On Wed, 28 Sep 2005 SamuelsMA@aol.com wrote:
> Here's a really minor question:
>
> When I first checked the oil level on my (new to me) '76, I noticed that
> there was no felt stopper on the dipstick. I ordered and received one from
>TRF.
> It is a thick white felt plug. When I went to slip it on the dipstick, I
> looked more carefully and found a very thin felt layer on the underside of
>the
> flange on the dipstick. It looks intact and in good condition, as if it was
> designed that way.
>
> To thicken the soup, the vintage Triumph dealer who sold me the car had
> changed the oil just prior to shipping the car. The oil level reads about a
> half-quart high. Perhaps the dealer used the standard number of quarts and
>the
> dipstick reads high because it is supposed to have the thick felt on it and
> doesn't?
It's funny that you bring this topic up. My direct experience about "the
standard number of quarts" is interesting. I have two TR6 that are
currently running. One - the race car - uses the exact amount listed in
the owner manual (I think it's 11 pints or just less than six US quarts).
The street car (I'm the original owner) uses more than 12 pints to get to
the full mark. Some how, the pan on the street car was bigger from the
factory! Go figure. I even tried swapping dip sticks to see if the marks
were wrong... I have about 10 dipsticks "laying around". Nope, they all
read the same.
At any rate, the marks on the dipstick are pretty close to being "right
on" and therefore the thickness of the felt can effect the "accuracy" of
the reading. However, even if you install the new felt and the result is
that the oil level in the pan is higher - it absolutely will not effect
the motor in any way because the standard oil level is way below the crank
throws, so you won't get any parasitic power loss from "windage" and you
would need to add about 2 inches of oil to get the pan gasket to leak when
the car is stationary. That two inches is a lot more than one quart
because of the shape of the pan... it's more like 3 or 4 quarts more.
Put another way - if you get no leaking from the existing felt, stick with
that. If you are/were getting a leak there, then install the new felt and
see if it helps. Chances are that if you are leaking from the dipstick,
that a new felt won't fix the problem and that you need to run a leakdown
test to find out which ring(s) is/are broken. :-0
> Thanks.
>
> Michael
> '76 Tahiti blue
> CF 57044U
regards,
rml
CF14111U
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