C160 Hydro dipstick being stubborn!

[Gary S Minnesota 62]

Hi All,

This evening I pulled the hydro dipstick in order to check the transmission fluid level on my 1975 C-160.  (the decal says to fill with 10-30 0il to full mark).

Now I can’t for the life of me get the rubber grommet/gasket to slip down into the fill tube.  The tube on this unit appears to be plastic or nylon so I’m afraid to get too rough with it.  I did apply a light coat of oil to the rubber surface that slides down into the tube but that didn’t help.  I’m thinking that the rubber has probably gotten hard with age. Are there replacements available?  Or any suggestions?

Thanks!y

[ebinmaine 78,691]

7 hours ago, Gary S Minnesota said:

rubber has probably gotten hard with age

 

They swell too. 

You might be able to remove and replace that O ring. I may have a replacement dipstick here. 

[Gary S Minnesota 62]

It appears that the rubber piece is molded rubber,  not an actual O ring.   I will take a closer look at replacing it.

Other wise I’d be happy to purchase a replacement dip stick from you if available.

Thanks for your response

 

Gary

[ebinmaine 78,691]

7 minutes ago, Gary S Minnesota said:

It appears that the rubber piece is molded rubber,  not an actual O ring.   I will take a closer look at replacing it.

Other wise I’d be happy to purchase a replacement dip stick from you if available.

Thanks for your response

 

Gary

 

 

Measure your existing piece and I'll see what's in my parts stash.  

[peter lena 9,873]

@Gary S Minnesota   dielectric  grease ?   made for that  , rebuilt  hundreds  of pumps  / gear  units , makes a  ring slide with ease , another thing it does is stop , o ring twist / leak , also excellent  on fuel tank bottom valve  grommets , makes it easy . pete  

[Gary S Minnesota 62]

Well I finally got back to my stubborn transmission dipstick problem.

I took Pete's advise and applied dielectric grease to the rubber surfaces and with some effort( say angling down to get one section/edge started in the tube) was able to get the rubber gasket down in the proper position within the tube.

I don't believe it should be that difficult to check the transmission oil level.

My dipstick measures about 6.25 inches from the top of the metal cap to the tip of the stick.

So Ebinmaine if you have a replacement with the rubber in good shape I'd be interested in purchasing one from you!

Thanks all for your help. 

Gary in Minnesota 

 

 

 

[ebinmaine 78,691]

4 hours ago, Gary S Minnesota said:

Ebinmaine if you have a replacement with the rubber in good shape I'd be interested in purchasing one from you!

 

I'll check this weekend.  

[DLF 49]

The rubber seal on thoes dip sticks gets hard and almost imposable to push on.  I made a tool to fix that. Slit a large dowel. steel tubing, or old broom to clear the pull handle.

Place on dip stick cap and tap with small hammer it will slip on. 

[953 nut 65,858]

21 hours ago, DLF said:

The rubber seal on thoes dip sticks gets hard and almost imposable to push on.  I made a tool to fix that. Slit a large dowel. steel tubing, or old broom to clear the pull handle.

Place on dip stick cap and tap with small hammer it will slip on. 

[DLF 49]

I can show you the tool, don't have anybody to take the picture. of me using it. Best picture of me holding i

And the tool laying on my tail gate. It's a piece of 1/2" square tubing, could be anything that fits trough the hole.

[953 nut 65,858]

           I thought you had developed a tool to fix the rubber seal.

[wallfish 19,923]

Use a step bit. Drill out the tube just a bit and it'll slip back in but still stay tight like it's supposed to. Then there's no tools required afterwards.

Shove a paper towel or something down in there first to keep the plastic from falling in and I run a shop vac to suck them up while drilling. Just go slow and test it each time.

You could probably heat up that tube and use the step bit as a flaring tool without drilling too

 

[DLF 49]

2 hours ago, 953 nut said:

           I thought you had developed a tool to fix the rubber seal.

 

It does get easer after it has been forced on a few times. The  rubber seal gets so hard you can't force it on with the pull handle.

It's for when you have work to do, you can get the cap back on and go get it done.

 

[ebinmaine 78,691]

@Gary S Minnesota

 

None here that are in any better shape than your own.  

[Gary S Minnesota 62]

I did try using a pliers with the ends of the handles atop the metal cap on each side of the pull handle. I then tapped down on the jaw end of the pliers with a small hammer.  That probably didn't transfer enough energy all around the cap perimeter.

I was also concerned about cracking the plastic tube? Thanks for your suggestion!

[Gary S Minnesota 62]

Thanks for checking on that transmission dip stick ebinmaine.

I'll have to keep applying the dielectric grease.  Gary  in Minn.

[ebinmaine 78,691]

45 minutes ago, Gary S Minnesota said:

cracking the plastic tube?

 

I do have several of those