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I've got a 5.3 / 4L60e in my 71 camaro and had a question about the dipstick tube. Car has Fbody accessories
I bought a universal dipstick tube off eBay and have it mounted but it seems to come off the back of the engine and over the coils more than I would like. I'm wanting to install some coil covers and it seems like this would be in the way.
I know I can get a Lokar dipstick and that's my last resort because I really want to keep somewhat a factory looking engine.
Are there any dipstick tubes I can look for that come off the back of the engine? It would seem like the GTO or Corvette motors would have the tube more set back than a camaro.
Any ideas?
I don't have a current pic, I've since flipped my fuel rail back around but this is the same dipstick tube for the transmission....see how high it comes up?
I had similar problems and also didn't want to use the Lokar (which I even bought).
I therefore bought a 3/4" electrical conduit bender at Lowes (about $35), bent the dipstick tube straight and then bent it the way I wanted. Then painted it. It now mounts nicely on the side of the cylinder head (instead of the back) and stays out of the way.
What ever you use, make sure the fill mark is where the factory had it,
80E's love to be full of oil, lol
I have cut and welded a few up to make it fit
Thanks, I broke down and ordered both pieces about an hour ago. I got my GTO coil covers in earlier that I am going to paint and modify...couldn't set the passenger side cover in place because it was hitting the current tube.
The fill hole is too small and requires a funnel adapter...and the fluid still takes forever to drain into the trans so it's hard to get a good reading when filling a fresh trans.
The "full" marks on the dipstick are low. I nearly burned up my trans and was getting a horrible 2-3 shift flare when running through the gears...last time the pan was off I saw that the dipsticks full mark was well below the top of the pan where it meets the trans case. I "overfilled" the transmission and now it works like brand new. I notched the dipstick to prevent this in the future.
The fill hole is too small and requires a funnel adapter...and the fluid still takes forever to drain into the trans so it's hard to get a good reading when filling a fresh trans.
The "full" marks on the dipstick are low. I nearly burned up my trans and was getting a horrible 2-3 shift flare when running through the gears...last time the pan was off I saw that the dipsticks full mark was well below the top of the pan where it meets the trans case. I "overfilled" the transmission and now it works like brand new. I notched the dipstick to prevent this in the future.
For future reference, if you loosen the set screw at the top **** on the cable. The cable can be removed then cut to length you need. I went through that as well and set the cable to have full mark just above pan/case line.
Part of the problem with the Lokar filler is getting the air out when the fluid goes in-I cut notches in the filler adapter (outside) and it helped the fill
But its still kind of a PITA
I haven't even used the fill adapter yet, in the past I made a frankenfunnel by cutting a smaller funnel and JB welding the piece to a normal size funnel.
Overall it's just a terrible thing to deal with on a car that's raced/abused and needs more frequent attention to fluid levels and fluid changes.
I have a tci dipstick in my car and its right behind the passenger head
Out of the way but still easily accessible
The tube is also about an inch in diameter, much easier to fill from than thr factory one or the lokar
sooo, I got the GTO dipstick and filler tube in and installed. Having issues with the dipstick not going all the way down.
Pulled the tube and the dipstick is sticking out past the tube about 2-3/4"
I grabbed my universal tube that was previously installed and the dipstick that came with that one only sticks out past the tube about 3/4"
So that's definitely a problem and hitting something, Did the GTO's have a special 4L60e transmission pan??
My current pan has a step in it, it's the deeper pan on the right
I haven't pulled the pan yet to see whats going on, but that's my next step and I thought I would ask here.
Can you buy custom length dip sticks for these transmissions. I figure if I could measure my current one and get one similar that's a little shorter I would be ok
while you have the pan off, see where your fill line is in comp. to the parting line on the trans/pan-the fill mark should be right about even where the pan gasket meets the trans, maybe even a touch higher
I thought of making a dipstick housing out of one of those funnels that has the steel flex part on it-weld the trans end on one end, the upper part on the other, make sure the dipstick is accurate
while you have the pan off, see where your fill line is in comp. to the parting line on the trans/pan-the fill mark should be right about even where the pan gasket meets the trans, maybe even a touch higher...
That sounds about right.
In the following picture you can see the dipstick tube entering in the upper left corner. Underneath it is a plate that stops the dipstick from going past it. From memory, I estimate the distance between the end of the dipstick tube and the stop-plate at about 1/2".
(EDIT: Oops, expert Clinebarger says in #21 that the stop-plate is incorrectly installed in this picture.)
In other words, that stop-plate is prevent your (too long) dipstick from going in further, not the pan.
In the following picture you can see the dipstick tube entering in the upper left corner. Underneath it is a plate that stops the dipstick from going past it. From memory, I estimate the distance between the end of the dipstick tube and the stop-plate at about 1/2".
In other words, that stop-plate is prevent your (too long) dipstick from going in further, not the pan.
Looking at that pic I was wondering if they make interchangeable "stops" that work with either the shallow or deep pan? Maybe I have the incorrect one on the transmission right now?? Or how about removing it altogether to allow the dipstick to go down further?
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Transmission Dipstick tubes 
