Broken Dipstick

mom2joshcanpark

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That should be a bucket engine and they are dead easy to work on as the engine stays in the mower...


I just watched a video on what you basically said above. It looks easy just time consuming and I think my son can do it no issue. Thank you so much. between your input and the video I think we can get the dipstick out. Should I buy a gasket though to just have on hand for this? It is 10 years old, bought second hand, I'm 3rd owner, bought 3 years ago.
Thanks again for your input.
 

bertsmobile1

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Unless the gasket was fitted by some one like me it will tear when you take to plate off
And there is a good chance you will damage the top oil seal as well
So I would buy both to have on hand
Unless you have to do not touch the rocker cover and it is also worth while to have one of them on hand.
There is a mile of BS circulating about how bad a design it is but that is because lazy mechanics use power drivers to install the rocker cover bolts
Every leaky one I have repaired has been over tightened which defeats the whole reason for having a thick cork gasket on these in the first place
So the repair starts with panel beating the bolt holes flat again
They are really only done up finger tight + 1/2 turn the specs are in the manual, some thing like 8 to 10 ft lbs
Power drivers are good fir removing the top plate because there is a lot of bolts there so spannars or sockets take a long time but when replacing it I use a T bar spun with a finger then tighten finally in 2 stages with a 6" long tension wrench & 1/4" drive sockets
You 1/2 " drive 150 ft lbs torque wrench from Harbour Freight will not do the job properly .
Rule of thumb for torque wrenches is not to trust the top or bottom 20% so you should always use one where the tensions you need are as close to the middle of it's range as possible

I play with a lot of old motorcycles that have oil filled primary drives with pressed tin covers so I have a 0-20 ft lb torque wrench and when I use it my covers do not leak ( bike leaks every where else of course ) .
 

StarTech

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And the last handful of torque wrenches I got from had scales the didn't line. They failed the torque calibration tests here. Returned them all for a refund. No wonder they had them on sale.

One of the 1/2 drive wrenches was over 15 ft-lbs off (higher then the wrench setting). No wonder I was stripping bolts. I now use a digital torque adapter to test my wrenches every so often. My current torque wrenches very accurate according the calibration test. Another thing don't store your torque wrenches with them loaded.
 

bertsmobile1

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FWIW
The only spring loaded tension wrenches I have are the ones that are over 250 ft lbs with 3/4 " or 1" drives.
With the metallurgist hat on I can confidently say that the most accurate will always be the deflecting arm ones as they do not suffer from fatigue or permanent deformation as the spring loaded micrometer adjustments do .
Even better are the deflecting arm style with a flat spring arm and a signal trigger
My 6" one was bought back in 1966 and has been used by me & 1/2 the bike club members for decades
It got a calibration test when I got the 400 ft lb tension wrench cheap so sent them all off
All 5 of the deflecting beams came in under 3 % deviation which is more than good enough for non avaition use
 

RolandW

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I had a similar predicament with a brand-new Kubota UTV. The first time I checked the oil I found that they had overfilled it by a lot. So I got out the oil suctioner that I use on our push mower, which doesn't have a drain plug. I inserted it into the dipstick tube and sucked some oil out. But when I tried to remove the soft plastic tube, it got snagged and the end sliced off (I suspect there was a sharp burr on the lower end of the steel dipstick tube). I called the dealer in a panic, but both the salesman and the service manager said I should just leave it in there; that it would just sit in the bottom of the oil pan, and that baffles would prevent it from finding its way into moving parts. Looking at drawings of the engine confirmed that it shouldn't be able to go anywhere. I hope I'll be able to grab it when I do the first oil change, but after 14 hours, so far so good. Not being familiar with your engine, I'm not recommending this, but it could be worth investigating whether the best course of action might be to do nothing.
 

Cajun power

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there is so much about this that just screams "phrasing"...but I will resist the urge to be course.
 

Freddie21

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Old timer's trick, Use a straw with something sticky on the end of it (bubble gum) and carefully slide it down and push it onto the dip stick. If it's dry enough on the end, it will grab it.
 

bd323

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How about using job weld to attach to the end of the broken dipstick. Much like the gum suggestion. You don’t need much
 
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