B21, 1978 242GT, I notice after a time of driving that my oil dipstick is not sealed in the tube. Not sure if this is an indication of something bad happening? Just replaced the flame trap, nipple and valve cover to nipple hose(noticing that the old nipple was broken, no flame trap in it and the hose wasn't the right size, too large). Probably going to replace the other hoses a.s.a.p., but would the dipstick push up from some other measure of pressure somewhere else that is bad? Something I might be able to get into? Any advice is quite thoroughly appreciated, thanks very much. Justin

Thanks for all the assorted advice. I will work through the different ideas there and hopefully one or more will work. -Justin-

Is it popping out of the tube, or is it just not sealing right? If it's not sealing right, it could just be a bad O-ring on the dipstick. But if it's popping out then you've got a plugged up PCV system. If you've checked the flame trap already, you definitely should do a thorough check of your oil separator/breather box. Take off the flame trap and its lower hose to expose the hole in the breather box. Get a length of vinyl tubing (I think either 1/2" or 3/4," I'm not sure), connect it to the hole in the breather box that the flame trap's lower hose came off of, and blow through the breather box with the oil filler cap off. It should blow completely freely. If there's some resistance or it's plugged up, then you'll need to take the breather box off and replace it or cleaned it up. Do a search for oil breather box.

I know my 79 has a metal cover over the old mech. fuel pump hole where the breather box sits on later 240s. But I didn't catch a mention of the flame trap vacuum orifice on the manifold. I used to clean that with an ordinary pipe cleaner, but since switching the cars to synth all I need to do is check it.

BTW, I get O-rings for the dipstick from the Home Depot-- something like 3 in a bag.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

Keep an eye out for leaks around the engine. Your problem could be as simple as a bad seal on the dipstick but after the dipstick seal is replaced look out for leaks. If the crankcase pressure is building up do to a clog in the PCV system then by replacing the dipstick seal the pressure might try to go through some other gasket or seal. Good Luck!

Sincerely,
--
Julio Meza

1979 264GL B27F 122K

Features Added:

BW55 To M46, Central Locking System, 25mm IPD Front Sway Bar, 81+ Dash W/ Oil & Ambient Temp Gauges In C, Oil Pressure, Volts

Next Project:

+Cruise Control

Get a new o ring for the dipstick and the trans dipstick. These get hard and stop sealing after 8 years or so.
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92 244 lowered, Bilsteins, IPD sways, Unitek cam/header, TSW Revo 18x8's - 94 965 Niiice MONEY PIT! - 76 Datsun 280Z lowered, modified head, cam, headers, intake

It could simply be vibrating out of the hole.

Yes, simply because the o-rings are old, hard, and don't seal or hold the stick.
--
92 244 lowered, Bilsteins, IPD sways, Unitek cam/header, TSW Revo 18x8's - 94 965 Niiice MONEY PIT! - 76 Datsun 280Z lowered, modified head, cam, headers, intake