Dipstick off

[bandit]

I suspect my dipstick is off. It reads low with the correct amount of oil added. The guy who owned it before raced it so I'm wondering if he changed out the oil pan. Is there any trick to figuring out the correct oil level if you suspect your dipstick is off or a bigger oil pan was installed?

on an original 1970 383

 

[WP29440SE]

crawl under there and look . you can tell if the pan is aftermarket or oversize. a factory pan will look similar to this

 

[D575]

Does the pan make a difference ? The dipstick just protrudes past the block. A deep pan wouldn't change how much the dip stick protrudes. Maybe I'm wrong.

 

[67 B-body]

Does the pan make a difference ? The dipstick just protrudes past the block. A deep pan wouldn't change how much the dip stick protrudes. Maybe I'm wrong.

You are correct,,, A dipstick that is known to be accurate will remain accurate regardless of adding a higher capacity oil pan. However, if the OP has no idea of the origins of the dipstick,,, He can not verify the markings of fluid level without first knowing the capacity of his oilpan.

 

[benno440]

one of the guys told me on here to: depending on what size sump you have, i have a 7qt so i was to drain all oil, fill with 7qt, then mark a line on the dipstick, add another qt of oil then mark your full line.

find out what pan you have first then go from there

 

[shag766]

one of the guys told me on here to: depending on what size sump you have, i have a 7qt so i was to drain all oil, fill with 7qt, then mark a line on the dipstick, add another qt of oil then mark your full line.

find out what pan you have first then go from there

after you fill with 7 qts before marking you should start engine to fill the filter. thats if a new filter was installed.

 

[68 HEMI GTS]

yep depends on the pan and the size of the filter. once you know where full rides on the dip stick it really doesn't matter what it reads as long as you have the right amount of oil in it.

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

I have a 7 qt pan and a after market billet stick and it works fine. even after starting and filling filter it's accurate. Only way to know for sure is to change it and watch the line on the stick.

 

[bandit]

Thanks, I'm going to check it tomorrow.

 

[red 69 runner]

i bought a piece of crap made in china chrome dip stick to replace my original because the tube broke where it went into the block.it shows 1/2 quart overfull when full.I just made new marks on it