[tshortstop]

I was about to use the tractor to stretch some fence. I checked the oil and found a bent dipstick with the end broken off. I am not sure how this happened. My only guess is too much oil unless it jammed into the cam shaft the last time I checked the oil. I drained the oil to find the pieces. (I was almost at 400 hrs so it was time anyway.) The specs call for 1.1 gallons of oil, and I drained ~1.5 gallons. With a magnet I was able to find the pieces. Hopefully, all of them. Another lesson learned. On one of the green tractor parts site, the price of a new dipstick is $117! 😲 I will call my dealer, because it shouldn't cost more than $20. Has anyone seen a destroyed dipstick before?

 

[theduke]

Wow

This will be an interesting one to get to the bottom of........I've seen handles broken but never the wet end.

 

[tshortstop]

By the way, this is on my 3033R.

 

[JR Diyer]

That's a new one on me. I've never even heard of that happening. The stick must of had just enough of a bend and something hit the handle causing it to contact the crank.
I hope you got all the pieces out of there.

 

[theduke]

Lay all the pieces out.....Looks like its the best possible scenario as that type of metal don't crumble or produce shavings to speak of. I'm guessing you got it all.

Install a magnetic drain plug unless its already got one.

Stick some magnets on the oil filter unless they already have them like some of the Orange ones do.

 

[jgayman]

This according to JD Parts.

 

[DanMc]

can’t wait to see how this happened.

 

[dodgeman]

I can’t wrap my mind around the concept of too much oil causing a broken dipstick. I’d have to see exactly how the dipstick goes in the pan but normally it goes in the edge and there isn’t hardly enough extended into the pan to contact moving parts. I’m just hoping something more serious isn’t going on. Was it running ok?

 

[PikeCoGreenTractorMan]

I'm not thinking too much oil as much as I'm thinking about cold-working the "wet end" each time that it is put back into the sump tube to check oil level. Depending upon how often the oil is checked and how dry the receiver tube is, this may have taken many months to break, My theory accounts for the initial break lower on the dipstick - The subsequent breaks I cannot and should not speculate about,

Brian

 

[j. white]

Just a thought, was it easy to remove the dip stick and re-insert when you first got the tractor?

Did it ever seem hard to get back in all the way and had to be pushed really hard?

Reason I ask, maybe it originally had the wrong (as in too long) dip stick in. Maybe someone accidentally put the wrong one in at the dealer or even factory. Just spit balling here......

 

[dodgeman]

I guess if it broke off, not from contacting something, then it could have contacted something. Some of them do bend a lot to get in there. I think the one on my Ford truck is made out of something like a cable.

 

[theduke]

The one on my 6.7 dodge is cable..by far the easiest of the fleet.
Toyotas were always good.

I'm liking the thought several posts up of perhaps a big chunk busted off ...then got chewed up.
Why did it float to get chewed.......the mystery deepens.

 

[flyweight]

greenfarmparts.com

3033R.

Use discount code: GTT for 10% OFF.

 

[hosspuller]

I can see #4 (tube) get snagged by something and bending down, lifting the dipstick end up and into the crank.

Do check the position and mount rigidity of #4 before you just insert a new dipstick.

 

[Gizmo2]

Install a magnetic drain plug unless its already got one.
Stick some magnets on the oil filter unless they already have them like some of the Orange ones do.

I'd stick one on the oil pan also

 

[dwellonrooftop]

The dipstick tube cold be short

 

[SulleyBear]

Too much oil, and nearly half a gallon too much, could cause the crank counter weights to "splash" in the oil and cause the oil to get foamy. Really the only way the dipstick could get caught in something would be if it were;

1. - The wrong dipstick to begin with. Perhaps somewhere along the line, someone inserted the wrong dipstick. I could see that happening.

2. - The dipstick tube which supports the stick is bent or installed crooked.

But these raise other questions which would be helpful to know.....

A. - Who changed the oil last time?

B. - Have you had this tractor since it was new?

C. - When you checked the oil before, did it show low and did you add oil?

D. - If it was the wrong dipstick, (too long) adding oil would not be called for when you checked the oil before, because it would have showed the oil level was too high, not too low if the stick was incorrect and long enough to strike the counter weights.

E. - Is there a part number on the broken dipstick?

Interestingly, the "European 3033r's" use an entirely different dipstick than the U.S. Models. Not to mention it's half the price.

Here are the screen shots from the parts books. Does the damaged dipstick have the part number of the U.S. machine on it?

 

[SulleyBear]

One other interesting finding....The U.S. Model dipstick, part number MIU803196, fit a range of John Deere models, in fact, its used in 32 different models, including;

2032R
2036R
2033R
2038R
3025D
3025E
3032E
3033R
3036E
3038E
3035D
and the list goes on............

 

[AJgrn78]

I've never seen that happen, and I'd be sick if I found that.
Something really weird was going on, but my guess would be it broke and fell into the pan, versus being impacted by something, unless the tube is bent, or it was the wrong dipstick.

 

[tshortstop]

All - I am overwhelmed by your time to help me figure out what happened. Thank you. Since the last time I checked the oil when the dipstick was still intact, I have dragged a few driveways, cut some fields, and dug some post holes. All easy stuff. BUT, most of the time was with the backhoe at a relatively steep slope (backhoe on the uphill side). I wonder at the steep angle and relatively long periods of time at ~1700 RPMs, if the turbulence in the oil pan caused the dipstick to come into contact with moving parts.

Anyway, your responses have confirmed one thing - Next time I am sick, instead of wasting my money on a doctor visit, I will post my symptoms here. 😉