What a dipstick!

Ever since I've had the Stag it's always had a leak from the Auto Gearbox dipstick tube. It uses a couple of copper washers either side of the dipstick to effect a seal where it connects to the gearbox. I've already changed these before but ATF seems to find a way past anything. It doesn't help that it first lands on the exhaust pipe and manages to soak that before ending up on the floor. This also results in clouds of smoke when the engine is running.
It got to the point where there was an oil slick under the whole of the car and because the garage is on a slight incline it was coming out under the garage door.
I was going to have to have a serious look at this, so after draining the gearbox I removed the dipstick tube. Nothing seemed to be amiss so I cleaned up all the surfaces and refitted with new copper washers. I didn't have to wait long though before the usual drip was back. I started to wonder if the dipstick itself was at fault as it's been modified to clear the starter motor on the Rover V8 engine. After a careful look it seemed that the braising at the bottom of the tube might not have been completely effective. I had this re-done and refitted everything again, but the drip was still there!
I wasn't sure there was a lot else I could do. I didn't want to have to live with it because it was a fairly significant leak, and makes things really messy. So, after a bit of research on the web, I found that dowty seals could be used as a replacement for the copper washers. They weren't expensive, so I ordered a couple of sets. Not expecting miracles I refitted everything again and was very surprised that they did seem to do the trick! They've now been on a few months and everything still seems to be dry.