Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hi every one,

Who has found a good solution to seal the dipstick properly?

cheers

Robin

Robin

I braze a 15mm diameter washer on the dip stick and then hold it firmly against the top of the tube with a tension spring hooked onto the handle.

Rohan

What about the old ngk plug cap, to lead, rubber boot it seems to work on mine.

I second the motion on the spark plug boot.

I am using a straight boot off of an old set of wires. It's held in place by several ty-wraps and sealed with RTP.

Haven't leaked a drop since I put this together.

Steve B.

So do you put the spark plug boot on the dipstick?
I don't understand how this works, and with the amount of oil I loose through the dipstick I could do with a solution!
Cheers for any help
Tim

Tim,

Sounds like too much oil leaking from the dipstick is a symptom of something else. Sealing it may not work.

Is the crank case pressure OK?

Hamish.

Hi Hamish,
Could be crankcase pressure..
did a compression test a while ago when I was worried about this and all was well, so I decided to ignore it until I have built my dream garage and can get the engine out for an overdue rebuild..
However in the mean time the leak is a pain in the...
so anything to reduce it a little
Cheers
Tim

Point taken Tim.

I would go for the spark plug boot. I've got it on mine.

Regards,

Hamish.

but I am still confused about how the boot fits?
does it fit on the dipstick with the wide end down over the dipstick tube?
cheers
tim

Tim,

The one on mine is - narrow end fits round the dipstick, the wider end fits round the dipstick tube. Obviously the wide end is at the bottom.

This also stops the dipstick moving around.

Hamish.

Strange.. I have never found any leaks around my dipstick - this could be because I have oil leaks in other places...but I will look out. The plug lead cover sounds like a good idea

Took dip stick out. Put in lathe. Cut two small groves. Slipped on two small o-rings for a nice tight fit. No leaks no problems.

Chaps

Is a good way to diagnose whether the dipstick is the source of a leak merely to remove the dipstick adn seal of the dipstick tube?

If so, is there a recommended 'bung' to seal the tube for this purpose?

I was going to try the plug lead boot but found that there's no tube protruding from the block boss on my engine. Guess that's why I need to use the "U" in "FULL" as my upper level. It is where the level is when I've completely drained the sump and filled the requisite amount of oil. When I first got the car I was losing pressure on every roundabout unless I crept around the turn. I had been maintaining the oil level between the upper and lower marks on the dipstick. Eventually I decided to find out where the level should be when the correct amount of oil was in the sump and that came to about 12mm over the full line.

John, I tried the spark plug boot, but mine degraded from engine heat. Now using a rubber vacuum line plug. I bought a blister pack at the auto parts store with several sizes in it, and just selected the closest fit. I cut a hole in the top of the plug, and the dip stick goes through it.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/access ... 65550_0_0_

As you are trying to find the source of the leak, just remove the dip stick and seal the dip stick tube with the uncut plug and see if you still have oil all over the place.

As mentioned in the thread, check your dip stick reading after a oil and filter change. I also had to adjust the dip stick.

I think it was mentioned elsewhere, but check your vent at right rear by the rear carb is clear and not over pressurizing the sump. I ran mine to a vented bottle. Others have added venting at the front of the cam cover.

HTH