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Hi everyone, it's my turn to try and fix a leaking dipstick flange in my oil pan. After a couple of days of research I've found a few options:
The replacement billet adapter big bucks but generally accepted to fix the problem. Although I wonder if it's not 100% as I've read comments about the current version of the instructions suggesting RTV and they also sell replacement orings for it (do they leak eventually too?).
The Diesel Orings kit but if the oring is too small then it's really just a RTV kit with a new nut. I don't see how it's possible to have an "oil free" surface between the inside of the pan and the flange oring area for the RTV as required in the instructions though.
The International kit which is a RTV kit
The 73dipstick kit which looks like a good idea but doesn't get consistent good reviews
Using what you've got (maybe with a new external nut) with a bigger 328 oring and RTV
Replacing the oring is appealing from a cost standpoint but if the OE oring swelled I would assume that any replacement would swell too and make the problem worse. I honestly leaning towards buying a nut and orings from Ford because it's cheaper than the kits and maybe getting the 328 oring from McMaster just in case. Thoughts?
I ran the Diesel O Ring kit for awhile and had no issues or complaints. I eventually had to pull the pan for unrelated issues and just replaced the whole flange assy. while I was there. I can say that the Ultra Black silicone used in the kit is some mean stuff. When I went to remove the flange to install the replacement, I had a fight on my hands. Ended up having to cut the UB with a razor knife just to get the nut to come loose. Once I got it all apart I still had to go to town on it with a wire wheel on an angle grinder to get all that stuff off. I decided that stuff was worth another go, so I used it again on the new one. Still no leak, if only I could say the same for the o ring that seals the tube in the adapter.
Hi everyone, it's my turn to try and fix a leaking dipstick flange in my oil pan. After a couple of days of research I've found a few options:
The replacement billet adapter big bucks but generally accepted to fix the problem. Although I wonder if it's not 100% as I've read comments about the current version of the instructions suggesting RTV and they also sell replacement orings for it (do they leak eventually too?).
Haven't seen one fail from the ones I've installed years back.
The Diesel Orings kit but if the oring is too small then it's really just a RTV kit with a new nut. I don't see how it's possible to have an "oil free" surface between the inside of the pan and the flange oring area for the RTV as required in the instructions though.
The International kit which is a RTV kit
The 73dipstick kit which looks like a good idea but doesn't get consistent good reviews
Using what you've got (maybe with a new external nut) with a bigger 328 oring and RTV
Replacing the oring is appealing from a cost standpoint but if the OE oring swelled I would assume that any replacement would swell too and make the problem worse. I honestly leaning towards buying a nut and orings from Ford because it's cheaper than the kits and maybe getting the 328 oring from McMaster just in case. Thoughts?
Another option is to tighten the nut a little more but not too much, clean the living snot out of it with brake cleaner, let it dry out good and get yourself some TA-31 and go to town on it. Did this with the original mill that was on my OBS when it was part of the fleet and lasted for 5 years before I tore down the engine for a rebuild.
So the machined adapter requires that you drop the back half of the stock flange in to the bottom of the oil pan. Ideally it lands not far from the pickup so it's out of the way/won't cause an issue. Seems to work for most, didn't happen with me. Somehow it got lodged up in such a way that the crank or a rod was striking it, introducing metal in to the engine oil... and to be clear, install instructions were followed exactly.
Other than that it worked rather well. It fixed the leak, though a film of oil always existed around it. The issue is the backing plate on the machined flange has to be small enough to fit in the hole in the oil pan. As such when you tighten it down it only presses horizontally across the opening instead of all around it, which means it's ability to uniformly press the uneven sheet metal oil pan in to the orings is limited, so you might get some very light creep of oil film.
If you don't want to remove the oil pan use the international kit/a bunch of RTV. If you have other things on the engine that need freshening up remove the engine, remove the oil pan, and weld a flange on.
Another option is to tighten the nut a little more but not too much, clean the living snot out of it with brake cleaner, let it dry out good and get yourself some TA-31 and go to town on it. Did this with the original mill that was on my OBS when it was part of the fleet and lasted for 5 years before I tore down the engine for a rebuild.
Do you think it's worth switching out the flange oring first before doing this or am I just making problems for myself?
