Smithcraft

Hello!

The car is a 1998 Civic EX AT.

So my coworker (who is a major Honda Fanboy) were looking over the engine today, and he checked the automatic trans dipstick, and found it to be very loose (Dude, this is loose af!).

Upon searching/reading here, I read that it's supposed to be loose. It seems that the only thing holding it down is gravity! Is it supposed to be that loose? I found other posts about loose dipsticks, but other than links for new ones, nobody seemed to reply back about the new one being a tight fit.

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civic402lx

Yes. Its normal. Dont bother buying a brand new one thinking it will be a tight fit, it wont.

Smithcraft

Thanks for the quick reply!

It's seems crazy that it would be as loose as it is.

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94EG8

A new one will fit quite a bit tighter and is made a little differently than the original. I had to replace one a few years back. Every single original one I've ever seen is super loose though, but I don't think they were like that new. I'd guess the rubber seal shrunk over time.

Smithcraft

Thanks!

Now I'm conflicted!

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civic402lx

If you want to buy a new one to ease your conflic, buy one. In the end due to age it will, like 94EG8 said, the rubber will shrink. Then u will be back to where you started now. My car is an 98 lx at with over 160k on it. The dipstick is still original. Not tight or snug. Rubber not deteriated. Just loose fitment. No issue, its not working to just fall out. Unless u flip the car or somethjng crazy. I drive it everyday, smooth and rough road. Straight and twisty.
if its a concern to you, buy a new one.

Smithcraft

Well, this car seems to have either a leaking distributor, or a leaking valve cover gasket, so that side of the engine is covered in grime that I want to wash off. If the dipstick is so loose that grime will drain in to it, then I think that's a bad thing. Maybe a big rubber stopper will keep it from getting contaminates into the transmission.

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Smithcraft

It's weird how sometimes the same search brings up different results...

I'll give this a try, and report back.


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Smithcraft

So I was just going to do two layers, but when you stretch it as you pull it around, it ended up being three layers. Now the dipstick is not loose at all!

So for about $10, you can do a real quick fix for the loose dipstick.

If anyone in the Seattle/Tacoma area wants to do this, let me know since I have about nine and a half more feet of this tape.

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Jimi Hondrix

The only concern with that tape is if ATF can degrade it or cause it to slip off? Wouldn't want that **** getting into the transmission. It looks to be made of Teflon and most likely very resilient to ATF but, would check with tape's manufacturer tech support to confirm. I'm not sure whether or not the transmission fluid raises that high (to dipstick's rubber stopper) under operating conditions to reach the tape?

Another option might be to use AT-205 or similar rubber swelling product to apply on dipstick's rubber stopper.

Smithcraft

I was considering the ATF also. However, I think it's better to have the dipstick tight, and not allow contaminates into the the transmission, or ATF out of the transmission. Right now, the dipstick is quite tight in the area that it goes into.

The tape is a silicone tape and it's rated up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. A bit more information is available in this PDF: PDF LINK

It looks like Loctite makes a similar product that's available at Ace Hardware stores, and it's a few bucks cheaper.

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