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Old 08-20-2016, 03:27 PM   #1
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Length of tube which holds the motor oil measuring stick

Hi, I have a Thomas map re skoolie from 1999 an I am desperately looking for the exact length of the tube where the motor oil stick goes into to measure the oil level is. It melted yesterday and now I can't check the level anymore.
Thanks a lot.

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Old 08-20-2016, 09:39 PM   #2
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Unfortunately i do not have that information for you but i suspect someone will be by shortly to help out. Is it still running? Hope this is unecessary concern on my part but the only melted dip stick i ever encountered was in a blown motor.
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Old 08-20-2016, 10:09 PM   #3
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Can't help but, you need to be more specific about bus model and exactly what engine. Dipstick tube came from whoever made the engine not who made the bus. Was the dipstick tube plastic? What possible scenario would cause a melted dipstick?
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Old 08-21-2016, 01:20 AM   #4
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Hi, ok, so here is what happened. I forgot to close the cap of the hole where you fill the motor oil and drove the bus for 60 miles before realising this. Could that have caused the tube to melt?
Yes the tube was plastic, hard plastic.
The engine is a Cummins 8.3l rear engine in a Thomas mvp bus. He motor still turns on when I turn on the ignition. I haven't driven it yet, because I don't know if the oil level is good.
Thanks for your replies so far.
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Old 08-23-2016, 04:30 PM   #5
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Easiest thing to do would be to get an aftermarket dipstick. Drain the oil out, look up how much oil you need for full, and then engrave a mark on the stick showing where full is at.

It's going to be hard to find a factory replacement for something like that.
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Old 08-23-2016, 04:48 PM   #6
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leaving the cap off could cause the tube to melt as it would become a secondary blow-by draft tube.. those gases can get very hot.. I have never heard of a plastic dipstick tube though... all the ones ive seen are metal..
-Christopher
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Old 08-23-2016, 05:07 PM   #7
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Just because it's cummins your best bet would be cummins and ask if they have a metal upgrade cause there are many things that could cause that but usually not just leaving the fill cap off unless you lost a lot of oil out of that hole?
What does the oil splatter tell you?
Is it just on the hood and valve cover or did you only recognize it when an oil leak developed underneath?
I would find a new dipstick holster,find the quantity your supposed to hold and get a drain pan big enough to catch that amount. Then install the new holster and plug and fill up the oil. And use the old jugs to measure what came out.
If you only drained 5-quarts and hold 13 I would say you overheated and either you didn't pay attention to your gauges or your gauges aren't working properly.
Cummins are very popular and if you haven't you need to retrieve the actual piece that is friction fit into the hole in the block and you might be able to find an aftermarket piece by matching the attachment size tube.
If you decide to make your own I have made some for different motors but with unconventional means and methods? And I used the manufacturers reccomended fill to set the mark on the stick. I would start high on the tube but low reading on the stick run for 10-15, let sit for 30 and read the stick and cut a little more until it was close/manageable.
For a little while I had some hot rods I loved to work on and chrome is pretty but I love the color of old copper so I would change some things to copper as needed worked on to offset the chrome. So a copper dipstick is not out of the question and if you decide that route? Let me know I can give you advice and help if/as needed.
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