steel

Hi everyone. I dont own a classic olds but i do own a older car (over 16 yrs ownership, 91k @ time of purchase, 3rd owner). My 85 olds has the 307, V-8, 4 barrel engine with the 200-4R OD transmission. I do have problems with my car but ill just post the first one for now. My tranny dipstick broke & i cant find any in the local junk yard. Can someone please tell me the length of the metal dipstick starting directy below the holding cap ? I was told its 29.5" from a guy who owns a 87 buick regal with the 200-4R tranny. Was he right ? He also told me the full mark is 2" from the tip upwards. Thanks for all help. Oh....in my younger yrs i owned a 70 olds cutlass sx w/the 455 engine when i lived in penna & i owned a 68 cutlass supreme fully loaded w/the 350 rocket while living here in southern california. Those were 2 terrific & fun cars.

Chuck_66

Steel I don't know but in those years GM shared everything so if the dipstick length of a Buick with the same transmission is 29.5" then that is what it is. However I don't know for sure you might trying posting this in the Transmission section you will more than likely get a quicker response. I found this site https://sites.google.com/a/storey7cu...nsmission-sale

steel

Im not sure where the 29.5" length starts. If i knew someone who has a GM 200-4R tranny i would check myself but i dont.

jaunty75

I have to ask. How does one break a transmission dipstick? Did you put in on the ground and then inadvertently step on it?


As far as the length, I have to believe it's measured from the tip to the bottom side of the collar at the handle end. At least, that's how oil dipsticks are measured, and I don't know why they would measure transmission dipsticks differently.

steel

A piece of the metal dipstick broke off inside the holder. I have owned over 10 cars & this has never happened before. Slowly but surely my 27 y/o car is having things go bad like the check oil light, left rear power window motor going out (4 door olds), steering column broke, etc. I believe the 29.5" length starts from the very top of the holder to the tip but im just not sure.

jaunty75

Does this mean that the part that broke off fell into the transmission, or were you able to fish it out? I'm still kind of curious as to how it could break inside the tube. There are no sharp bends or anything that would snap it. Was it corroded and thin in spots?

steel

The tranny dipstick was not in bad shape at all. I checked my fluid one day & i noticed that about a few inches of the metal was missing. It did fall into the pan which is ok cause it wont hurt anything. I have a friend that works at a major trans shop & he told me its ok. This happened awhile ago. I did try to fish it out of the tube but no luck. If i could find a good used dipstick at a reasonable price ill buy it. There is a wrecking yard not far away (beaumont/banning area) but their prices are unbelievably high.

jaunty75

Your car is 27 years old. That's old, but it's not ancient. I have to believe that the transmission on your car was widely used by GM back in the '80s, and I wonder what would happen if you went to the parts counter at your local GM dealer. I have no idea.

I just know that, back in the mid-90s, I went to the local Olds dealer to see if they had any parts or could get any for my '75 Delta 88, which was then about 20 years old. That's not as old as your car is today, but it was old enough that I had my doubts.

Well, not surprisingly, they didn't have a lot in stock, but they were able to order things from various warehouses around the country. My car was a convertible, and they were able to get me some NOS parts for the top mechanism. I was impressed.

I also went to the local GM dealer back in 2009 for my '67 Delta 88, which was then 42 years old, to see, on the outside of outside-est chance, if they might not be able to get a replacement fuel tank sending unit. I was impressed that the parts counter guy did not laugh in my face. He actually spent several days calling his various parts sources around the country and waiting to be called back before finally giving up. But the fact that he thought that parts could still be gotten through his parts network for a 42 year old car impressed me. He told me to get back in touch with him if I needed anything else. He said you never know what's still out there sitting in a warehouse somewhere.

As I say, it can't hurt to call or visit your local GM dealer and see what happens. At worst, you'll be no worse off than you are now.

jaunty75

You might also try this fellow, if you haven't already. Very nice guy. He came through for me in spades when I needed a part for the throttle linkage on my '67. I thought for sure I'd be spending months looking for something from a junkyard, but he had an NOS part at a very reasonable price, so my car, instead of being off the road for what I thought would be several weeks or months, barely missed a beat and was driveable in less than a week.

http://www.nospartsfromthepast.com/

Even if you don't see what you need in his listings, send him an email describing what you need. He might have it.

steel

Im poorer then a illegal. Im barely working so i cant really afford to spend more then a few bucks or so for a used tranny dipstick. For now i just want the length of the dipstick. My friend works at AAMCO transmission & he cant get me one. I dont drive alot cause my car is a gas guzzler (14 mpg). Thanks for the replys & info. This is a very informative olds forums website (the best one i have found so far).

