dipstick and tube

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volaredon

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have a slight issue here. On my engine (have to use truck pan) I bought a 2nd truck pan so I could leave the old engine intact when I swap them. I "could" swap pans when I swap motors, I guess.... but Im sure I cant be the only one to ever run into this.
On my 2nd pan, I discovered what looked like Permatex #1 (it was hard) on the junction where the tube protrudes the pan, when I got that scraped off w/a small (~3/8" wide blade) single edge (wood) chisel.
Underneath that it was brazed under the Permatex. and then I found that it was cracked just above the braze/ which didn't look "factory".
My thoughts are to drill out the rivets that hold the dipstick tube "plate" to the pan, and MIG it all shut/ then if I can just get a "car" stick and tube, and use the existing hole in the block casting that used to hold the dipstick tube as this block was originally a "car" block.
Id need to find a car dipstick n tube to begin with....
would this be a problem with the rear mount truck sump?
 
The issue would be that the hole location for the tube
in the block is in the front and the dipstick wouldn’t
be in the sump on the rear sump pan.
 
I aint out in the garage looking at it.... but I thought the hole for the "car" stick was between cyl 2 and cyl 3 (might be between 3 and 4?) but if I put the original car pan next to a rear sump truck pan, I believe the positions of the sumps somewhat "overlaps" each other if you get what I mean.... I can edit this tomorrow after work, if what I'm thinking is wrong. so can I replace the dipstick tube on the truck pan other than by drilling out the pop rivets holding the dipstick tube base to the pan? Does the tube screw into that riveted "adapter"? is (was) the dipstick tube available new, separate from the pan then? Im thinking not.
If not, then that means I'm gonna have to rob the pan off the engine currently in the truck then. was hoping to keep that motor wholly intact when it comes out.
 
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Here’s a pic of the fitting it’s called a weather head
it’s 5/16 inverted flare for the tube and the other side is 1/4” npt that screws into the pan sump. I’m not sure why you have something riveted to your pan because the original was a fitting spot weld to the pan from the inside and all that was visible from the outside of the pan was a threaded hole.
 
I have a pan for a 225 in an 83 Dodge D150. That pan has a tube that looks to be brazed or welded to the pan itself. The oil pan on my big block truck has the brass elbow fitting on it. The slant six one is definitely different.
 
Here’s a pic of a Big block truck pan
9D428797-E896-4306-8D4F-4F19122DCC1D.jpeg
 
cudascott said:
Here’s a pic of the fitting it’s called a weather head
it’s 5/16 inverted flare for the tube and the other side is 1/4” npt that screws into the pan sump. I’m not sure why you have something riveted to your pan because the original was a fitting spot weld to the pan from the inside and all that was visible from the outside of the pan was a threaded hole.
Click to expand...
where is this pic?

the mount for the tube on the original pan that is still in the truck, looks just like the one on this other pan, that I'm wanting to put on the engine on the stand.
definitely no 90* Weatherhead fitting on either.

I'm hoping that the cracked tube doesn't render this whole pan, "junk". It's solid otherwise. I can weld in a patch in place of the dipstick tube that's there, easily enough.... or put another dipstick tube to that area.
The tube that sticks within the pan seems to "bell out" fatter than the tube that protrudes outside the pan.
It would have to be slid in from the inside, and would appear too long to be able to do so, so even if not "serviceable" over the parts counter, it would certainly make sense to have been a 2 pc assembly going down the line, back in the day.....
It would be nice, to be able to detach the part of the tube that protrudes outside the pan for assembly on the stand and also for installation into the truck, the way it just hangs out in the open as it does, I can see it getting in the way.
I'll TRY to get a couple of pix of what I am talking about, but cant promise anything.
 
Ok here goes....
I do have some of those fittings like that, left over from the days of my parents having owned a camper years ago, dad always carried a small tackle box full of different fittings for the propane lines.... And I have that box for spare parts for my pop up/ definitely won't do me any good in this case.
Ok here's my attempt at pix.... (Don't laugh)
1st is my pan for the engine on the stand// the one on the truck looks identical, but the trans cooler lines do a great job of hiding it.
IMG_20210719_212444599.jpg


Somehow it flipped order of my 1st 2 pix....
IMG_20210719_212203980_HDR.jpg
 
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Here is the original pan from the engine and my loose truck pan that I hope to use... Yes I have the pick-up tube for the truck pan. The original pan has "265" stamped in. As I thought there is a little overlap at front of truck pan/back of car pan.
IMG_20210719_212635903.jpg
 
And here is the engine on the stand and the location of the car's dipstick tube hole. I think I could use a car style tube if I had to.
IMG_20210719_212520311.jpg
 
I plan to get a "freeze plug" for that hole for the car dipstick tube, if I can fix this truck pan/dipstick tube. But not until, just in case I wind up having to use that one. I had the tube that came from the replacement motor but it's MIA. I never did have a dipstick for that one.
 
cudascott said:
The issue would be that the hole location for the tube
in the block is in the front and the dipstick wouldn’t
be in the sump on the rear sump pan.
Click to expand...
Nope/ not all the way up front, it's shown in one of the pix. Could that hole location be a "model year" deal since I know that pre 72 trucks had a front sump/. In case it comes up, mine is an 85 D150.
 
