Dipstick broke off

[Zzz]

Now I feel like an idiot. But i'd bet it's been at least 35 years since I had one with a stick in the block that far apart.

I’m up in there with the camera I’ll let you know what I find

 

[slingshot]

I bought a car from a guy who explained to me that the engine dipstick never provided an accurate reading and had no explanation why. A few years later, I broke the engine down for a rebuild and noticed the dipstick tube was bent going down to the pan. It was obvious that during a previous rebuild the engine block had been set on a solid surface without the oil pan in place. The block rolled and bent the dipstick tube that was installed, but whomever was doing the work never noticed. There were many things done incorrectly, like ring gaps, and why I needed to do a fresh rebuild. The result of the bent dipstick tube was that the dipstick was not guided into the pan, but was guided above the windage tray and very close to the rotating system. I installed a new tube and now get accurate oil lever reading on the stick.

Another story, a buddy had his BBC race engine rebuilt and since oil changes were frequent, the dipstick was omitted. The engine had a slow oil leak, but without the dipstick, there was no-way to tell how much oil was lost. At a race, my buddy told me his car was running faster numbers, so I asked if he had added any oil to compensate for what was lost. He said no, because he was not sure how much had been lost, with the car stored on sandy soil. The faster 1/8 mile time had me concerned that the oil lever was lower than he thought and explained the faster numbers. I suggested he add at the minimum of a 1/2 quart, but he enjoyed the faster numbers, until the engine gave up the ghost and needed an extensive and costly rebuild. Just thought I'd throw those into the thread for something to think about.

 

[Zzz]

I bought a car from a guy who explained to me that the engine dipstick never provided an accurate reading and had no explanation why. A few years later, I broke the engine down for a rebuild and noticed the dipstick tube was bent going down to the pan. It was obvious that during a previous rebuild the engine block had been set on a solid surface without the oil pan in place. The block rolled and bent the dipstick tube that was installed, but whomever was doing the work never noticed. There were many things done incorrectly, like ring gaps, and why I needed to do a fresh rebuild. The result of the bent dipstick tube was that the dipstick was not guided into the pan, but was guided above the windage tray and very close to the rotating system. I installed a new tube and now get accurate oil lever reading on the stick.

Another story, a buddy had his BBC race engine rebuilt and since oil changes were frequent, the dipstick was omitted. The engine had a slow oil leak, but without the dipstick, there was no-way to tell how much oil was lost. At a race, my buddy told me his car was running faster numbers, so I asked if he had added any oil to compensate for what was lost. He said no, because he was not sure how much had been lost, with the car stored on sandy soil. The faster 1/8 mile time had me concerned that the oil lever was lower than he thought and explained the faster numbers. I suggested he add at the minimum of a 1/2 quart, but he enjoyed the faster numbers, until the engine gave up the ghost and needed an extensive and costly rebuild. Just thought I'd throw those into the thread for something to think about.

Never did find the peace. These are the pictures I took straight down the dipstick tube where it enters the block I’m not sure but the oval looks like where the dipstick should’ve gone to keep it in place. And you can see part of the blue gasket from the oil pan that sticks in there

 

[Vern60]

Judging from the scratch marks on the side of the dipstick by where it broke off there is a clearance problem, when I replaced the stock 305 for the 350 I put in I took the 305 dipstick tube with me and purchased a chrome mr. Gasket tube and dipstick and the end of that dipstick got broken off outside of the motor fortunately

 

[g3chevy]

So the engine I recently rebuilt (1975 sbc) had the extension tube installed when I tore it down. The dipstick tube was already removed when I bought the engine, but when I tried installing it after the rebuild, the extension tube in the block would not allow the dipstick tube to be installed. I'll get a pic later today for reference. They appear to be the exact same diameter so obviously that wouldn't work. Any ideas?

 

[g3chevy]

Here are the pics, but I think I answered my own question. There is a ridge in the block that the dipstick extension tube mounts into and is recessed about an inch down in the block. When I installed it properly I was able to install the dipstick fully into the block. Learn something new everyday. On another note, has anyone had any issues with the aftermarket "cable" style dipsticks? I saw a video that Eric The Car Guy did last year that showed his was eaten by the rotating assembly on his 383 build. Below is the link to that video.

 

[Zzz]

Here are the pics, but I think I answered my own question. There is a ridge in the block that the dipstick extension tube mounts into and is recessed about an inch down in the block. When I installed it properly I was able to install the dipstick fully into the block. Learn something new everyday. On another note, has anyone had any issues with the aftermarket "cable" style dipsticks? I saw a video that Eric The Car Guy did last year that showed his was eaten by the rotating assembly on his 383 build. Below is the link to that video.

View attachment 143740View attachment 143742I

Here are the pics, but I think I answered my own question. There is a ridge in the block that the dipstick extension tube mounts into and is recessed about an inch down in the block. When I installed it properly I was able to install the dipstick fully into the block. Learn something new everyday. On another note, has anyone had any issues with the aftermarket "cable" style dipsticks? I saw a video that Eric The Car Guy did last year that showed his was eaten by the rotating assembly on his 383 build. Below is the link to that video.

View attachment 143740View attachment 143742

I appreciate all the responses I learned a lot