Stuck Dipstick

[sandcruiser]

This may sound like Crawford came to visit... but I can't get the oil dipstick out of my '73 FJ40. No, really. Stop laughing.
I've tried twisting, pulling, yanking... nothing. It moves about 1/16" and that's it. I've thought several times of getting out a breaker bar and applying brute force, but before that I thought I would bounce it off ya'll and see if there is any 'reasonable' explanation of how the darn thing could be stuck in there in the first place.
The motor is running fine, by the way so whatever is going wrong doesn't seem to be major. I just can't monitor the progress with which the F is leaking.

 

[trainrech]

I'm sorry, but that sounds like a personal problem.

 

[Desertdave]

Spray it with cold water?

I heard it works on dogs

 

[IDave]

Does it turn but not pull out? Or is it fused in at the top?

 

[drohweder]

Just think of something gross and relax. Once it goes down you can pull it out. That line worked for the guy in the ER that had his stuck in a Coke Bottle

 

[skyshark186]

Not however for the man in Nebraska who got it stuck in a vacuum attachment hose. Not quite enough vaseline?

 

[drohweder]

Just reverse the flow and turn the vacuume back on. Problem Solved.

 

[skyshark186]

Actually it was a quite amusing story.....he had to have it surgically removed. Something to do with the adrenaline keeping his blood flowing enough that it stayed up. It was like a house vacuum you couldnt do that with. Plus i think he was amped on some white stuff....powder that is.

 

[airon23]

I'm afraid you're going to have to ask "woody"(no pun intended) to make up a new forum for this topic and throw this thread in there. Certainly not a tech question.

 

[Pinion]

Hit the collar with a propane torch. It will work.

 

[dd113]

The dipstick goes down into the tube. The tube is a press fit into the block. Heat the top middle of the tube and pull like hell. might try a slide hammer. If that fails try to heat the pee out of the bottom where it goes into the block and twist the entire assy out with vise grips. Might need to get another but there must be millions around fo cheap.

 

[65swb45]

I HAVE seen this problem before. Once. Old school dipstick [round shaft, not flat blade] dip stick tube is supposed to stick out of the block diagonally. Somebody had 'bumped' the motor hard and bent the dipstick tube straight up! Kinked the dipstick in the middle.

Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst. Gather up a replacement dipstick and tube, and an oil pan gasket [just in case] before you start. Put a block of wood behind the tube and try and pry it out away from the side cover. It should come out to the point where, if you were looking at the motor from the front, the dipstick was pointing towards 11 o clock. If the tube snaps before it bends to that point, you will most likely have to remove the oil pan to drive the broken piece of the tube up out of the block from the bottom.

Good luck.

Post back how it goes.

 

[sandcruiser]

Here are a couple of shots of the dipstick problem.
It doesn't want to twist, but it does pull up a bit from the collar, as you can see.

The sleeve is already pointing at about 11 o'clock.

I'm getting ready to rip it out... but thought I'd see if there are any last-minute comments that are relevant.

Thanks!

 

[Desertdave]

I'd say the stick is bent internally about 1" below where it enters the hole in the block where the tube inserts. I say this because it won't rotate and does come out a bit. I'm not sure what, if anything, is in the pan at that point which could be potentially damaged by you just yanking it out.

 

[sandcruiser]

Update:
The stick was bent internally. In about 3 places.
With the engine running, if I pulled and turned and pulled and twisted, I could actually get the stick to hit something-- the oil pump? The distributor gear? That's when I really started to worry.

So I decided to just tug it out. Took some doing. I tried with my hands, no dice. Then I tried to lever it out with the jack crankshaft, that only straightened out the loop in the dipstick handle. I finally managed to get it out by using some vicegrips and some good old sweat and cursing.

I should have taken a picture or two: it looked awful. After a few minutes with hammer it was flat(er) again and I put it back in. So far it hasn't rebent and isn't sticking.

Off to get an oil change now and all will be well again (and yes, I do get my oil changed here because the place will literally do the change for free with the purchase of a filter and oil, why on earth would I do it myself?)

 

[sherwood]

Off to get an oil change now and all will be well again (and yes, I do get my oil changed here because the place will literally do the change for free with the purchase of a filter and oil, why on earth would I do it myself?)

(a) to make sure the right brand of oil is used
(b) to make sure the right viscosity is used
(c) to make sure oil actually is put in
(d) to make sure the oil goes in the correct orifice ;~}
(e) to make sure the drain plug is not over torqued
(f) to make sure the drain plug is not buggered
(g) to make sure the drain plug is actually put back in
(h) to make sure the filler cap is replaced

I had an inspection performed a few years ago. The mechanic used some kind of spring-loaded gizmo to hold the throttle linkage at the right RPM for the emmisions test. It had a little knurled nut on it to adjust it. You know where this is going.... he forgot and left it in place.

On the way home, I was doing 55-60mph and came to a stop sign. 'Took my foot off the skinny pedal... throttle didn't return..... pushed on the brake..... little effect.... the knurled knob had vibrated to the limit of the threaded rod. At least I had the sense to shut the ignition off... which left me with a less-than-adequate brake booster to get stopped in the middle of an intersection.

Mechanics.... bah... humbug

 

[bad_religion_au]

how awesome is that relieved feeling when it occurs to you to turn the engine off???

 

[largenfirm]

Bigger Question:

How the hell did it get bent in the first place!?!?!

Kirk

 

[65swb45]

(a) to make sure the right brand of oil is used
(b) to make sure the right viscosity is used
(c) to make sure oil actually is put in
(d) to make sure the oil goes in the correct orifice ;~}
(e) to make sure the drain plug is not over torqued
(f) to make sure the drain plug is not buggered
(g) to make sure the drain plug is actually put back in
(h) to make sure the filler cap is replaced



Mechanics.... bah... humbug

Add this to the list:

(i) to keep the monkeys from pumping that worthless white s*** into your driveshafts and steering linkage and calling it a lube job!

And for the record, my wife learned about (c) the hard way!

 

[sandcruiser]

To clarify:
here the oil change process goes like this...
you pull in, go inside and buy the oil and filter (thus you know what you are getting, just like you do when you buy oil/filter to do it yourself)
then you pull the car over to the bay next to the store and some kid comes over and slides under the truck with a pan and drains your motor and pulls the old filter (alternately, sometimes they have a pit, but the result is the same)
At that point, you've got to trust them to actually replace the plug
then they fill up with the oil you hand them, and spin on the filter you hand them
you fire up, they check for leaks
turn off, top off
then I back out, pop hood, double check level and cap, and I'm off

It all takes about 10 minutes, I don't get filthy, don't have to lug around a full oil catcher, and the only 'scary' part is trusting them to put the plug back in right.

Now, if I had to leave the truck there for half the day and come back, I'd feel differently. But as it is... it works out pretty well.

Now- back to imporant questions: How DID the dipstick bend in the first place? I've been wondering that myself.