My $115 dipstick

[shuttermutt]

I just spend 6 hours with three other guys trying to... get this... replace my dipstick tube. Yep, you read that right. What should have been a 15 minute job on a lazy day turned into 6 hours of labor and about $40 in parts.

You see, when I bought this new engine, I noticed that the dipstick was wrong. Basically, it was a late-model dipstick in a 1969 engine. "No problem!", I thought, "I'll just pick up a cheap chrome job and at least it will seal right and I can get a relatively accurate reading."

Well, I stopped by a buddy's shop this morning and we proceeded to pull the old tube out. Well, the first half anyway. The old tube was not only sheared in half, it was also held in by a big glob of silicone.

The second half of the dipstick remained in the block. We tapped a screw inside and proceeded to pull. No love. To make a long story short, the inner tube (the one you put in first to keep the dipstick straight) was installed from the pan side. Since the top was mangled, we had no choice, but to drop the oil pan (which required taking the engine mount bolts out and lifting), drive the tube out with a punch, and then put it all back together again.

Six freakin' hours and, at times, 4 guys cussing and scratching our heads. The good news is that I now have an accurate dipstick and it's installed correctly. Fortunately, my buddy also cut me a hell of a break on the parts and labor. Riding gleefully in my passenger seat is what remains of a $115 inner dipstick tube. Ugh!

[Tanker350]

that sucks, I'm about to do the same.....ugh

[old Rusty C10]

lol the simple jobs always wind up having the most problems lol thats why sometimes i hate tackling the little jobs

[skokie]

Sorry to hear about your troubles but I gotta see a pic of this $115.00 dipstick.

[Jace's68]

Sounds like you have the same kind of luck I have.

[shuttermutt]

Originally posted by skokie
Sorry to hear about your troubles but I gotta see a pic of this $115.00 dipstick.

I'll try to get a pic of it (and of my new wheels) tonight or tomorrow.

[saulgoode]

Been there done that, not as bad as having do do it twice when you shear the tube off when you lower the engine back down.

I feel your pain.

[shuttermutt]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!



Apparently, my $115 dipstick comes with a free oil change. "How's that?", you ask. It seems the shop didn't get the front seal, ummm... sealed. I lost a lot of oil over about a 10 mile period. The only reason I even noticed was because I'd been watching the oil pressure gauge like a hawk.

Needless to say, I'm about as pissed as a guy can get without killing somebody. My truck is back over at his shop so they can get it right first thing in the morning. Naturally, the guy is going to make the repairs at no cost, but who's to know how much damage may have been done due to the oil loss? I didn't hear the bottom end knocking, but I'm betting the cam starved at least a little.

All this just a little over a day before I'm due to leave on a 1,700 mile trip. Wonderful. Just freakin' wonderful.

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Bummer I have been in that boat before don't wanna go back either!!!!

[my new 72]

All the inner tubes I have ever seen were made to be installed from the inside. They have a flare a little below the upper lip that keeps it from going in too far as you press it in. Sounds like they didn't know what they were doing in the first place.

[Chevelle454]

Yeah, that's how it was on my 350. It's 2-piece, the top pulls out and you have to drop the pan to get the other half out.

[shuttermutt]

Well, what's done is done. Had I known it would be such a huge ordeal, I would have left the damn thing alone. My biggest concern now is if there's been any damage to the engine. I was still holding about 5 psi of oil pressure by the time I got it shut down.