904 Dipstick tip broke off in trans. Anyone know what would cause this?

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canuckgts

canuckgts

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Hi All Recently bought another toy. Very nice 69 swinger, 318 with a few goodies, 904 rebuilt with a shift kit. Put it in storage basically as soon as I got it home last fall. Just got it out and noticed trans shifting way too early. Adjusted kickdown and decided to check fluid. None showing. Added half a quart and checked again still none but noticed end of dipstick seemed to be twisted.
Wasn't sure why and really thought nothing of it. (dumbass) Added more fluid, pulled dipstick and tip is now gone. Broke off right at the full mark.
Anyone ever run into this?
 
It had to be weak in that spot.
The twist is to aid in inserting the stick and is common.
Good news is the broke off part won’t hurt anything laying in the pan.
 
Just in case you're not familiar with these old gals, check transmission fluid with the car at operating temperature and running in neutral.
 
66fyssh said:
Just in case you're not familiar with these old gals, check transmission fluid with the car at operating temperature and running in neutral.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the replies. Going to drain it and pull the pan, If I leave it, it will drive me nuts. It's been a while since I wrenched on one of these old babies but did it a lot many moons ago. Car was at temp, in neutral,but found it odd nothing showing on the dipstick.
 
Great. I would be the same way!!

Certainly won't hurt to pull the pan. If you need another dipstick, post a "Parts Wanted" add on FABO. Someone is bound to have one.
 
I’ve seen more than one break there. It’s a weak spot from forming the tube, like Trailbeast said. Easy fix, just check the bore for burrs. A new o ring and you’re golden.
 
Yeah, like Demonic seems to be saying, pull the dipstick tube out and fish the broken piece out with a magnet.
There are several different length 904 dipstick and tube combos; maybe you just have a mismatched set.
 
AJ/FormS said:
Yeah, like Demonic seems to be saying, pull the dipstick tube out and fish the broken piece out with a magnet.
There are several different length 904 dipstick and tube combos; maybe you just have a mismatched set.
Click to expand...

Hi guys Thank you for all of the feedback. Made some good headway today, finally got the kickdown working, maybe a bit aggressively. Shifts seem harsh although it does have a shift kit in it. Going to adjust it tomorrow, need to get it to shift a little sooner.
Dipstick issue still has me a bit baffled. I checked the dipstick from my 727 and found it to be the same as the 904 that broke off. Pushing the dipstick in the last inch or so is is difficult. Feels like it is binding on something, although there shouldn't be anything in the way. Going to pull the pan when I get it to a hoist. Not a fan of doing that on my back.
 
It's common for the dipstick to get "tight" the last inch of insertion. Probably due to the twist they put in them or possibly hanging up on the groove they put in the dipstick for the O-ring. I had one that hung up so bad most of the time you had to twist it when inserting it or you couldn't get it in
 
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