308 Oil Dipstick Question | FerrariChat

308 Oil Dipstick Question

Discussion in '308/328' started by Joe_CT, Jul 1, 2011.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. Joe_CT

    Joe_CT Formula 3
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    May 16, 2007
    1,720
    CT
    Full Name:
    Joe
    #1 Joe_CT, Jul 1, 2011
    I have an 1985 308 QV and everytime I drive the car, the oil dipstick pops out about 1/4 inch. I am not sure what is causing this or what I can do to prevent it from happening.

    Any thoughts on the cause or what I might be able to do to prevent it?

    Thanks, Joe
     
  2. Iain

    Iain F1 Rookie

    Jan 21, 2005
    3,257
    UK
    #2 Iain, Jul 1, 2011
    Last edited: Jul 1, 2011
    Pressure in the crankcase - there is a fair amount of air moving around inside an engine underneath the pistons. Too much pressure can be a sign of bad piston rings though.

    There is also a small O ring at the top of the dipstick, I've just replaced mine because it was hard & had a chunk missing out of it. If the dipstick isn't sealing then oily vapour can escape & will make a general mess of your engine bay - in fact its something worth checking (and cheap and easy to fix) for all 308/328 owners.

    I'd start with replacing the O ring & see how you get on. If the stick is still being lifted out with a new O ring then it would indicate that there is quite a lot of pressure in your crankcase & I'd suggest get a compression/leakdown test done. It may be you do not have a big problem, but it also might be you can spot the start of something.
     
  3. Joe_CT

    Joe_CT Formula 3
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    May 16, 2007
    1,720
    CT
    Full Name:
    Joe
    #3 Joe_CT, Jul 1, 2011
    Iain,

    Thanks for the response. Where did you get your O-Ring? I will start there.
     
  4. mwr4440

    mwr4440 Five Time F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed

    Jun 8, 2007
    55,931
    Bavaria, The 'Other' Germany
    Full Name:
    Mark W.R.
    #4 mwr4440, Jul 1, 2011
    No expert here but isn't the crankcase running under a partial VACCUM when the engine is running correctly (oil vapor recovery)?

    You know ...... smog ****?
     
  5. Steve Magnusson

    Steve Magnusson Two Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    Jan 11, 2001
    25,133
    30°30'40" N 97°35'41" W (Texas)
    Full Name:
    Steve Magnusson
    #5 Steve Magnusson, Jul 1, 2011
    Last edited: Jul 1, 2011
    Only if it's still there ;)

    Seriously, you might check to see that your crankcase ventilation system still matches the figure in the OM (I've seen some pretty weird modifications in the name of "desmogging"). If it all looks OK, you could still make sure that the small vacuum port on the liquid-vapor separator isn't plugged up -- just some thoughts (although the system can get overwhelmed if the engine is in poor condition as Iain mentioned)...
     
  6. Joe_CT

    Joe_CT Formula 3
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    May 16, 2007
    1,720
    CT
    Full Name:
    Joe
    #6 Joe_CT, Jul 1, 2011
    Thanks Steve. The car was just in with David Feinberg this past winter for a thorough overhauling and I am sue this is not the case or it would have been addressed while it was in his shop.

    That said, you never know and I want this resolved so I will take some time and go through the system while I am on vacation this week and see if I find any culprit.

    Thanks again.
     
  7. Iain

    Iain F1 Rookie

    Jan 21, 2005
    3,257
    UK
    #7 Iain, Jul 1, 2011
    Got it from Ferrari - Part # 100317, less than $1 (which is still an outrageous amount for an O ring!)

    No doubt you could find something locally that would also work for far less.
     
  8. pad

    pad Formula 3

    Sep 30, 2004
    1,418
    Tequesta, FL
    Full Name:
    Paul Delatush
    #8 pad, Jul 1, 2011
    As mentioned before, it sounds like a crankcase ventilation issue. Is oil / vapors being pushed up the dip stick tube? That would be a sure sign. You may find this is only happens during sweeping turns. It does not take much for the ventilation system to get overwhelmed. First hose to check is the return line to the crank from the seperator.
     
  9. kiwiokie

    kiwiokie Formula 3

    Aug 19, 2013
    1,463
    Tulsa, OK
    Full Name:
    John McDermott
    #9 kiwiokie, Nov 19, 2017
    Does the dipstick handle unscrew for installing the o-ring or does it slide on over the length of the dipstick?
     
  10. ferrariowner

    ferrariowner Formula 3

    Feb 21, 2014
    1,109
    Mansfield, TX
    Full Name:
    Ron
    #10 ferrariowner, Nov 20, 2017
    It sounds like it could be piston ring blow-by caused by worn rings. How many miles on the engine?
     

Share This Page