dipstick and oil pan

[novafrog]

i have 2000 5.3,broke the lower part of dipstick off it fell into oil pan tried to get it out with magnet didn't do any good can I leave it in oil pan or will it have to come out,if I have drop oil pan will I need new gaskets,thanks guys

[NC_John]

What is the engine worth? You might be able to get away with it, you might not. If you epoxied a magnet to the bottom of the pan it might catch the dipstick and keep it held. An old engine, I might take my chances. A new/newer one, I'd have to get it out of there so I could sleep at night.

You should not *need* a new oil pan gasket but for the possibilty of an oil leak reusing the old one, I would replace it anyway.

[novafrog]

do I need any sealant,do I have to worry about pan alignment,what is tor.specs.thanks again

[DLW]

You need to use sealant on all 4 corners where the front and rear covers mount to the block. pan needs to be flush with rear of block. TQ on all but the rear two bolts are 18 ft. lbs. and the rear two are 106 in. lbs.

Google will bring a ton of hits for this, and youtube videos as well.

[novafrog]

Originally Posted by DLW

You need to use sealant on all 4 corners where the front and rear covers mount to the block. pan needs to be flush with rear of block. TQ on all but the rear two bolts are 18 ft. lbs. and the rear two are 106 in. lbs.

Google will bring a ton of hits for this, and youtube videos as well.

going after gasket today,thanks dlw