Dipstick tube removal tip (to remove the oil pan)

When I've decided to replace the gearshaft seals on my 328 I had no idea it would be so hard to remove the dipstick tube. I've managed to access it from underneath, with the car on jack stands. I just needed to take the breather tube from the alternator out of the way to get to the bottom of the dipstick.

The real problem is that the dipstick is attached to a union that in turn attaches to the sump. The dipstick is frequently stuck to the union, so when you try to remove the dipstick you end up loosening the union and not the dipstick! This is what happened to me. The addicional problem is that the engine mount doesn't allow you to put a wrench on the union to keep it from rotating. There's just no space left .... even the 27mm wrench for the dipstick is a bit hard to rotate, but possible.

So this is what I did, after a couple of hours fighting it: I got a 10mm Allen key that perfectly fitted the space left between the engine mount and the union, keeping the face of the union paralel to the engine mount. I had to tighten the 27mm nut a bit first, and it came right out! I hope that this can help others with the same problem.

Don't forget that you have to remove the tube that fits inside the union. That's what prevents the sump removal! In my case there were signs that someone has tried to force the sump out without removing the tube.

And since one picture is worth a thousand words ... here's three !
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