One of the most common repairs made to the venerable 7.3L Powerstroke, is the dipstick tube adapter. Simply put, it leaks. The adapter form Ford/International is a three-piece part consisting of the dipstick tube adapter (the physical piece the dipstick tube plugs into), an O-ring, and the nut that holds it all in place. The leak is caused by the O-ring degrading over time. Once the O-ring degrades, a leak starts. Many will simply tighten the nut on the pan, and that’ll fix it for a short time. Eventually, either the O-ring degrades to the point it can no longer seal, or the tightening of the nut causes the adapter to deform. Once either of those happens, tightening the factory nut will no longer fix the leak. You have to replace it. The fix, with OE parts, means the pan has to come off. To pull the pan, the engine must come out or at least get lifted off the frame high enough to remove the pan (not an easy task, and one that makes resealing of the pan extremely difficult). Of course, the aftermarket would find an easier way to fix this extremely common leak.

The Fix

There’s several ways to go about fixing the leak. Our Billet Dipstick Adapter is the best way when the pan is off. It includes all new much stronger billet aluminum parts and a Viton Quad-Seal O-ring, which lasts and seals much better than the factory installed O-ring ever could. People have also come up with billet steel adapters which are designed to be welded in. If you’re an epic welder, that’s an option for when the pan is off as well. We see no added benefit to using a weld in adapter over our billet design. That’s purely a preference thing.

Now, if you don’t want to pull the pan, there are two other options. We say two options, but there are several different kits available from many different manufacturers. The reason we say two is that they all do this using one of two ways, which we’ll discuss here using our favorite kits as examples.

First is a repair kit from 73Dipstick.com that reuses your factory adapter and seals on the outside of the pan with a new supplied gasket. You can find that kit HERE. With this kit, you simply remove the factory nut while holding onto the OE adapter, ensuring it does NOT fall into the pan, add a rubber gasket and some sealant, then add the new nut provided in the repair kit and torque it to spec. Done.

The second style involves removing the factory adapter altogether and replacing it with a new, billet aluminum one. Our preferred kit with this style comes from Strictly Diesel and you can find it HERE. To install this part, you’d first remove the factory nut on the outside of the pan, reach inside and remove the O-ring from the adapter (to prevent it from clogging the oil pick-up tube), and then drop the adapter into the pan where it will live out its life from here on. Then the new billet part is installed with a T-bar style fastening system which allows for securing it, without reaching into the pan to hold a nut/bolt. The T-bar uses two bolts which are tightened from the adapter side, outside the pan.

In the end, the best way to repair a leaking dipstick tube adapter is to remove the pan. But we understand that's not always possible. Everything has a down side and you need to weigh the positives and negatives before making your decision on which route to take. That being said, we've sold hundreds of the two kits that don't require removal of the pan with very little issues. Both systems work very well. 

One tip to mention. The factory dipstick adapter can be clocked in two ways depending on what the engine is installed in. For Super Duty’s and vans, the flange should be clocked in it’s most forward setting. For OBS trucks, the flange should be clocked in the more straight-up position. Keep this in mind when installing any dipstick tube adapter, OE or aftermarket.

***Disclaimer: The information provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. We share our knowledge and experience, but we are not liable for any damages, injuries, or losses that may occur as a result of using this information. Situations are rarely cut and dry in the automotive world. Your situation will likely be somewhat different than what we describe here.  Use your best judgment and always consult a qualified professional for automotive repairs and modifications. Your safety is your responsibility.