Out, damned dipstick!
 

Quick question...Nissan-related, but not Maxima-specific.

I was checking the oil in my daughter's 2002 Sentra (the 1.8, which holds about a cup of oil in the pan) The dipstick is weird in that you have to twist it about two different directions to maneuver it back into place. Well, in doing so, I got the stick back in-place, but the top half of the handle/ring part broke off in my hand. So, I now have the dipstick firmly in the tube, but sheared-off flush (if not slightly below) the opening of the tube.

Obvious question...How do I get the stick out without mangling the tube, or ramming the stick further down the tube?

I've honestly never encountered this problem before.

Try a set of needle nose plyers...maybe you could get enough of a grip on the stick itself to pull it out again

That's my first inclination to try. Is there any possibility of pushing the stick further down the tube? I'm just enough of a mechanical klutz to do that, if it's at all possible.

no, just get some vice grips and pull that bish out..so long as you PULL and not push you'll be allright

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...s8G6dQE3KrMxPQ

I don't think I'll be able to get vice grips on it. It's broken-off just below the edge of the tube.

So, hypothetically...If I can't get this sucker out, or I clumsily push it further down into the tube, what are my options? Is the tube itself easily removable and replaceable? Or would I be looking at dropping the pan and pushing it back out from there?

I'm telling you man, get the smallest set of needle nose pliers you can find and pull it out. Don't try anything that MAY push it further in or you'll have even more headaches to deal with. Worse comes to worse, drop into a mechanic, and ask them if they can quickly pull it out for you

I'm planning on trying the needle nose pliers first. But, the way it broke off, there's nothing poking up to get a good grab on. It's more like a crater.

Well, as I suspected, there wasn't anything to grab with the needlenose. However, my son had a set of upholstery hooks and picks...

http://cdn100.iofferphoto.com/img/it..._aB0m-H88B.jpg

...That I used to hook into the plastic of the stick and pull it out.

Beer-thirty!

:thumbsup:

Same thing happened to a friend, only it was Jiffy Lube who broke it and they refused to do anything about it.