Sticky Dipstick -- PA28

[Don Tuite]

As MO, I've taken to warning club members not to tighten the dipsstick
on the '74 Challenger even slightly. Even a little extra torque makes
it very difficult to unscrew. Last week somebody torqued the entire
plastic tube off the engine just loosening the dipstick.

Something's goofy. What?

Don

[Drew Dalgleish]

On Fri, 06 Jul 2007 17:55:58 -0700, Don Tuite
> wrote:

>As MO, I've taken to warning club members not to tighten the dipsstick
>on the '74 Challenger even slightly. Even a little extra torque makes
>it very difficult to unscrew. Last week somebody torqued the entire
>plastic tube off the engine just loosening the dipstick.
>
>Something's goofy. What?
>
>Don

Probably the o-ring at the top is worn to the point that it gets
caught in the threads instead of just sitting on the flat top. BTW on
my engine there's a safety wire at the bottom of the dipstick tube so
that it can;'t unscrew.

[Don Tuite]

On Sat, 07 Jul 2007 02:41:53 GMT, (Drew
Dalgleish) wrote:

>On Fri, 06 Jul 2007 17:55:58 -0700, Don Tuite
> wrote:
>
>>As MO, I've taken to warning club members not to tighten the dipsstick
>>on the '74 Challenger even slightly. Even a little extra torque makes
>>it very difficult to unscrew. Last week somebody torqued the entire
>>plastic tube off the engine just loosening the dipstick.
>>
>>Something's goofy. What?
>>
>>Don
>
>Probably the o-ring at the top is worn to the point that it gets
>caught in the threads instead of just sitting on the flat top. BTW on
>my engine there's a safety wire at the bottom of the dipstick tube so
>that it can;'t unscrew.

Two, actually. One was ripped out, the other bent. That baby was
seized.

Don

[El Maximo]

"Don Tuite" > wrote in message
...
> As MO, I've taken to warning club members not to tighten the dipsstick
> on the '74 Challenger even slightly. Even a little extra torque makes
> it very difficult to unscrew. Last week somebody torqued the entire
> plastic tube off the engine just loosening the dipstick.
>
> Something's goofy. What?
>
> Don

On the Cherokee I fly, it is not possible for the dipstick to come out when
the cowl is closed. As long as the cowl is closed during flight, I don't
worry about the dipstick. I just snug it against the o-ring when I check the
oil.

[Paul kgyy]

On Jul 6, 7:55 pm, Don Tuite >
wrote:
> As MO, I've taken to warning club members not to tighten the dipsstick
> on the '74 Challenger even slightly. Even a little extra torque makes
> it very difficult to unscrew. Last week somebody torqued the entire
> plastic tube off the engine just loosening the dipstick.
>
> Something's goofy. What?
>

I have an Arrow with the IO360, and the vibration pattern of the
engine tends to tighten the dipstick rather than loosen it. So I just
turn until I start to feel resistance and let it be. At the end of
the flight it's always just about right. When I have the oil changed
I always find it over-tightened by the shop.

If you have a club machine, put something in the walk-around checklist
about "just snug, not tight".