2 litre ford pinto engine dipstick issue!

[Facial Hair Optional]

Has anyone out there got a 2 litre pinto engine in their car and would do me the favour of posting a close up picture of the part of their dipstick that sits in the top of the tube pls?

Mine suddenly started spitting a bit of oil out of the top of the tube the other day. I can't figure out why it's suddenly not sealing as well as it did, has a seal or something gone missing or has the plastic barrel stopper shrunk or changed size somehow? I have a vague recollection of there once being something there that is now gone but can't for the life of me recall what it was or looked (or if I'm just imagining it!)

I've looked online but can't find any decent pics. It's not life or death but my OCD tendencies are driving me nuts trying to figure out why all of a sudden it started spitting drops of oil out, it's never ever lost any oil at all before.

I've splayed out the barrel again and put a small O ring over it so it's improved but still doesn't 'feel right' somehow 

[Bulldog Bri]

I'll add to this, if anyone has the crossflow engine could they do the same, a photo of their Engine dipstick as mine goes all the way down in till it hits the bottom of the sump

[Facial Hair Optional]

I'll add to this, if anyone has the crossflow engine could they do the same, a photo of their Engine dipstick as mine goes all the way down in till it hits the bottom of the sump

Is it doing that because the locating stop at the top is missing so falls right down the tube or maybe because the sump has been shortened and wings added like on a lot of kits but the dipstick has not been shortened do you think Bri?

[Facial Hair Optional]

This is the one on the Burton website http://www.burtonpower.com/dipstick-x-flow-fp651.html

[Bulldog Bri]

Yeah the locating stop is missing, there's just a bung that I use to guess the sopping spot. 

[Facial Hair Optional]

There are two for sale on ebay with good pics but they are totally different from each other!

This one I remember very well from my escort mk 1 owning days!... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Classic-Ford-ESCORT-MK1-Crossflow-Dipstick-2733E-6752A-FoMoCo-Dip-Stick-Van-/331562513527?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4d32aa7477

This one I can't say as I've seen before... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Escort-mk1-and-mk2-crossflow-dipstick-/361306338264?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item541f8933d8

[Facial Hair Optional]

It's amazing how hard they are to find and how much they sell for!!!! I'm going to see if one from a cossie engine is any good on my pinto engine later today.

Any dipstick should do as long as it seals and is long enough to reach well into the oil 'cos you can mark your own fill level markings on it easily enough in true kit car spirit!! 

[Quarrycars]

Mine suddenly started spitting a bit of oil out of the top of the tube the other day.

It might be worth checking if the PCV system is working OK.

[Facial Hair Optional]

Mine suddenly started spitting a bit of oil out of the top of the tube the other day.

It might be worth checking if the PCV system is working OK.

As soon as I find out what that means I will check it! LOL!

[paintman]

I got a 2.2 Pinto in the Hood,..... i'll take some pics. 

Hope the sump isn't pressurising due to wear in the bores or rings and forcing up the dipstick....happened to mine before I blew it up!

What oil pressure do you have hot on tick over?

    Tony

[Quarrycars]

Mine suddenly started spitting a bit of oil out of the top of the tube the other day.

It might be worth checking if the PCV system is working OK.

As soon as I find out what that means I will check it! LOL!

Positive Crankcase Ventilation - actually an emission system designed to burn the engine oil fumes in the engine instead of blowing them into the atmosphere.  Usually a valve in the cam cover with about a 3/8" ID hose connected to the intake manifold, although I seem to remember on the pinto engine the hose goes to an oil separator under the intake manifold.  The point is that the system creates a slight negative pressure in the engine and helps prevent oil leaks. 

[YellaBelly]

Certainly worth checking for pressurization, depends how much of a 'spit' is coming out.

[Facial Hair Optional]

I have an alloy oil catch tank with a breather cap, wouldn't that prevent the pressure problem?

Had a look again today and it seems my dipstick tube is more oval at the top than round which may have not helped!

I'm on a run to Gloucester tomorrow (https://www.facebook.com/events/1583727911879058/ see separate forum topic on this) so I'll keep an eye on the oil issue as I go.

