Oil Dipstick tube breaks in half

ThomasKearns

Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2004
Location
Fort Thomas, KY
TDI
PASSAT GLS TDI 2005 Reflex Silver
So I am changing my oil for the 13th time this evening and go to push the dipstick back into the tube and the plastic tube breaks about 2/3 of the way down. Need some advice. Was about to fill it with oil. Should I hold off on adding the oil and have it towed to the shop or is this a pretty easy fix something the average Joe can fix? thanks for the help. Was heading to florida on Thursday morning so hoping it is something that can be done ASAP.
 

JERMS

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2008
Location
Sac, CA
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI auto *sold*, 2012 Jetta SE 5spd w/convenience&sunroof
Mine broke too. Pour oil into the oil fill cap and try your best to take an accurate reading from the dipstick while holding it together. OR, you can look up in your owners manual how much engine oil it takes and add that amount.

It must be a common problem, because my local VW dealership had a bunch of them in stock, $11 will get u a new one.
 

40X40

Experienced
Joined
Feb 12, 2006
Location
Kansas City area, MO
TDI
2013 Passat SEL Premium
Fill the engine with oil, leaving it a half quart or half liter low. Duct tape the opening closed to keep foreign material out of the engine. You can now operate the car.

Call the dealership and see if they have the part in stock. Call all dealerships in your line of travel and see if they have the part in stock... your own dealer may be able to help with this. Once you find the part is stock, drive to the stocking dealer (with your engine one half quart/liter low) and they can install the part in a few minutes(an hour).

Bill
 

ThomasKearns

Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2004
Location
Fort Thomas, KY
TDI
PASSAT GLS TDI 2005 Reflex Silver
Thanks for the quick responses. I did fill it with plenty of oil and if I can get the part it looks like a fairly manageable fix. Looks like it is not boltrd on, but could not tell as it was getting dark.
 

1854sailor

Resident Curmudgeon
Joined
Aug 10, 2004
Location
Westerly, RI
TDI
2015 Golf SE SportWagen, 2015 Golf SE Hatch Back.
It will just pull off of the metal tube and the new one slides right on.
 

s4phillips

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2005
Location
Live in d/FW, TX. Transplanted from the Pacific
TDI
2002 Beetle, 2005 Passat Variant-DOA blunt force trama, 2014 Beetle-went home
How easy is it to break off/remove the remaining tube? And install the new one?
Easy to break and easy to remove the remaining tube. New on pushes on with a bit of force. Push hard until it seats on with a firm click. The tube from a ALH 1.9L will fit in a pinch. If I recall correctly, VW calls this a funnel.

This is a normal wear item for these cars. Probably should be on the preventive maintenance schedule for replacement with every timing belt.
 

Tyler E

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2011
Location
North Carolina
TDI
2000 Jetta 1.9 TDI
mine literally broke two days ago too i ordered one from my mechanic and just caped the dip stick hole with a coke cap and tape until i go pick the new tube up.
 

Zambee500

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Location
Atlanta, GA
TDI
2005 Passat TDI GLS, 2014 NMS Passat TDI SEL Premium
Mine broke in January around 135k miles. There's a thread here somewhere about a metal replacement that would be more permanent, but I think they were $80-ish. For $11, the plastic ones every TB change makes more sense to me.

Fyi, others have noted in other threads that the plastic oil funnels are more likely to break when the engine cover is removed. The engine cover prevents (or decreases) the plastic funnel from vibrating as much when the engine is running. I suspect mine more likely broke due to the 135k total miles, but I did happen to remove the engine cover some time last year and didn't put it back on so that could've played a part or hastened its demise.

And yes, the plastic/rubber wine corks seem to fit perfectly as a temp. fix to allow you to drive to pick up the part at the dealership.
 

Zambee500

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Location
Atlanta, GA
TDI
2005 Passat TDI GLS, 2014 NMS Passat TDI SEL Premium
Sorry, I didn't look at the link that DeliveryValve posted... but that's the thread where I got all my information from in January (summarized above) :D
 

Muleman

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2003
Location
Midwest
TDI
2005 Passat GLS TDI Wagon
Mine broke at my last oil change(watched my guy snap it off replacing the filter) He got a little excited as he was already having a bad day. They melted the old plastic one together with his co-workers welder. (They clearly had done that before.) He called VW, got a new in a couple days. He said they told him they break all the time. He wasn't going to charge me for it and I told him no way. I said I'd rather have him to pay for the really expensive stuff he breaks, not the cheap stuff.................;)

Regards PJ
 

79_Limited

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 1, 2010
Location
Atlanta, GA
TDI
2003 Jetta
I just went though this. It was an say fix. Inside the oil tube I had a ring of the plastic tube broken on the inside. I stuffed a small paper towline below the tube so any plastic pieces that fell were caught by the paper towl. I would hate for those pieces to fall into the engine.

As someone else said I heated up the plastic tube with hoot water before installing and it clicked easily into place.
 

frosterrj

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 25, 2012
Location
tacoma
TDI
2005 Passat Silver/Black; 2013 TDI SportWagen 6M White/Black
I just changed the oil and filter and removed the dip stick tube on purpose so I could get the filter cap off.

The tube pulled off w/o breaking, but putting it back on so that it stays connected when pulling the dip stick out is what's puzzling me.

Is this completely a mechanical fit? What do I need to do to make it stay connected to the metal tube? Kinda puzzled....
 

1854sailor

Resident Curmudgeon
Joined
Aug 10, 2004
Location
Westerly, RI
TDI
2015 Golf SE SportWagen, 2015 Golf SE Hatch Back.
Just push it on. Make sure that it is fully seated on the metal pipe.
 

b554me

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2007
Location
Los Angeles, CA
TDI
Passat Turbocharged purchased in Costa Rica.
Agree with the above, just pushing it in with your own body weight won't do it. for a week, everytime i would check the oil it would just come off with the dipstick. I finally put a block a small block of wood on the tube, hit it with a hammer one good time, and it has stayed! I thought for awhile that I had gotten the wrong part..
 

1854sailor

Resident Curmudgeon
Joined
Aug 10, 2004
Location
Westerly, RI
TDI
2015 Golf SE SportWagen, 2015 Golf SE Hatch Back.
I have successfully replaced them on both the Golf (twice) and the Passat without needing any mechanical "persuasion".
 
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