J-(Chicago)

Speaking from experience, once the oil light comes on for a 307.....it's pretty much ready to blow up.

steel

My oil light bulb is burned out & i have idot lights only. I change my oil every 3k miles (QS 10-30 oil). My olds doesnt burn oil but i do have a very slight oil leak. I check the oil once a week. I have put on only 31k miles in 16 yrs. I bought a 90 Tbird & didnt drive the olds for 5 yrs from 11/04-9/09. In 1/09 i was driving the Tbird less then a block from my home a little old lady wasnt paying attention & didnt yield to cross traffic (me) & our cars collided. Her ins co (The hartford) treated me like crap & ill just leave it at that.

Lady72nRob71

Welcome to the forum!
Here are the dippy stick specs for the 200R4.
I figured pics would be easier so you know where I am measuring from. I would assume the Regal tranny would use the same stick, but measure first.





When you say "Check Oil" light, you are talking about the level sensor or oil pressure?

steel

Im not a mechanic but its the oil pressure light.

MDchanic

You're driving around in an old car with no oil pressure gauge or light?!?

Are you kidding?

Get your "poor" @ss out to an auto parts store and buy a frickin' light bulb for cryin' out loud, or just swap the oil bulb with a different dash light bulb that DOES work.

And in Southern CA, you should be using 10W40, not 10W30.

- Eric

steel

Next time i change my oil ill use 10-40. As far as the bulb ill get a new one or swap out the lights on bulb but how do i take off the cover to get to the bulb ?

steel

I cant view the pics. Im unable to log in the regular way so im logged in using mobile leap.

Lady72nRob71

From the tip of the stick to the bottom of the "bell" with the handle it is 28 7/8".
To the top of the hooked handle is 30 1/2"
Full hot is 1 5/8" from the tip.

steel

The readings given to me earlier this evening from a backyard mechanic in palm springs with a 200 R-4 tranny was the top of the hooked handle to the bottom of the bell is around 2"(31" total length). The stick is around 29" & the full hot mark is a lil over 1 1/2 ". He was close & not off enough to cause damage to the tranny with 122k + miles. Thanks for your help.

steel

Today at the supermarket i saw a lady park her 1984 chevy impala in the parking lot. I walked up to her & asked her if i could check my tranny fluid level with her tranny dipstick cause mine is broke. She said "no, i cant do that, you should go to a auto shop for that". I said thanks anyways & walked away. I would of even given her a few bucks. Some people are nice & some arent.

jaunty75

Don't be too hard on the lady. That's not a request one gets every day, and she probably had no idea what you were talking about. On top of that, the word "dipstick" sounds vaguely suggestive.

You're lucky she didn't start screaming and call the police.

MDchanic

No kidding.

Even if he had brought the "level indicator" with him when he walked up to her, all she would have had to say was, "...and then he showed me his dipstick," and you would have been making your one phone call while eagerly awaiting that 6PM baloney sandwich and cheap orangeade, and hoping that your lawyer checked his voicemail often.

- Eric

steel

The lady was in her late 60s & i did say transmission dipstick. There were a few other people around & they heard me talk to her. I didnt say anything wrong & once she said "no" i left. What cars (yrs & models) have the exact trans that my car has (TH-200-4R) ?

jaunty75

Late '60s? Get real. I actually find it amazing that you're even mildly indignant about her response.

You have to be half crazy if you think she or someone like her would be open to the idea of some complete stranger coming up to her in a parking lot and asking to fiddle around under the hood of her car. Who cares how many other people were around? Like I said, this is not something that someone in a parking lot gets asked every day. Directions to the nearest gas station? Maybe.

In your situation, though, if it were my grandmother, I would have hoped she would have whipped out her cell phone and dialed 911. For all she knew, you were going to disable her car and then steal from her or worse. In a situation like this, if you're the old person, you shoot first and ask questions later.

MDchanic

I dunno, I don't think I could have gotten away with saying the word "dipstick" to a 60 year old lady and not ended up with her using it to check the level of beer in my stomach, one way or the other.

I'm with Jaunty - you're a brave soul.

- Eric