Oil Dipstick Tube Bolt Stripped

[Organism_ike]

The 1/4" -20 hole in the block of my 305 that is used to bolt the dipstick tube to had the threads ripped out and won't hold a bolt anymore. As a result the dipstick tube is loosely sitting in its hole and isn't sealing well. I believe this is the source of the oil dripping down my starter (I'm sure this truck has quite a few more oil leaks then that though).

What would you guys do to hold the dipstick tube against the block now? I'd rather not have to go through the process of drilling the hole out for a bigger bolt or helicoil since it's hard to get to with the headers in the way.

[dieseldawg142]

i had this happen on my k5. i took a piece of 18G sheet metal, wrapped it around the dipstik with a couple of bolts, then just bent the other end to another bolt hole.
i did put a big neoprene washer & some rtv around it to stop any leaks

[mrolds88]

Use a 1/4 stud and some JB weld. Bolt it back in. Also look at an o ring at the bottom to

[Organism_ike]

I just use Ultra Black RTV and it always seals fine. The only reason the dipstick stopped sealing is because it moves around when I check the oil. I really hate doing anything with JB weld, especially on the block of my engine, but on the other hand I assume the hole is useless as it is now so JB weld won't hurt it any more than it is...

[77c10]

Originally Posted by mrolds88

Use a 1/4 stud and some JB weld. Bolt it back in. Also look at an o ring at the bottom to

x2

[Organism_ike]

Copied Dieseldawg142 and made a little bracket by wrapping some left over sheet metal around the dipstick then drilling a hole so it could be bolted to the block in the hole next to the original one that got stripped. Same size threads as original too, 1/4" -20
I bet the hole i used is used on other chevy dipsticks from different models.