The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 235 dipstick location

Worked on the 235 again this evening reinstalling the thermostat housing, bolts, dipstick,and accelerator linkage I painted last week. The dipstick is too close to the coil to be easily used, so I was wondering why? Is the coil located incorrectly? Installed too low? Is the dipstick incorrect for the 1954 235?

Thoughts?

2 things. Take a picture of the whole engine not just one small area. Next the dipstick tube looks bent into that area.

The dipstick tube on my 1955 235 is straight with no bends in it. The dipstick finger handle is also extended out about 4 inches past the tube, making it easier to reach.

3rd vote for tube is bent.

4th vote. The tube is bent. Very carefully bend it back down and you are good to go.

Someone installed the tube 180* out. Carefully remove it and spin it 180 and put it back in.

Those tubes commonly got bent when an engine was set down on the wrong side...or fell over in some cases. Sometimes they get cracked when they get bent, but usually this doesn't happen unless somebody tries too hard to "fix" things. If you find you need to replace one of these tubes, here is a suggestion: The original oil dipstick tube is about .5 to .6mm larger in diameter than common copper plumbing tube (3/8")...or looked at another way about .025 to .030mm larger all around...which is .0012". If you apply solder to the bottom 2 inches of a piece of 3/8" copper pipe you may find it fits pretty well now.

Thanks everyone for your comments! I’ll follow Martins’ advice to see if it points the tube away from the engine enough so that the dipstick clears the coil. If I can get the tube out it should be an easy fix. I’ll post a pic this weekend if I have success.

Thanks again for the help.