Thanks for all your help on this guys! 

[paintman]

Has anyone out there got a 2 litre pinto engine in their car and would do me the favour of posting a close up picture of the part of their dipstick that sits in the top.

I've splayed out the barrel again and put a small O ring over it so it's improved but still doesn't 'feel right' somehow 

Here's my dip-stick if that's any help:

[Facial Hair Optional]

Paintman, thank you, yes that actually is a big help. Your dipstick is totally different to mine and is actually the type I would like to have as it has an O ring seal that sits down in the top of the dipstick tube which mine does not have!

This subject has brought up an interesting fact that I have discovered while searching for a solution to this problem!!!

When I bought my Tiger I was told by the then owner that "it has a small oil leak which is quite normal for this type of engine". I discovered that it did not have an oil leak but that he had been overfilling it with oil! This was due to the fact that it has a shortened sump with a wide wing welded on (to add back lost oil volume).

I always wondered how you decided what oil level to put in if the sump had been shortened. Logic tends to make you think that you should put the same amount of oil in as before it was shortened (in other words the same amount as it says in the handbook) and that therefore the oil would register higher up the dipstick, WRONG!!!!

I recently discovered a 'new oil level' mark that someone had lightly cut onto the dipstick and that is what he had been filling with oil to. If you do this you will have oil coming into contact with the bottom of your crank and rods, you will most likely get foam, excess pressure, damage and even oil escaping from the dipstick tube (which was his oil leak!!!).

You must only fill with oil to the max level on the original dipstick no matter what. This seems counter intuitive but nonetheless it is correct! It is expalined and argued over quite well here.. http://www.rhocar.org/?showtopic=32558
Needless to say now I only fill to the original max oil level I don't get any 'oil leak' and the  car is fine!!

I am going to post this again as a separate topic as some people who may benefit from it wont get to se it buried here in this topic (the current title won't grab their attention and if they are overfilling they need to read this I think) It may well cause some interesting arguements as it did in the thread on the UK Kit Car Club Forum!!!

[Facial Hair Optional]

Mine suddenly started spitting a bit of oil out of the top of the tube the other day.

It might be worth checking if the PCV system is working OK.

As soon as I find out what that means I will check it! LOL!

Positive Crankcase Ventilation - actually an emission system designed to burn the engine oil fumes in the engine instead of blowing them into the atmosphere.  Usually a valve in the cam cover with about a 3/8" ID hose connected to the intake manifold, although I seem to remember on the pinto engine the hose goes to an oil separator under the intake manifold.  The point is that the system creates a slight negative pressure in the engine and helps prevent oil leaks.

My dipstick tube is still spitting oil (only a light mist when I'm giving it the beans!) and I think you may have hit the nail on the head here.

There is a tube that goes into the block, it is situated beneath the twin webers. It connects to a T piece and one way goes to the oil filler cap at the top of the cam cover which is a very nice alloy bit of kit and seems to be ventilated, the other way it goes to an alloy oil catchtank.

Apparently the tube that goes into the block has some kind of strainer/gauze attached inside the block and this can get blocked up and cause pressure problems.

My personal opinion is that if this is the issue it may well have been caused by the overfilling of oil in the 'shortened sump' situation that I spoke of elsewhere on the forum. This can cause foaming if the crank is hitting the oil resevoir and I'm sure that may well cause it to be more likely to get blocked?

This is only me theorising as I am no expert!! Any ideas or thoughts are most wlecome, either way I will be removing the tube and having a good old look and clean out soon!

[Quarrycars]

Looks like you don't have PCV, just ventilation.  PCV is usually superior to open vents but because the DCOEs do not have a plenum it is probably the simplest solution.  Make sure the vents are clear, oil level is correct and find a dipstick that seals - or connect a hose from it to the catch tank!

[Facial Hair Optional]

Looks like you don't have PCV, just ventilation.  PCV is usually superior to open vents but because the DCOEs do not have a plenum it is probably the simplest solution.  Make sure the vents are clear, oil level is correct and find a dipstick that seals - or connect a hose from it to the catch tank!

Advice much appreciated Quarrycars