Sometimes, very rarely, I even amaze myself.
Remember I said the oil dipstick was busted off in the block? I fixed it without having to pull the oil pan.
The mess (I did try to punch the side of the tube in to loosen it, it didn't work:
First, you need the right tools. In this case, a set of ear plugs (foam with the attached lanyard), a 27/64" drill bit, a drill (either small enough to fit between the block and steering column/shifter linkage or an angle adapter to get you in there).
Squeeze the ear plug down so it fits into the dipstick hole.
Push the plug down using the dipstick or whatever, without pushing it all the way into the pan. Cut the string off a few inches from the top of the hole. Push the string down the hole at least past the stub that needs to be removed.
Then get your drill set up so you can drill out the stuck tube. I chose to use a 27/64" bit because it will not jam as bad in the hole or bore it out at all and it's big enough not to really leave much of the tube inside.
The drill worked great and the tube was cleared out. Then I used a fairly strong magnet to get as much crud out as possible. I put a smaller diameter bolt on the magnet, which is then magnetized, and put it down the hole a few times to clean as many shavings out as possible. When the bolt is removed from the magnet, most of the filings will drop right off.
Then I used a small hook or probe to fish out the string.
Then slowly pulled out the ear plug and all the rest of the grit with it (there wasn't much)
That's it, job done. I think I am done using that style of dipstick. This is not the first time I had one bust off. They make tubeless style dipsticks that fit directly into the block that I think I will use from now on, depending on how they fit around the headers. Like this one from summit:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-G290/