Had oil changed but they forgot to put the oil dipstick back in my car. Where can I buy a replacement dipstick. Can't seem to find it online

Outside of the oil filter, there aren't a lot of places oil can exit the engine under normal circumstances, but my wife's '96 850 had a similar problem.

The source of the leak in her case was the dipstick tube. We'd had the transmission replaced a few months before, and as it turns out, they had to pull the engine and transmission as a unit in order to get the tranny out. (They Hayes manual says to drop the subframe beneath the car, but given a full auto shop, it was probably just as easy for them to just pull the entire assembly.)

Anyway, in the process I assume they disconnected the dipstick to give themselves more room to work. From the looks of the o-ring between the block and the dipstick tube, it appears it got deformed when being reinstalled so it failed to seal correctly, letting the oil leak out of it. Between the action of the cooling fans on the radiator and wind coming through the grille while driving, it was throwing the oil all over the place, making it hard to determine exactly where it was coming from.

I ended up wiping down the entire bottom of the engine, driving the car and looking for oil. Repeat several times until I finally isolated it to the dipstick.

You can buy just the o-ring online for just a few bucks. That solved the majority of the issue for me, but then I found oil leaking out of the top of the dipstick as well! There's another o-ring there, but they don't sell those by themselves; you have to either buy the whole dipstick (without the tube) to get it, or take the old one to an auto parts store and try to match up the existing o-ring to something they have in stock. I found one that was close enough, and that seems to have put to bed my engine leaks.

Of course, I don't imagine you've had your engine pulled, but since your car is almost of legal drinking age, it's entirely possible the seal has simply failed due to age. Definitely recommend replacing both the top and bottom seals. There's only one bolt holding the dipstick in place, so it's not hard to swap out the one between the tube and the block.

Hi Alena:
Here's a way to solve the problem without actually knowing the answer.
Do an oil change on the vehicle, putting in exactly the specified amount of oil, and allowing for the oil filter. The owners manual should tell the required amount.
Then wipe off your new dipstick and check the oil level.
Where it is at should be the full mark. If not, I'd just file a notch at the appropriate spot, and then go drive off for a picnic.
Cheers.

That is where you put the oil when you are low on oil or when you an oil change. When you open the hood you should see a oil dipstick. Make sure the car has been off for at least 5 to 10 minutes. Have a clean paper towel and remove the dipstick. make sure its the dipstick if you have an automatic transmission. trans fluid is red in color oil will be golden to dark black depending on how often you change the oil. wipe the dipstick off and at the end you will see a full mark near the end. Replace the dipstick back into the tube you removed it from and pull it out again, check the end where it says full. If there is oil up to the full mark your good, if not add oil through the oil cap hole in valve cover top. re-wipe the dip stick and check to see if full. Add oil as needed. If you keep up with your oil changes as required depending on the oil requirements. 10w30 regular oil is every 3,000 miles. Castrol synthetic oil is every 21,000 miles. Use a good oil filter. Consult your auto parts dealer.

A typical automobile holds 4-5 quarts of oil.....Depends on the size of motor. If changing yourself, Drain out all oil, change filter, put oil plug back in. Put 3- 31/2 quarts back into car. put oil cap on and start car. Let run for 2-3 minutes then shut back off. Wait for a few. Pull out dipstick wipe, put back in then pull out a second time...Now you know how much you need to top off level.

no oil on dipstick is a very BAD THING make sure you have oil in the motor before you do anything else!!! or else it can cost you a motor if you did your own oil change,,, did you put oilpan plug back in? did you tighten the oil filter? did you put 5qts oil back into motor? there SHOULD BE A READING ON THE DIPSTICK. new oil looks almost transparent on the dipstick. try rubbing your finger on the dipstick to check for oil presence. look real close at the dipstick before you start your motor!!! if you added 5qts oil it went somewhere,are you sure it went into the motor? if no oil in motor there will be loud knocking from the motor. hope this helped you save your motor!!!!!

your best bet is to buy a Haynes book on your car from Autozone for $20.00
It will tell you if you have stretch bolts or not in your engine.

Sometimes the dealership will forget to reset the oil light after changing the oil. It is there to remind you when it is time to get it changed. If you call them and let them know that they forgot to do it, they will probably just walk you through it. Also, check to make sure the put the oil cap back on ticht. It is not the dipstick, but the larger cap on the top of the engine that reads "oil".

Add enough oil to get the stick reading back to the full line. Oil can't disappear...so either you are burning it or leaking . If you used more than two quarts in 400 miles, if it's burning it it definitely should be fouling plugs and smoking. If leaking, there has to be wet oil under the engine somewhere. Check everything over again to verify either condition.

A replacement dipstick can be purchased at your local dealer. I suggest you get the right one and not try to fabricate a make shift one for something as critical as you engine oil level.

it is very easy to change the oil put the car on ramps secure the back end look for the drain plug underneath the engine make sure you have the right size wrench and when you remove the plug also check the gasket on the plug to make sure it is not cracked you will also need an oil filter wrench and my other suggestion to you is to go to autozone to see if they have a Haynes repair manual for your car and if they don't see if they can order you one in the mean time they can also print you off a diagram of how to change the oil in you car safely