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The dip stick on my 99 Chevy Tracker is very VERY difficult to get to go all the way in. It goes about ¾ the way in and then gets stuck on something.

Someone told me replacing the dipstick won't help, that it's stuck on something inside.  If so how can I fix it?

Also can I drive it without getting it all the way in? Right now I went to check the oil and a half hour of trying to get it back in has ended with nothing but frustration and failure.

I figured out that the dipstick in my car is the one for the 2 liter engine so that's why it doesn't work. However, I went to the parts store, found the factory replacement for it without the twisted end, and shorter - but it doesn't go all the way in, either!

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Well, this is a universal question, jimmyjames...I've been checking engine oil with dipsticks for over fifty years, and there are often times when the stick won't work well.  Sounds like this began with a wrong dipstick, and possibly the dipstick tube got damaged from the twisted (wrong ended) dipstick.  There could be a flare at the engine of the tube or other type of obstruction...

I would try to run a clean length of mechanic's wire through the dipstick tube, not much deeper into the engine than the estimated bottom of the dipstick tube.  (Typically, the tube fits no more than two inches into the engine block.)  Rotate the wire and see if there is an obvious obstruction.  By measuring the length of the tube before forming the wire, you will know where the obstacle occurs.  Check over the tube's length to the estimated point where the wire hits the obstruction.  Use care and don't break the wire loose inside the engine!

See if there is a kink or collapsed point in the dipstick tube.  It's possible that someone bent the dipstick tube and tried, not very successfully, to straighten it.  This would leave a kink that catches the dipstick.

Moses

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Moses, thanks a million for this idea.

Yes according to pictures online someone put a longer stick with a twisted end into our 1.5 liter engine and somehow got it to fit in there and who knows whether the car is running low on oil or not because it's the wrong stick! Gas station attendants and others had trouble getting it to go in but eventually it would.

Then I couldn't get it to go back in and so started checking online about it and found that it is the wrong stick (2.0 litre stick in a 1.6 liter engine).

Now I've gotta get a yearly check for the government of Costa Rica and it won't pass with the wrong stick that won't go in all the way. And I can't find the right one anywhere as of yet.

So 1st I have to somehow find one (trying junkyards now) and then I have to get it to fit. I found a new parts store that said they had the right one made by the manufacturer BUT it would not go in either even though it's shorter and flat on the end (as it should be according to google photos). So there must be a blockage in there, so will try to get my mechanic to fix it as you describe.

Thanks.

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jimmyjames...To be sure the stick is accurate, perform an oil change (with filter if necessary), draining all of the oil out first.  Use exactly the amount of oil recommended for your 1.6L engine.  If the volume of oil specified includes a new oil filter, change the oil filter, too.  

With the correct amount of fresh oil in the crankcase, start the engine, circulate the oil for five minutes, shut off the engine and let the engine set for 15 minutes.  Make sure all oil has drained back to the oil pan/crankcase.

Try the new dipstick.  Inserted fully, the dipstick oil level should read right around "Full".  Since you know the engine and oil filter have the correct amount of oil, the "Full" mark needs to align with the oil height in the crankcase.

Moses

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