Thread: Oil level below the block ??

Tweet

I have built a 383 and stuffed it in my Fiero. The donor engine did not have a good oil pan or dipstsick. I used a cast aluminum oil pan of unkown size. To mark a dipstick I need to know how many inches below the bottom of the block should the oil level be?

Can anyone supply this measurement?

Thanks

Drain the oil. Load 5 quarts into the oilpan. Mark the dipstick. Use the edge of a file to make a line on it.

That assumes it is a 5 qt oil pan. What if it is a 7 qt?

A file is a bad idea, it will break off at the file mark. Use a vibratory marker.

Originally Posted by 61bone

A file is a bad idea, it will break off at the file mark. Use a vibratory marker.

You really think there will be that much stress applied to a dip stick hanging static in oil? I would think a file mark would be fine in this case, but maybe I'm wrong.

well mark it with a punch

....................

If you read my original post I explained the pan is an unknown size. It is not stock so I do not know if it is 5 QT or 7 QT. As the V8 is in a Fiero I can not pull the pan unless I pull the engine and cradle and the n remove the engine from the cradle.

I ahve decided it is a five qt. I measured the pan as closely as I could and got someone to send me the dimensions of a stock pan.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Originally Posted by garage monster

If you read my original post I explained the pan is an unknown size. It is not stock so I do not know if it is 5 QT or 7 QT. As the V8 is in a Fiero I can not pull the pan unless I pull the engine and cradle and the n remove the engine from the cradle.

I ahve decided it is a five qt. I measured the pan as closely as I could and got someone to send me the dimensions of a stock pan.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

the dip stick should read the same from 5 to 7 or 8 the stick has nothing to do with volume of pan the stick keeps you from over filling or running low if your using a stock dip stick leve would be the same no matter how many QT it takes to get it to read full

Originally Posted by pat mccarthy

the dip stick should read the same from 5 to 7 or 8 the stick has nothing to do with volume of pan the stick keeps you from over filling or running low if your using a stock dip stick leve would be the same no matter how many QT it takes to get it to read full

Pat, I think his problem (stated in the first post) is that he did not have a good dipstick or dipstick tube so he has no known reference point for oil level on the engine, which is new to him. If he bought an aftermarket dipstick & tube (like a LOKAR) he's wanting to be sure it's right. One way, like you point out, would be to get a stock SBC tube & stick, fill it to the "full" mark, and then switch to the aftermarket dipstick/tube unit and mark it to match.

the block should have a spot for a stock tube and stick .if he told use the make of the pan merc cruiser or mr gasket then we could tell him how many QT

Of course he could take a dipstick and put it into a known stock motor/pan with a fresh fill of oil and mark it( or note where the oil level came to) and then put that dipstick into his pan and not the differance--adjust from there

When the oil runs out the header, it's full

Roger,

You have it right. Engine core had no dipstick. Oil pan is from ebay, cast aluminum with ribs and fits well. Bought more than a year ago (4 year project) and I do not remeber if it said it was stock size. Due to engine location in a Fiero I had to purchase a Lokar flexible tube and extend it to be reachable. I did not think about marking the dipstick until I had already extended the tube.

Thanks to all the suggestions I have figured it out. Pan is a stock 5 qt so I will fill and mark.

Thanks to all.

Originally Posted by rspears

You really think there will be that much stress applied to a dip stick hanging static in oil? I would think a file mark would be fine in this case, but maybe I'm wrong.

Not the stress, its the vibration. Take an old stick and put a scratch across it. Bend it a few times in the vicinity of the scratch and see where it breaks. We trashed a bunch of replacement sticks before we figured out why they were breaking off.