Tall Paul

Very uncommon for me, I started doing my maintenance about five weeks before our departure date. I usually do it the day before, but for some reason, I decided to start now. And it's a good thing. Nothing difficult, just a tranny service, oil change, and a re&re on the water pump (bushing had worn to the point where the impeller was rubbing and making noise), and check the brakes and bearings. Finished the water pump and went on to the tranny service. Did all the usual, drained pan and T/C, replaced adapter (even though it was dry and the TCU showed no signs of oil, guess I got lucky there), put the pan back on, filled with 8 liters of oil, started the car, ran it through the gears a couple of times, and went to check the oil level. Here's where the fun started. I took my BRAND NEW oil level gauge (dipstick) and ran it down the tube seeking the bottom of the pan. When it stopped, I let it sit for about two seconds and pulled it back out............minus the plastic end! So, now I have to either pull the pan, yet again, or try and figure out whether I can get the tube out. I am pretty sure that when that plastic piece broke off, chances are it will be in one of the curves in the dipstick tube. I am leaning towards re&re'ing the pan, just because everything is clean and I can probably save the oil and gasket. And besides, I have lots of time before we leave.

benzokirk

good practice, to start earlier than you need to. nice foresight.

Tall Paul

Yes, but it does mean that the car is down for another day, and that means another day that I don't get to drive it.

IanB

Wow, that really sucks! Was it an OEM dipstick, or aftermarket?

Tall Paul

It was aftermarket. Yeah, I know...........don't be so friggin' cheap and get a real one. Autopartsway won't send me a replacement until I send the old one back, or I can buy a new one from them. They did offer free shipping on the replacement tool, but ground service only. Which means up to a week of wait time. I will probably retrieve the broken piece, measure it up, and make my own. I have to get the car mobile again.

mrobinso

That seems to be the way it goes when you do it yourself - things never go as planned. Separate car, but I spent the weekend replacing the power steering pump on my 2003 Suburban when all I wanted to do was replace the squeaky power steering pulley. When I went to install the new pulley, the little tool that threads into the output shaft on the pump stripped the threads on the inside of the pump shaft. Literally the only way to get the power steering pulley back on was to replace the pump. And so it goes...

If I was you I would begrudgingly drop the pan again and retrieve the broken piece, as much as it would be pain me to do so. Total PIA but might as well get it over with.

BTW I just did this same service and purchased an aftermarket trans dipstick as well - no shame in that. Sounds like you're just the unlucky SOB that received a defective one.

Tall Paul

Finished the retrieval of the broken part today. It was not in the pan. It was lodged in the tube, and had to be forced out from the bottom up. The whole job didn't take long, but yes, it was a royal pain.

Tall Paul

This is an excerpt from a reply I made on mrobinso post. I figured I would re-post it here, as it is relevant to the work I was doing.

"Also found that the fan hub and heat sink on the clutch assy. were coated with what appeared to be material from the serpentine belt, at least that's the only thing I could figure out that it was. And it was thick! It probably originated from the belt not riding properly on the water pump pulley. Anyway, after washing it thoroughly, it spun easier and with the heat sink clean, it will probably work better as well."

This rubber dust (if that's what it was) was quite thick and was not easy to remove. I used a very strong de-greaser and a synthetic bristle brush. Guessing, I would have to say it took a good half-hour to get it clean. Looks good now, though. Nice bright clean aluminum hub, and the bi-metallic coil is probably going to work much better.