Sticky Dipstick -- PA28

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 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.

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

"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.

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".