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Topic
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I have a 1997 Honda Civic EX coupe, manual transmission with ~185000 miles (bought in the USA).
I had an oil leak, and noticed that when I pulled the oil dipstick, the dipstick tube started to come with it. The tube has somehow come loose and easily moves around (up and down a couple inches). I suspect that the dipstick “cork” must have been pulling at the tube, and over time, has worked it loose. I would like to replace the dipstick tube and o-ring. But it looks like it might be a bit tricky. I’ve done some repairs to the car myself (brakes/rotors, replaced O2 sensor, few other things), but I’m an amateur. I couldn’t find any videos online that dealt with this issue. The closest I saw were videos of timing belt replacements, where this is an early step. From that, It looked like I need to remove the valve cover and the upper timing belt cover before I can remove/replace the dipstick tube.
Could anyone offer advice? What do I need to do to fix this? Any watch outs? The questions that come to mind for me:
1. do I need to remove anything else besides the valve cover and timing belt cover to access this part?
2. in the videos, it looked like there is a small metal clip that holds the tube to the timing belt cover. does this need to be replaced?
3. is there anything I need to be worried about as I remove the valve cover or timing belt cover?
4. are there any challenges with getting the tube and o-ring to set properly?Some of these questions may be irrelevant, and there may be other things I’m missing that are critical. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Mike
edit – I’ve added a gif video to help show the issue.
2nd edit – the gif doesn’t seem to be playing, so I am adding two pictures, one showing the tube down, and one showing it as high as I can pull it. Thanks very much SLOjohnny and DaFirnz for the advice so far.
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Replies
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Generally there is some sort of a bracket that attaches the tube to the engine block in some manner. The o-rings at the base are usually pretty solid. If the dipstick is getting stuck in the tube, either put a bit of oil on the top part of the dipstick, or some silicon spray or paste just so it isn’t sticky.
A picture would also help.
You might not need to remove the valve cover entirely. You may only need to remove the one bolt that is holding the little bracket to the dipstick tube. I can’t exactly remember the set up. Don’t forget to lubricate the O-rings with some oil before reinserting the tube back into place. That is probably how they were lost in the first place. Try to correctly line up everything and don’t force the tube with too much force. It should go back in smoothly if it is properly aligned. Have fun, be safe, stay dirty.
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