Tight oil dip stick

Dan Thomas said:
I ran into an engine like that. Either the cap thread was a bit too big, or the tube thread was too small, and it would bind.
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It was like it was a one-way thread - went in easy, but wouldn't release. This was the first time flying that airplane for me, so I don't know how long it's done that.
 
Wipe the oil off the threads, and people won't over tighten it.
 
UngaWunga said:
Wipe the oil off the threads, and people won't over tighten it.
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Ever tried wiping oil out of threads? And anyway, the next time the stick comes out, oil will drip into the threads again.

Nope. This design is an example of "old" thinking. It's not idiot-proof like the gas and oil caps on cars now. It was designed in a day when the average person had some mechanical feel for things. Folks now don't, because automation makes things. When they break, we buy new ones instead of repairing and maintaining them, or we take the car to the shop even for an oil change. Very few people build or restore anything anymore. The most complicated thing most folks might build is a back deck or a fence. Old guys like me grew up building or fixing or restoring boats or airplanes or motorbikes or cars and pickups. Or whole houses. Or shortwave radios and televisions. Lawnmowers and outboards.

Magazines like Popular Mechanics used to have lots of ideas and plans for building neat things. If you can still buy such a magazine, it will have articles on the latest camera gadgetry or some hot car Detroit is planning or a new military airplane. Little or nothing on actually creating or fixing. Everyone now stares at their phones or computers, posting on POA...ooops...:rolleyes:

My son told me that he was talking to an auto shop guy. The guy said that YouTube was the biggest source of business for them. Guys watch a video on how to repair something on the car, and eventually the tow-truck hauls the mess to the shop.
 
Dan Thomas said:
Ever tried wiping oil out of threads? And anyway, the next time the stick comes out, oil will drip into the threads again.
Click to expand...

Yes. They're pretty wide threads on my plane, easy enough to do. When you pull the dipstick out, pull it out straight, don't drag it up the side, and you won't get oil on the threads. Not rocket science.
 
Dan Thomas said:
Ever tried wiping oil out of threads? And anyway, the next time the stick comes out, oil will drip into the threads again.

Nope. This design is an example of "old" thinking. It's not idiot-proof like the gas and oil caps on cars now. It was designed in a day when the average person had some mechanical feel for things. Folks now don't, because automation makes things. When they break, we buy new ones instead of repairing and maintaining them, or we take the car to the shop even for an oil change. Very few people build or restore anything anymore. The most complicated thing most folks might build is a back deck or a fence. Old guys like me grew up building or fixing or restoring boats or airplanes or motorbikes or cars and pickups. Or whole houses. Or shortwave radios and televisions. Lawnmowers and outboards.

Magazines like Popular Mechanics used to have lots of ideas and plans for building neat things. If you can still buy such a magazine, it will have articles on the latest camera gadgetry or some hot car Detroit is planning or a new military airplane. Little or nothing on actually creating or fixing. Everyone now stares at their phones or computers, posting on POA...ooops...:rolleyes:

My son told me that he was talking to an auto shop guy. The guy said that YouTube was the biggest source of business for them. Guys watch a video on how to repair something on the car, and eventually the tow-truck hauls the mess to the shop.
Click to expand...
I guess I'm old enough that YouTube doesn't get me in over my head...I can recognize when it's over my head early enough to drive it to the shop. ;)

That being said, the CV shaft on my wife's car was still a 3-day job. :rolleyes:
 
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