Parts Interchange

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pastorjeep

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My daughters 1982 D150 battery flipped over and shorted out on the dipstick tube burning it in half! Are all slant six tubes the same? Also the factory positive battery cable has a white plastic connector on a smaller wire and at the starter end it has a black connector on the starter. Is this the same in other models/years? I would like to find factory stuff to replace the damaged parts with and wasn't sure if all the slants used the same parts in different models or is it truck specific.
 
I would think dipstick and tube is oil pan specific, so probably any truck with a slant. The wiring didn’t change much on the 80s trucks so I’m sure any 80s truck battery cable would work. I’d just buy a new universal cable at a parts store though.
 
Yup. Truck pan is different. So is dipstick and tube, goes with pan. Actually goes into the pan itself instead of into the block.
As far as that wiring you're talking about which end of the white connector is bad? Battery end or harness side?
I've bought factory style battery cables with that connector included. I've seen them on eBay too.
I have a few of them brand new yet. There's a place in Ohio I go once a year, (damn I can't think of the name of the place, it's "something surplus" that has a bunch. Even though it's a POS cable they're black though. They never had a neg cable that I know of with those connectors.
Problem is that if you use a universal cable I think the harness end went into that connector went into a 4 way fusible link connector.
 
FYI, the trucks have a dipstick tube that goes into the oil pan itself. The good news is that after unbolting the tube supports, the tube will pull right out of the pan. You will not need to remove the oil pan. If I recall, there is a tab bolted to the motor mount that secures the tube in place.
 
Yes the tube is a press fit... and I found that brake line fits and works.. don't use any heat to get the tube to let go.. Ask me how I know... Mine was rusty and I could not see the joint between the dipstick tube and the oil pan tube receiver.. but it is there!
 
When I put the new motor in my 85 I got another pan from a buddy (so I could keep the old motor intact and sealed up as it still ran) and that 2nd pan had the dipstick tube still in the pan but at some point it had cracked, and been brazed solid into the pan receptacle, it broke off while I was cleaning it up to paint. That was a major pain to get the stub out and get the excess brass (brazing rod) off so I could get the stub out and put the truck's original tube in this pan.
The tube slid right out of the old motor. .
Yours being a truck motor it does have the hole in it (in the block) for the dipstick tube it would have had if it had started out as a "car motor" but it's got a plug in it from the factory.
My "new" /6 that went in my truck was originally a car motor, so I had to plug that hole. I bought a box of 3/8" freeze plugs (only needed 1 but not a commonly asked for size so I had to buy the whole box/ but it was less than 7 bucks for the box)
Now this 64 motor I currently have on my engine stand, was originally a truck motor, but back then they had a front sump instead of a rear sump like 72-up trucks had. Now that pan is really hard to find. But that dipstick tube goes into the hole in the block intended for it, (as if it were originally a "car motor")
I swapped the pan out and after I had the "new" pan back on I thought about pulling the tube out, but it won't budge. I should have knocked it out from within while I had the pan off.
That motor is going to a good buddy of mine and is replacing a 170 in a same year valiant.
 
Here are some pics of the tube/pan junction. The tab on this particular tube was bolted to the engine mount.

IMG_0466.jpg


IMG_0468.jpg


IMG_0469.jpg
 
Badvert is right on the money. I have the exact same truck as the OP, the tube info is correct.
 
Same setup as I was trying to describe as what's on my 85. I think all /6 trucks and Vans were like that from 72 til the end of the/6.
 
Slant 6 truck dipstick and tubes are hard to find. The dipstick tube on the truck is NOT a press fit, as it slides into the pan, as you have found out. I believe you will have better success when you maje the dipstick tube repair if you secure the battery with a proper hold down.
 
Thanks for the replies. I am glad I jumped on here because I didn't get the push notification that anyone had responded. I was just about to pay for a car one on ebay because the first response said they were the same. The battery cable has a solid heavy wire that is 3ft long and terminates at the starter. It has a smaller wire about 6" that has a white plastic twist lock connector. The starter end has a black plastic molded connector that houses the battery cable and the starter relay cable. This truck only has 22k miles on it. It sat for 20 years. Does anyone know where I can find a truck/van dipstick and tube?
 
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