So the machined adapter requires that you drop the back half of the stock flange in to the bottom of the oil pan. Ideally it lands not far from the pickup so it's out of the way/won't cause an issue. Seems to work for most, didn't happen with me. Somehow it got lodged up in such a way that the crank or a rod was striking it, introducing metal in to the engine oil... and to be clear, install instructions were followed exactly.
Other than that it worked rather well. It fixed the leak, though a film of oil always existed around it. The issue is the backing plate on the machined flange has to be small enough to fit in the hole in the oil pan. As such when you tighten it down it only presses horizontally across the opening instead of all around it, which means it's ability to uniformly press the uneven sheet metal oil pan in to the orings is limited, so you might get some very light creep of oil film.
If you don't want to remove the oil pan use the international kit/a bunch of RTV. If you have other things on the engine that need freshening up remove the engine, remove the oil pan, and weld a flange on.
Your description of the sealing issue makes sense. From the instructions:
Unfortunately, not all oil pans appear to be created equal. We have run into some oil pans that are not
perfectly flat in the area surrounding the dipstick adapter, and in some cases we’ve had to use some an
RTV Sealant on the back of the dipstick adapter because the o-rings wouldn’t seal without it. If you install
the adapter and there is a significant gap between the side of the oil pan and the adapter (particularly at
the bottom), you may want to remove the adapter and use a bead of quality RTV sealant to guarantee a
leak-free installation. Usually a 1/8” to 1/4" bead (depending on how badly the pan is warped) of RTV
between the 2 o-rings is more than enough to seal the adapter on a properly cleaned pan.
That definitely makes it less appealing to me as a solution because you aren't getting a proper compression fit around the entire fitting. If I have to use RTV, I might as well save some money.
So the machined adapter requires that you drop the back half of the stock flange in to the bottom of the oil pan. Ideally it lands not far from the pickup so it's out of the way/won't cause an issue. Seems to work for most, didn't happen with me. Somehow it got lodged up in such a way that the crank or a rod was striking it, introducing metal in to the engine oil... and to be clear, install instructions were followed exactly.
Other than that it worked rather well. It fixed the leak, though a film of oil always existed around it. The issue is the backing plate on the machined flange has to be small enough to fit in the hole in the oil pan. As such when you tighten it down it only presses horizontally across the opening instead of all around it, which means it's ability to uniformly press the uneven sheet metal oil pan in to the orings is limited, so you might get some very light creep of oil film.
If you don't want to remove the oil pan use the international kit/a bunch of RTV. If you have other things on the engine that need freshening up remove the engine, remove the oil pan, and weld a flange on.
I was hoping you'd post up.
You can find 500 blokes on the web saying the bit left behind in the oil pan is OK. Maybe just bad luck, but it was certainly not OK in your engine! Caused a rebuild! It's a risk.
Put me in the get it super clean then gobs of quality RTV camp.
Would the use of a scope aid in the process of making sure the back half of the stock flange falls to the bottom of the oil pan? The semi-rigid scope could be used to find and "push or move" the back of the flange down to the bottom of the oil pan further away from the pickup tube.
I feel I would try the gobs of RTV/TA-31 first and move forward from there if that didn't work.
Would the use of a scope aid in the process of making sure the back half of the stock flange falls to the bottom of the oil pan? The semi-rigid scope could be used to find and "push or move" the back of the flange down to the bottom of the oil pan further away from the pickup tube.
I feel I would try the gobs of RTV/TA-31 first and move forward from there if that didn't work.
I was fortunate, I heard mine hit the bottom of the pan, still there and will be forever LOL
While I had my engine out for a front cover replacement, I had the pan removed for resealing and had a new adapter permanently welded in as my chosen replacement option.
Had the oil already drained before I let the inside part drop. Definitely hit the bottom of the pan. The billet adapter I got from strictly diesel had 2 o rings for the seal against the outside of the pan. Cleaned that area of the pan very well, and not a hint of moisture around the adapter. But I didn't futz with trying to tighten the original adapter either.
Considering my truck has left me stranded 1000 miles away from home twice in the last 3 years, silicon is not a option for me.
Found some extra silicon after I pulled the injector cups. Farkin previous owners.