Ok Don I just realized you are working with a slant six! I guess I’m too big of a nut to see your in the slant six forum so forget everything I’ve said:lol:
I regress, I know nothing about slant six stuff.
I realized once I seen the pics.
 
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So anyone have any input that Will help me on this situation with a /6?
Can the part of the tube outside of the pan come apart somehow?
 
thread brought back from the dead. I finally drug out the torches and hooked up the gauges and hoses, heated up the fitting and BARELY had enough of a nub to grab with a pair of needle nose pliers. The remnants of the stub got cherry red and flaked away like a piece of rusty sheet metal and then collapsed on itself before the brass got hot enough to melt so I could get it out.
One thing I did notice, was that around the oval hole in the pan itself where the receptacle (for lack of a better word) that the dipstick slides into sandwiches with the pan it appears that they soldered the sheet metal joint where they lap possibly as a barrier against oil seeping between the 2 pieces of sheet metal? I mean 4 rivets holding them together leaves lots of room in between those rivets for oil to seep between?
IMG_20220226_181553801.jpg

See the silver streaks above and below? I think that's solder. If so I'm gonna flux it and add more around that seam, since it appears that much of the original solder has leached out from the heat of brazing the old broken tube and reheating to retrieve the remaining stub of it?
I've done plenty of sweating copper pipe over the years so if I'm right in saying "that's what it is" it should be easy fix.
Since the block I have was a car block, it has the hole in the block for the other style of dipstick tube.
Before I knew if I could get that busted off stub out unscathed I had thought about just drilling those rivets and MIG welding a patch into the pan and using a car dipstick tube. But since I got it out, the search is on for a correct truck tube.
I had the one that came with this pan but since it was rotted and snapped off, I no longer do.
I know where there were a couple of/6 trucks in a local boneyard I guess I get to go and see if they still have their dipstick tube?
 
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Don, I have a truck pan from an 83 Ram slant 6. The dipstick tube just slides in and out of the pan and is held in place by a bracket that bolts to the motor mount. The hole in the block for a 'pasenger car' tube has a small aluminum plug tapped into it. If you look at this pic, you can see a 'dimple' in the edge of the pan, where the gasket goes, that shows where the block mounted dipstick tube would be. I don't think the block mounted dipstick will work with that pan. If you find a truck in a salvage yard, you should be able to get the tube out by just unbolting it from the engine mount and pulling.
IMG_0473w.jpg
 
I think I would have repaired the truck tube.
 
Badvert65 said:
Don, I have a truck pan from an 83 Ram slant 6. The dipstick tube just slides in and out of the pan and is held in place by a bracket that bolts to the motor mount. The hole in the block for a 'pasenger car' tube has a small aluminum plug tapped into it. If you look at this pic, you can see a 'dimple' in the edge of the pan, where the gasket goes, that shows where the block mounted dipstick tube would be. I don't think the block mounted dipstick will work with that pan. If you find a truck in a salvage yard, you should be able to get the tube out by just unbolting it from the engine mount and pulling.
View attachment 1715878796
Click to expand...
Yup I understand that, what I show above is the truck pan with the tube removed, it just took me more effort to remove from the pan than usual, from a past owner "modification". That's all. If I get me a tube from somewhere I should be good.
Worst case my truck still runs, with it's original slant 6, still has it's pan and tube, I can rob those but I wasn't wanting to break the pan seal, keep it intact to keep it clean since I don't know what will become of the original engine yet. I guess it wouldn't be bad just to rob the dipstick and tube out of it for now.
That's why I found a 2nd pan for my new motor. I just didn't know it had an issue when I got it.
I do have the car pan and pickup that I could put onto the old motor when it comes out just to keep the crap out of it for the time being. But now that I got that stub out of my "new" pan and it is usable again, I won't have to.
I know about the plug in the other tube hole in the block. That's what I was gonna do with it anyway.
And Rusty, fixing the old tube from this pan would been not possible.
 
Badvert65 said:
Don, I have a truck pan from an 83 Ram slant 6. The dipstick tube just slides in and out of the pan and is held in place by a bracket that bolts to the motor mount. The hole in the block for a 'pasenger car' tube has a small aluminum plug tapped into it. If you look at this pic, you can see a 'dimple' in the edge of the pan, where the gasket goes, that shows where the block mounted dipstick tube would be. I don't think the block mounted dipstick will work with that pan. If you find a truck in a salvage yard, you should be able to get the tube out by just unbolting it from the engine mount and pulling.
View attachment 1715878796
Click to expand...
I show that same pic of my pan, up above earlier in the thread.my last pic is the outside of the pan without a busted off and brazed in place, stub of the old tube.
 
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