Dipstick leakage

[Rich Hanlon]

That is a great tip - I'll be revisiting the scrappers for one while Metros are still reasonably plentiful!

After having torn my hair out for several months last year with this exact problem, mine is currently sealed, but I think using a mixture of gasket goo and a stack of assorted O-rings.

I think that the angled bracket section (through which the bolt goes at the bottom of the dipstick) is a fraction too long - so it seems to hold the flange in the bottom of the tube slightly too far above the surface its supposed to mate to. This means there's quite a large gap to fill.

Now that I recollect, I think i bent a kink into this bracket to shorten it, which pulls the tube down tighter. This, and hylomar, seem to have it fixed. But I'll get a spare otterstat some point soon!

[Reynolds]

Rich, that is the main problem with all these leaks, the bracket to the bolt to hold it down is too long. When the dipstick tube slides down onto the sump, it stops short of where it mates with the flat surface which is about a quarter of an inch down further into the sump. Mine leaked multiple times and I used all sorts of sealing goo. It kept vibrating loose and leaking every so often. The dipstick tube should be pulled hard down into the sump. The raised collar of the dipstick tube (where it looks like it should sit on the sump) should slide so its below the surface of the sump. This makes the braket not reach the hole so you will have to open the hole in the bracket to get the bolt back in. I think its a design problem. The tube MUST be pulled as far down into the sump so it mates with the flat thats down in the sump. If the tube just sits on the top of the sump )like it naturally looks like it should, the sharp edge of the sump will cut the o ring after time and it will leak after a few months. By pulling hard on the dipstick tube into the sump, that O-ring gets pulled down into the sump casing and seals the sump against the dispstick tube mating surface.

I hope this makes sense!

Chris

My car used to do 1 gallon to the mile of transmission fluid, now it does none!