver.

 

[Ovine.Aviation]

The oil level on Minis needs to be kept at the maximum mark as the sump capacity is low at 4.2 l.

Any advice on the best oil for R52? 1st gen Cooper S?

 

[MVPeters]

Any good quality full synthetic.
5W/30 is the recommendation but depending on your climate & driving conditions & an older car, 10W/40 might be worthwhile.
Change the oil & filter every 10,000 miles maximum, not the 15k the handbook says.
MINIs like their oil - keep an eye on it.
It's cheap insurance.

 

[Ovine.Aviation]

5W30 it is. Seems to be a lot of price difference between vendors. Found some for 8.99 (5W30) at local garage so going with that. Oil I bought says BMW on it, fingers crossed.

Im in the UK so ambient temps are low(ish).

Thanks so much for replying.