DIP STICK LENGTH MODIFICATION

38" is correct, measured from tip to the BOTTOM of the cup.

5 quarts stock recommendation, but Ford upped that to 6 quarts on the Boss Mustangs to lessen the chance of the oil pickup sucking air during heavy cornering use.

I'd run 6 quarts with a stock pan.

Many owners upgrade to the "10" quart pan, that includes internal baffles, to avoid cornering oil starvation problems.

Larry

Supplementing my friend Larry's post, the so-called '10-qt' Aviaid pan uses the identical stock dipstick length of 38". Reason is, the depth or distance between the flange and bottom is unchanged in the big pan; only the volume is greater due to a longer sump.

Note there are a few other pans out there cheaply made for drag racing that ARE deeper than stock, and with those you will need a custom length dipstick. Such pans are often merely a big baffle-less oil bucket, which is useless for a hard-cornering Pantera. I wrote an article a decade ago that showed one of these with 8 qts of oil in it when the Pantera it was attached to threw a rod during an open track event, from oil starvation....

Thanks to both of you for the info and advice.

usmcfred
'72 Pre-L
#03041

A fool proof way to ensure your dip stick reads correctly, is to change your oil & filter, add 6 qts (run the car). Let sit for a time and mark the level with a file. That is a known quantity.

I am also one who had a spun bearing after driving the car hard with a stock pan. If you ever have to pull the motor, put on a large capacity & baffled pan!

quote:

there are a few other pans out there cheaply made for drag racing that ARE deeper than stock, and with those you will need a custom length dipstick.

I believe my friend Jack has mis-stated what he was trying to share. A deeper pan does not require a different dipstick, however it DOES require a longer oil pump pick-up to place it near the bottom of that deeper pan.

Oil levels are established so as to be at a correct level in regards to the rotating crankshaft. Not too high, and not too low. That level is not dependent on the type of oil pan.

Larry