dipstick length

[camelot]

Hi guys, Could someone who has an unrepaired/altered dipstick measure from the bottom of the cap to the end of the dipstick. Mine is 22&3/16. I  think mine is off. It has a repair to it a the top. Thank you in adv.(346 flathead)

[Scot Minesinger]

The best way to manage this is to change oil.  After warming up car and draining completely and using new filter, add correct amount of oil.  Now you know the system is full.  Now insert dip stick.  This is the full position.  You can mark with a file and be done with it, or write it down as a measurement.  The dipstick on my car was able to be adjusted so I used the measurement method, modified the dip stick and I was good to go.

It is not a great idea to use a measurement from another car as gospel, although it could work.  This method is better.

Enjoy your Cadillac!

[joeceretti]

I have three 346 and all have different dipsticks... Its not easy because if you have sludge in the pan your measurement made from filling will be off.

[Virgil Perkins]

I agree with Scot's response, do a good oil change & filter if you have one, and check it after running it briefly. To answer your question iin the term of inches:
dipstick # 1

[joeceretti]

I will go and measure the one from my 39 engine. Reporting back shortly. These engines can have as much as a few quarts of sludge in the pan.

[Virgil Perkins]

Hit the wrong key, fingers too stupid to know the difference. Will try again: Dipstick # 1: 21 5/8" from cap bottom to end, the "7" mark is 18" from cap bottom. Dipstick # 2: 21 11/16" from cap bottom to end, the "7" mark is 18 1/8" from cap bottom.
Virgil Perkins
CLC # 19943

[joeceretti]

Yes, it's not going to be particularly easy. My 39 (Engine from a 39 6019S) is 29 5/8" from cap bottom to tip and 26 13/16" from cap bottom to 7 quart mark.

[Virgil Perkins]

Hit the wrong key, fingers too stupid to know the difference. Will try again: Dipstick # 1: 21 5/8" from cap bottom to end, the "7" mark is 18" from cap bottom. Dipstick # 2: 21 11/16" from cap bottom to end, the "7" mark is 18 1/8" from cap bottom.
Virgil Perkins
CLC # 19943
[/quote][/i][/b]
Forgot to mention that both of these dipsticks are out of 1941 346 cu in engines.  Maybe the next time I respond, it will all be in the same  post.
Hope the sheds some light.
Virgil Perkin
CLC # 19943

[Scot Minesinger]

A quart of sludge, you have got to be kidding.  I pulled the oil pans from several 100k mile 472 engines and maybe a half once of sludge  at most.  I think it will be safe to use the change oil method, especially if there is a foreign matter taking up space altering real full oil level.  If there is a quart of sludge in the oil pan, the pan needs to be dropped and cleaned.

[joeceretti]

I agree with you but without knowing when his 39 was last cleaned we just don't know. I have found more than 2 quarts of sludge in these pans. First hand knowledge. 75 years is a long time and sometimes they haven't been cleaned in a very long time... hopefully not 75 years.

Alex, do you know when your pan was last cleaned?

While my measurement is from a 39 engine and SHOULD be the same as his 75 series I don't really know if my filler tube/dipstick are original nor do we know if his is original. I have found some very silly things with my engines and have learned to not assume anything. Assumption is peril in this regard.

To add, the 346 engines have a very accessible oil pan and are meant to be cleaned on a regular basis. They also don't have a true oil filter as more modern engines do. Some have aftermarket, or dealer installed oil filters that are more accurately described as oil conditioners. They are on the line that leads externally up to the hydraulic lifter blocks. They don't filter all the oil all of the time. The lifter blocks actually get a very small amount of the oil pressure so only a small percentage of the oil is filtered at any given time.

[gary griffin]

Joe,
 
   I am faced with the same quandary,  I have been told by an expert that my dipstick tube is not correct (Wrong angle) and I found the correct one in a box in the garage but now I don't know exactly where the correct level is on the incorrect one or the correct one if I install it.  Since my engine was just rebuilt I think I will wait until the first oil change and change the tube at hat time and hopefully I can measure and mark at the correct location.  I cannot imagine I will be off enough at first to really matter?

[35-709]

A quart of sludge, you have got to be kidding.  I pulled the oil pans from several 100k mile 472 engines and maybe a half once of sludge  at most.  I think it will be safe to use the change oil method, especially if there is a foreign matter taking up space altering real full oil level.  If there is a quart of sludge in the oil pan, the pan needs to be dropped and cleaned.

A quart of sludge or more is not unusual in the old flatheads, the oils were no where near as good at combating sludge back then and the oil filters, if installed at all, were not full flow.

[joeceretti]

My recommendation, and what I did.. after cleaning the pan I put 7 quarts in. Inserted the dipstick and checked the oil mark. On my 39 the dipstick was off about a quarter inch so I slotted the mounting hole on the filer tube and moved the dipstick so the oil in the pan read as close to the 7 qt mark on my dipstick. This was to avoid having to use a line scratched into the dipstick. That would have just annoyed me too much.

[joeceretti]

I forgot to add.... I think, that if you have an unmodified dipstick, with the matching filler tube, in these 346 engines, it shouldn't matter what year it is from and which year engine it is in... but I don't really know.

[camelot]

Wow thanks for all the replys! Well for number 1, its not original engine. Its a 41 I believe by the numbers IIRC. Pan was removed by PO to remove a broken lifter part? This car sat for 18 yrs in a garage I'm told and probably broke trying to start it. I know I have to go through this engine but just running it to a few shows before attacking it this winter. Much to do as we all know. I'll do the oil change as advised. Probably the best way. Will check after running and short wait. On to steering problem. Thanks again guys this forum is great! Have a great holiday.

[joeceretti]

Just for general information. This is a pic from a current ebay auction of three filler tubes. Too bad they don't include the dipsticks. These are 3 that I know are from different years. I don't know which years are which but the top longer one appears to be the same as what is on my 38 and 39.

[gary griffin]

This photo of different length tubes shows how important it is to check your dipstick when you have just cleaned the pan and added the 7 quarts of oil.  I wonder how many different lengths of dipsticks there are? Obviously too many to take a chance on yours being the correct pair some 65 to 75 years later.

[Tito Sobrinho]

The pan sludge was a malady due to a non detergent oil being used!
When I bought my car in 1986, upon changing the oil, just 4 quarts of oil were necessary. I knew by the owners manual that the oil pan capacity was 5 quarts. Something wrong with the dipstick I thought. Went to a junk yard and got a dipstick from a '51 thinking it was OK in my naiveté. Of course it did not fit...too long.
My engine was blueprinted and 1 quart of sludge was found in the pan.
Found a bypass filter that was installed and since that day I have been using a detergent oil.
According to urban legend, a bypass filters very well and not just 10% as being broadcast  for years.

[Tlentz]

Just wondering, why would you warm up the car prior to changing the oil.  Wouldn't it be a more acurate reading after sitting and all the oil at the lowest?  Including what you just put in?

[camelot]

Hot oil does drain faster. Also returns to pan faster for stick reading. Cold oil seems to drain forever.