[ericwy]

Originally Posted by johnsma22

There are two lower tubes. One for use with a windage tray. It wedges into the opening in the block and a hole in the windage tray. The other is for motors without windage trays. It also wedges into the opening in the block, but bolts to a main cap. Then there is the main dip stick tube. It must be installed from the inside out, then the lower tube is inserted into it. Finally, if you have A/C, there will be an extension tube that inserts into the main tube and mounts to the A/C compressor bracket. There are only two different dip sticks. One for A/C cars, the other for non-A/C cars.

At last! someone who knows: please help me too.

My TA 400 had to be rebuilt in 2004. Among the many goofs I found once I got it back from the shop was the dipstick and tube no longer fit correctly. Its got AC and when I gave them the car it all fit. When I got it back the upper tube would not reach all way up to the AC bracket to attach (too short). The shop's solution was to use a 2" bolt through a ~1" bit of tubing to hold the upper tube in place. The bolt is installed through the AC bracket at the correct place, extends down towards the dipstick mount. The tube spacer is in between the dipstick mount and the underside of the AC bracket.

Shop claimed they re-used my original dipstick, but it reads correct oil levels despite the lower mounting position. The shop supplied the replacement 400 cylinder block. Could they have put on a non-AC upper tube and dipstick ?

Eric