quote:Originally posted by LF - TP 2511:
I have preached this previously but for those that missed the sermon.
If you have confirmed that your oil dipstick is the correct length (there is a TSB that outlines this) and there are no modifications to the dipstick tube (not something that I have ever known anybody to do) the correct oil fill level is exactly the same as it was when that Cleveland engine left the factory. Oil level is based on a vertical measurement of the oil in the pan, not in anyway linked to the number of quarts of oil in the pan.
You can install any oil pan you can find, you can listen to whoever wants to label that oil pan as an 8 quart or a 9 quart or a 10 quart oil pan, you can get all the advice you wish from all the people you want to talk to. You can add remote oil filters, oil coolers, and 10 feet of oil hose.
The bottom line is that the fill line on the oil dipstick is the level your oil should be at.
But feel free to make this issue as complicated as you wish.
Larry
I agree with you 100 percent about the location of the dipstick full mark and not making a difference with how large the pan is. The individual that started the thread was talking about a Fontana aluminum block and not a Cleveland block. The Fontana uses a modified removable timing cover like a Windsor block. I am quite sure that the length of the dipstick tube is different than a Cleveland engine. I don't have a Cleveland block laying around anymore to take the measurements, but I do have a Fontana block that I can measure.