OK, here's an oddity...the motor I picked up from Glen today has 2 dipsticks on it!

can anyone explin this??? WHY?

and no, it really is attached!

here's a close-up of where the second one goes into the block:

Strange Datsun Stuff!

i bet holic can tell us, or did you find a datsun question that he could not answer?

"The mystery of 2 dipsticks"

I have an L16 with 2 dipsticks as well:



But why is that?

Well, no Datsun engines actually came with 2 dipsticks. But some came with 2 dipstick tubes, and folks who stuck those engines in their 510s, 521s, or 620s quickly found out the front dipstick tube was useless since the end of the stick hit the pan before the dipstick was all the way in.

The front dipstick tube was used on 1978-79 Datsun 510s (L20B) and the Japanese-market A10 (which used either a L18 or L16 depending on variant). It is possible other non-US vehicles also used this front dipstick, or rigs I've never owned (710, 200SX, '80 720). The reason is these cars used an extreme front sump, whereas the 521, 620, and PL510 all use mid or rear sumps, which line up with the "Normal" rear dipstick tube. On the '78-79 510, the rear tube was still there, but crimped off just above the bracket that the heater hose attaches to (that nut welded to the dipstick tube).

So, when the engine got moved to a rear or mid sump engine, the only way to get a dipstick that reads correctly is to pull out the crimped-off rear tube and put the original one off the old engine there. The front one got left in place, usually by either cutting off or bending the front dipstick to fit.

Paul:

Take a close look at the engine. It's an L16, right? Tell me which direction the PCV tube comes out of the block. On my twin-stick L16 the PCV tube comes out the top of a cast-in block with an elbow, like any L20B. Most L16s have a tube that comes out the side.

Like this (the tube is out):





If you look close at my block you'll see it has a machined plate on both sides for the serial number, as well as coolant drain plugs on both sides. The serial number will only be on the oil filter side, but normal L16s don't have the provisions for a number on the other side like mine does. There's a reason for that too, which I can go into more detail if you'd like. Basically, if yours looks like mine you have a rare beast indeed. The fact that it's blue is a hint that it's not normal... Oh, and what head is on it? Mine came with a W53, which is stock for the oddball L16 I have.

The L18 I have that came out of a RHD Bluebird (late 70s) only had the rear stick, the front one wasn't drilled out. The steering gearbox on the RHD cars is mostly in the way of getting to the starter, AND is the reason many Japanese ones have a 90-degree oil filter mount (like what Bleach has). You'll notice the oil filter mount on the later engines have bolt pattern for a remote filter. The dipstick is still accessible, though.

L18 I pulled out of a beater 620 had dualing dippers haha. Maybe there not so rare?

Wanna know what that means?

It's actually a Z16 casting. Yes, it IS an L16, but the 1979-8(?) L16 and Z16 castings are identical (the 1980 L20B is a Z20E casting, so it's not without precedent). Only difference is the location of the dipstick (Z16 are on the exhaust side) and which side they scribed the serial number into. The W53 head was stock on the engine. It's a closed-chamber head. It's a Japanese-market engine, though they also were available as crate engines in the US in the early 80s when you could still get crate L16s new from Nissan.

my old block had two as well, it was from a 510, my new engine has a fancy chrome stick.