700R4 Drippy Dipstick

[rspears]

When the cold weather set in I parked the roadster in the barn, tossed a couple of rodent repellent pouches into the interior & trunk and covered the top & window area with a tarp to contain the scent of the repellent. After a couple of months the tranny fluid has drained back, I'm thinking from the radiator cooler ans/or the torque converter, overfilling the case into the dipstick tube. My LOKAR transmission dipstick is leaking, apparently between the braided SS plastic insert tube and the trans tube fitting that fits into the case. The picture clearly shows the fluid in/on the braided SS to trans tube joint. The fluid level, by the dipstick, is up in the tube more than an inch and may be 2 to 3 inches. I'm thinking that if I had started the engine & dropped the tranny into gear every week or so it might have prevented this, but wondering if anyone has an idea how to seal the LOKAR tube? I've asked LOKAR, but haven't got a reply yet.

I'm considering starting it up to circulate fluid, than pulling the dipstick and verifying that the trans tube adapter is tight on the SS braided tube, cleaning the adapter & case with thinner/cleaner and applying a thin bead of RTV on the adapter to be sure it's sealed to the case. Wondering if there is a way to seal the inner plastic tube of the dipstick to the adapter fitting. Any ideas?

Also, a friend says that in an unheated space, with the tranny full and dipstick sealed in place (3 o-rings) as the tranny gets colder it shrinks the air in the case and actually pulls fluid back to the case, overfilling it. I can see the concept, but not sure if it's true or not. Again, any thoughts? Would it eliminate this whole issue if I start the engine & circulate fluid every few weeks? I KNEW I should have put a TREMEC in this one!!
-
20230204_130212.jpg

[rspears]

So I pulled the dipstick and found that the trans tube fitting was a bit loose, so perhaps not squeezing down on the plastic liner tube inside the SS sheath good enough. Also found that the bottom piece that fits into that tube to flare it out was machined a bit crooked so I trimmed the top back just a bit. I decided to put a thin layer of RTV on the flare that fits against the plastic tube, just for grins. Can't hurt, and may help it seal. All back together, took it for a spin and came back to find the tranny fluid level exactly mid-way between the two marks on the stick, so calling it good. Half a bag of kitty litter on the swath of tranny fluid to dry things out, and fingers crossed that the drippy stick is fixed!

[40FordDeluxe]

I had similar issues on the Lokar trans tube on my vette when I built it. Mine would leak bouncing down the road in a trailer every time we took it to an event. I ended up replacing the dumb thing with one of their bolt in tubes and that one stayed leak free longer. It will too leak in the same area after the fluid in the converter drains back when setting for a period of time. What a PITA!