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Oil dipstick


dududuckling
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Hi guys,

 

I had a local shop replaced the oil pan back in June and this is on a 3.3L V6 - 2000 Pathfinder. I found out that the oil dipstick is stuck because they did not remove it prior to installing the oil pan. The dipstick sticks 3" out of the guide and its stuck for good. The motor runs strong and has clocked in 5000 mi. since then. As I could not check the oil level, I added 0.5 Qt. at 2500 mi. Today, when I braked and made a left turn, the low engine oil pressure light came on for a brief second and went off. So I added another 0.5 Qt. I am going to get an oil change next week.

 

When the pathfinder had a function dipstick, the oil level was always at full and so I am not sure if the truck is burning oil. Maybe it just evaporates?

Is it possible to remove the dipstick guide, trim the stuck dipstick, put the new dipstick into the guide? I do not plan to keep the truck much longer and would prefer to avoid having to reinstall the oil pan.

 

Thanks in advanced.

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Lol. I have the same issue. I currently check it by draining the oil out into a gallon jug here and there...

 

Adding oil without a clue what's in it is not a good idea. Anything over 5 quarts in the motor and it'll airate at higher RPMs causing a drop in oil pressure.

 

It's possible to pull the tube and clip the dipstick... hopefully the bottom part falls down and you can pull it out the drain plug hope with a magnet. Best case is obviously pulling the oil pan.

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Normally I put in 4 qt with new filter and when its time for next oil change, I get around 2.75-3 qt in the jug. I figured the rest might just be soaked in the filter. Do you happen to know if removing the dipstick guide is a big job?

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A 3.3 takes 3-7/8 qt (US) with an oil filter change and 3-5/8 without. Just wondering why you replaced the pan and why is the stick stuck? Did they kink off the tube or is it a different pan?

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I still don't understand why it would be stuck. It should be hanging in open space in the pan unless they pinched it up somewhere.

It's stuck between the little guide in the pan and the side of the block. There's enough room for the thin cable to move but not the blocky end.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Yes it is a pain to get to the bracket that holds the dipstick guide, there is a lot in the way.

I agree with the fella up top about having the shop fix their mistake. Or if you don't feel like the pain dealing with them, it seems like it would be easier just to loosen up the pan bolts during your next oil change, pull the dipstick, tighten the bolts back up and install the dipstick. like 20mins extra work max. Gasket should still be good if they actually used a new one instead of RTV.

 

 

That is why i do the work myself if i can, I am not going to pay someone a large sum of $ to mess up my Pathfinder, i can do that just fine for free ;P

 

Pat

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