Oil Dipstick Tube

by Dinomyte Fri Sep 11, 2015 7:52 am

My oil dipstick tube has sheared off right at the block, and I'm almost 100% sure the piece that remained in the block has fallen into the oil pan.

The question is, can I remove the oil pan while the engine is still in the car? or is there an easier way to find the piece of it's fallen into the pan?

thanks,

by thatfnthing Fri Sep 11, 2015 8:56 am

Remove the through-bolts from the engine mounts, loosen the transmission mount, and you can jack up the block from underneath enough to drop the pan and pull it out. Put some wood blocks underneath the block sides against the mounts or crossmember to hold it up while you work.

by Joe73 Fri Sep 11, 2015 9:21 am

Id try gluing a small strong magnet on a flexible piece of something. Then drain the oil and put the magnet in the hole and fish around. You should be able to get it.
On the other hand I wouldnt be to concerned. The oil pickup bas a screen on it. It will just lay on the bottom. My oil pickup was pull of my plastic timing gears for hears without any issues.

by chevellelaguna Fri Sep 11, 2015 11:56 am

I'm surprised that the rest of the tube isn't still in the hole in the block. There's usually a collar on the tube to prevent it from falling into the oil pan. I'm with Joe on this one though, if it did fall into the pan it won't really go anywhere.

by Dinomyte Sat Sep 12, 2015 12:02 pm

Thanks guys. Just some clarity for the comments above.

I'm not worried about the oil pump picking it up, I'm worried about it getting splashed up and caught in the rotating crank / block / block caps.

The dip tube part that was on the outside has the shoulder on it. I may have been my own worst enemy here, as I put a bolt in the dip tube hole, but it went in way too easy, easier than it threaded into the end of the dip tube.

I'll keep you all posted, I'm going to try Joe's idea first, I've got a mechanics magnet which is just what he described, not to mention I'll need to drain the oil to drop the pan anyway.

thanks

by Joe73 Sat Sep 12, 2015 12:32 pm

The small sleeve thats below the shoulder is usually less than a half inch long. It laying in at least 5 quarts of oil, it wont splash around through any liquid. And its soft metal too boot. Even if was able to get up to the rotating assembly it would get crushed and fall back down. And theres no way it could get to the bearings themselves, they have caps on them.

I'd try the magnet trick for piece of mind. If you get it, you'll feel better. But if not, I wouldnt worry about it.

But I would never drop the pan to get it.

Another thought would be to get a real strong good sized magnet. I think harbor freight has them cheap and they lift like 100 pounds. Stick it to the bottom of the opposite the drain hole. Then slide it over to the drain hole side. The magnet should grab the piece and bring it to the hole.

by Dinomyte Fri Sep 25, 2015 10:34 pm

So I got it out

Oil Dipstick Tube 20150910

the bottom half that was in the block was just enough bigger that I didn't need to thread the bolt in. What luck The new ones in and this time bolted to the block.

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