A bit of plastic fell down the dipstick tube

[D1andonlyantman]

Hi, like the title says, I was just checking my oil and as I pulled the dipstick out a bit of plastic from around the neck of the actual dipstick fell straight down the dipstick tube. I've recently had a new pick up pipe fitted so really doubt that would get blocked by the bit of plastic but I just wanted to check people think it's not going to kill the engine. The piece of plastic was probably about the size of a pea if that helps at all

Thanks

 

[Ryan6926]

I think you should be ok bud, I've found a few bits have dropped down from my old dipstick into the oil, That was about 3 months ago and I've not noticed anything amiss. It might have gone into the filter if we're lucky

I replaced mine with one from an Audi A3 1.8T straight swap

 

[D1andonlyantman]

Ah cool, thanks.

 

[brad_barker12]

No get it out ASAP. I did the same a few months ago. I had to move the car across the drive so I started it briefly and all was fine however I dropped the sump straight away. Found the bit of plastic wedged in the mesh on the oil pick up pipe. This will affect flow and I'm so glad I dropped the sump in the end. At the end of the day a few hours dropping your sump spent or a possibility of engine failure.

By the way there is no way that a piece of plastic can get to the oil filter as the only way out of the sump is through the oil pickup with has a mesh type filter on it. Obviously this has to be clean for obvious reasons.

 

[D1andonlyantman]

Well I just drove 40 miles and all seems normal but I can see your point, but wouldn't the pressure warning go off if the pressure dropped, or by the time that comes on are you in trouble? ? I'm not cheap but I had the pickup replaced about 150 miles ago and ain't too keen on forking out the 100 odd quid to basically do it again. My mechanic mate who does all my work said he thinks it will be fine

 

[Ryan6926]

How'd you drop the sump then?

How long will it take to do it do you reckon? If it's not a huge job to do I may do it

 

[tyrone2003]

it should'nt do any harm as the mesh in the gauze will still have plenty of room to be able to deliver enough oil as the mesh / gauze of the pick up has lots of very small holes , so it is the first filter if you understand

 

[Ryan6926]

it should'nt do any harm as the mesh in the gauze will still have plenty of room to be able to deliver enough oil as the mesh / gauze of the pick up has lots of very small holes , so it is the first filter if you understand

That's what I was thinking / hoping.

The car's due a service in about 1k miles anyway but I've got MOT / things to repair before I put it through anyway (Need a new exhaust as centre bracket missing) I've got a new CCM to sort out and then a door regulator.

I've got plenty of other things that need doing first so if it's not going to kill it (It hasn't in 3k) then it would hopefully be ok is my thinking

 

[Captain Cupra]

It's easy and not worth the risk, 20 or so bolts drop it off check for bits, thoroughly clean the sump flange, apply sump sealant in a continuous pattern around bolt holes and re torque all torx bolts to 10nm starting from the centre like you would a cylinder head or any flush fit cover.


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[Ryan6926]

Captain Cupra are you familiar with your way around these cars / motors etc?

I don't suppose you'd like to lend a hand to somebody completely clueless would you? Beer tokens / lots of appreciation would be given

 

[Captain Cupra]

Where abouts do you live?


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[Ryan6926]

I'm only in Midhurst but go past Portsmouth fairly often

 

[Captain Cupra]

I'm pretty sure we can sort you out then Ryan, PM me and we can arrange something, I've dropped these sumps countless times, obviously you'll need new oil too if you wanted that changed, I can sort out the sump sealant, Pm me

Jim


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[Captain Cupra]

It's a 30min job for me usually so not mega.


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[Ryan6926]

Pm'd

Cheers it's appreciated

 

[brad_barker12]

Well I just drove 40 miles and all seems normal but I can see your point, but wouldn't the pressure warning go off if the pressure dropped, or by the time that comes on are you in trouble? ? I'm not cheap but I had the pickup replaced about 150 miles ago and ain't too keen on forking out the 100 odd quid to basically do it again. My mechanic mate who does all my work said he thinks it will be fine

not worth the risk mate. it could be fine for 20000 miles or 20. from what I have read many times by the time the oil pressure light has come on you start hearing knocking noises from the engine so the damage is already happening before you can even react. imagine if you was pushing the car hard and was at high revs and your pressure light came on. do you think you could react fast enough? if it was my car I would be shitting it everytime I drove it. for piece of mind I would drop the sump. bearing in mind these cars have been known to suffer with oil starvation problems due to the pickup being blocked if its had shite servicing etc. that piece of plastic is not going to help

How'd you drop the sump then?

How long will it take to do it do you reckon? If it's not a huge job to do I may do it

its not a massive job undo sump plug to drop oil out, unbolt the turbo oil return pipe from the sump, undo all bolts holding sump to the block, you may need to give the sump a bit of a whack depending on whether its been done before. mine wasn't and it took a fair bit of persuading to take it off. make sure you have a solvent to clean the sump out and the mating faces. also need sump sealant aswell.

it should'nt do any harm as the mesh in the gauze will still have plenty of room to be able to deliver enough oil as the mesh / gauze of the pick up has lots of very small holes , so it is the first filter if you understand

the pick up isn't meant to be a filter. its there to protect the oil pump from large objects that may end up in the sump that could potentially ruin the pump and engine, any objects stuck in the mesh will affect flow. even with that mesh on the pickup it still could ruin the engine if there's not sufficient oil being supplied due to that piece of plastic. like I said 5 ltrs of fresh oil, sump sealant which doesn't cost that much plus a few hours out someones day isn't a lot when you think how much an entire engine will cost plus the man hours to fit.

I was debating about whether to drop mine when my dipstick disintegrated into the sump. deffo glad I did now. the pickup on mine was clean as a whistle probably due to the fact its been serviced well except for the bit of plastic that surprisingly took up a lot of room on the mesh. glad I didn't drive it or have any issues. its just not worth the risk

 

[D1andonlyantman]

Well now I'm officially paranoid. I'll get it done next week when I get my cambelt and pump done. Thanks for he heads up even if it's not what I wanted to hear. Cheers

 

[Captain Cupra]

I guess there's a lesson to learn here too, give the dipstick a check as it's the ribbed section at the top that bits break off, if it's looking weak and bits may brake off, replace it to avoid this issue.


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[Captain Cupra]

As you can see this is a new pickup pipe i have in spares, it's a very fine filter gauze as it is, over time this can become restricted with dirty oil, narrowing the passage ways, adding to that a bit of plastic you can see the potential for issues

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[D1andonlyantman]

Yeah I've already txt my mate. He's gonna do it next week