03 Dipstick Hard to insert

[itsnotanova]

FYI, I've heard of the dipstick making contact with a positive cable on the back of the starter and creating a short. I have one car that had an engine fire that i believe was created by the dipstick

[Cbonilla]

Thanks all I will check this weekend. Woody - thanks for alerting me to the fire risk - that definitely got my attention

Is there a DIY on replacing these parts, is it obvious what you need to do, and if I need to replace parts will I need special tools (I'm familiar with how tight working space can be)

[itsnotanova]

Originally Posted by Cbonilla

Thanks all I will check this weekend. Woody - thanks for alerting me to the fire risk - that definitely got my attention

Is there a DIY on replacing these parts, is it obvious what you need to do, and if I need to replace parts will I need special tools (I'm familiar with how tight working space can be)

You maybe will need a pair of pliers for the tabs up top, but the bottom has a push button release. The bottom can be difficult to reach and release sometimes. I sell the dipstick and tube for $15+shipping

[Xpit77]

Originally Posted by itsnotanova

FYI, I've heard of the dipstick making contact with a positive cable on the back of the starter and creating a short. I have one car that had an engine fire that i believe was created by the dipstick

That was me. And yes it did happen.Luckily it didn`t short.

[robdelorenzo]

A long time Porsche Mechanic warned me (a noob) to also be careful when inserting and removing the dipstick so as to not break off the plastic at the end. That's not a good thing to have loose in the engine. Just thought I'd pass that along.

[Cbonilla]

Finally had a chance to go in the engine compartment and have a look. I think I found the tube the dipstick slides into, and not only could I not see that the dipstick had pierced it, but I felt it closely and didn't find any problems. It's a hard tube that transitions to rubber near where it exits the engine, right?

And I had forgotten what a joy it was to open that compartment and then put it all back again, especially as I have the Bose speaker on the read shelf. Glad I didn't have to replace anything -- that space is tight

My only remaining question is that my gauge in the cluster reads a little over full (ihad recently added a quart) and the dipstick is barely showing any oil. Which one should I believe?