coda618

Well, you are right. The correct thing to do is drop the pan. Went out and got a new set of gaskets and some paint strainers. Just a royal pain in the a**, but better than taking a chance on a fresh engine. Also found an NOS dip stick tube on ebay.

Last question, when you install the dipstick, do you guys put any RTV or anything on the insert?

Thanks guys.

flickjo68

I broke the dipstick tube off in my old engine when I was trying to transfer it to the new engine. I just left the piece in the old engine cause I wasnt worried about the old engine anyway. I bought a new chrome tube and I never used any sealant on it when putting it in the new engine. I haven't had any leaks from it yet. Hate to hear about the problems but that just makes ya love the cars a little more, ya know? Good luck!

JMD

Well... I will have to admit,,, If I had gotten a piece of the dipstick tube into the crankcase, I really, really, really, really, doubt that I would drop an otherwise good and well sealed oil pan just to clean these pieces out...

Those little pieces will NEVER cause an issue, (ok, MAYBE like 1,000,000 to 1 chance IF you turn your engine upside down while it is running)..... EVEN if they NEVER come out of the pan...

coda618

Now you got me second guessing whether or not to pull the pan. I am sure most of the peices will come out when I drain the oil. Hmmmmmm.

urban_cowboy

I agree. The oil pump screen is going to keep all but the very tiniest pieces from being sucked up from the pan. Even if they make it through the screen, they will get caught by the filter before they are shot through the oiling system. If the pieces have iron content, they will probably get caught by a magnetic oil drain plug after an oil change or two. Pull the pan if it makes you feel better, but that can be a day long project you may not really need to do.

flickjo68

If the motor's new, you'll probably end up changing your oil and filter without too much driving anyway and, as said by Urban, between the oil pump screen and the filter should capture any particles that could cause any harm.

coda618

I will be changing the oil after intitial start up. I guess what I will do is drain and filter the oil now before firing up initially. I have already done the pan gasket twice. The first time I did not let the adhesive set up long enough and it squeezed out. Second time I got it just right, so I loath doing it again.

What is your opinion on spraying a little brake klean down the dip stick hole after draining the oil to rinse the pan somewhat?

Thanks.

Tony R

get a magnetic drain plug. I wouldn't pull the pan either. If you get the plug next time you drain the oil the particles will be on the plug.

JMD

It certainly wont hurt to drain and fiter the oil before startup, but frankly I would not even do that....

Similarly, after we had the 408 in the 66 I "found out" that the dipstick hole in the timing cover was too small to accept the dipstick tube....

I considered pulling the pan and timing cover to drill it bigger..... for about 2 seconds...

I just drilled the damn thing out. I tried not to be careless, but none the less, certainly some of the aluminum drill tailings ended up in the crankcase....

I did exactly what my above advise would indicate, we did not change that oil until it was time to remove the break in oil...

There were no adverse effects.

I have seen many, many, big truck engines come apart after being worn out, most of them have some kind of crap in the pan.

"Oh yea, I recognize that, that is part of the cam timing advance, it failed at 335,000 miles, lets see, the engine now has 875,000 miles so that has been in the pan for more than half a million miles."

Blown TURBO parts and debris is VERY common, (the turbo oil return lines are large and usually dump straight into the crankcase) most all of these engines will have pieces of turbo in the pans, and the shops NEVER remove the pans to get this stuff out.

I really would not worry about this stuff too much.

Worst case, is that a piece will pass through the pickup screen and lodge in the oil pump after passing through the screen and freeze up the pump, not something that will go unnoticed, and moreover, THIS IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN with pieces of a dipstick...

coda618

Thanks fellas, I appreciate your reassurance.