billmerbach

Here's my dilemma right after I bolted my engine up the dipstick tube broke flush with the block is there any way to remove it short of dropping the pan and hammering it out? I tried a clothes hanger to no avail so I'm stumped..

joe_padavano

Find a sheet metal screw that will just screw into the stub of the tube. Weld this screw head-to-head with a bolt that fits in the end of your slide hammer. Screw this into the remains of the tube and use the slide hammer to extract it. I've done this many times.

2blu442

It looks like Joe already replied, but here's an old thread on the topic that could be revived. Many of us have been here before...

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...tick-tube.html


John

Octania

Lag screw, tap upwards on lag screw head from underside

remove or move aside starter for access

xst manifold off may be needed.

jaunty75

Since the OP's question has been answered, and I have a sort of a related question, I thought posting it here wouldn't be considered too hijacky.

From the time I purchased my '67 Delta 88 with the 425, I had difficulty pushing the dipstick all the way in. I never could figure out why it should be so difficult until one day it dawned on me that maybe I don't have the right dipstick. I measured it and compared the value to what it says in the service manual, and, sure enough, it was the wrong dipstick. It was too long.

Not having another stick, I bought a generic one at the local auto parts store and set the adjustable cap to the correct length. All is well and good now, right?

Not so fast. In all the jiggling and wiggling and so forth trying to get the dipstick in over the years, I managed to loosen the dipstick tube, and now it just sort of sits loosely in the slot and doesn't register with whatever hole it's supposed to be stuck into. You can't see where it goes because it fits through a sort of slot and then down into the engine where it finally mates, I assume, with a hole. So you just have to feel around trying to get it in the hole, and I've had no success trying to do so. So I don't have a dipstick. I put so few miles on the car that I've never had to add oil between oil changes, and I figure as long as the oil pressure is up where it should be, I can drive it without worrying greatly that I can't measure the oil level. But I'd like to be able to.

Is there a trick to getting the tube back in? Something I'm missing? I can't pull it out, either, at least not easily. It comes out a small way and then hangs up because, I'm assuming, the end of the tube that sticks into the engine flares a bit at the end and thus won't fit through the little opening without force.

billmerbach

Its Ok jaunty no hijacking offense taken lol and thanks guys before I drop the pan I'll thread a screw in here you'd figure with all thatvoil down there this would be simple lol

Fun71

jaunty, the dipstick guide tube should not have a flare on the end of it, so it should come all the way out of the block if it is already dislodged from its mounting. However, it does have a bulged area that makes a friction fit into the hole in the block, and that bulge may be preventing it from coming up past the exhaust manifold.

There is something else to consider - the tube may be broken, which is why it is loose now. My tube broke right at that flare so the lower part was still firmly in the block but the upper part was flopping around. I have headers so it was easy to see what was happening.

If your tube is not broken, I would try to insert the dipstick and use it as a guide to get the lower part of the tube aligned with the hole in the block. If you can get it aligned, remove the stick and tap on the tube with a hammer. Put a piece of wood over the tube end and tap on that so the metal tube doesn't get distorted.

jaunty75

Thanks for the tips. I did try using the end of the stick to find the hole while it was inserted through the loose portion of the tube, but I didn't have any luck. I didn't try real hard, though, so I'll try it again.

I hope the tube is not broken off, but thanks for that suggestion as well.