Dipstick broke and a plastic piece fell in. What to do???

[Zone99]

Hi,

I'm kind of desperate here: I went to check my oil tonight and the dipstick broke. The plastic ring handle broke into multiple pieces and I was able to retrieve all the pieces out of the dipstick tube but one.

While trying to retrive it with a small grab tool, it slid down into the tube and, presumably, into the oil pan.

What are the risks here? Could it muck up the engine? Or will it just get crushed up in the pump?

Will changing the oil flush it out? Or do I have to remove the oil pan?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I have to leave on a trip VERY soon.

Thanks.

[White850Turbo]

Wow... Well if it were me, I'd change the oil. If the piece doesn't come out with the rest of the oil, you might want to grab a flashlight and look through the drain plug whole to see if you can see it in there and grab it out with something.

[saltydog]

any idea how big the piece is? I wouldn't be too freaked out - if it's a larger piece, it will probably just get caught up in the windage tray or just float around in the pan for ever more. Don't forget that there is a screen on the oil sump pick up to prevent larger peices of debris from getting to the pump. If it's small enough to get lodged onto the screen, about the only real threat I would see is it promoting the build up of sludge on the pick up, but that's no real worry if you service correctly. Still, changing the oil never does any harm.