I just changed my oil and kept adding oil till I had it at the full mark. I was around 7+ quarts. I knew that I had the larger oil pan that the 340hp / L76 engine had but the boards here said that it only held 6 qts total - 5 in the pan and 1 in the filter. I couldn't figure it out. AND to top it off, when I would run the engine, it would take several minutes for the oil to flow back down into the pan for the dipstick to again show the prior level. In speaking with my old school mechanic uncle, after quite the lengthy conversation, he just quips that did I have the dipstick handle pointed the correct way. No way that should ever make a difference but he said that he remembers on some engines it did in fact matter. So I checked. If the loop was toward the fender, I was well over a qt too much but if the loop was toward the engine I was spot on at the full mark. I still went ahead and drove it around town several times but I never got on it. I figured I was pretty close to that oil hitting the crankshaft if I had the dipstick in backwards. The oil always looked fine but I was never revving it very high.

So I drain out the Shell Rotella 15W40 w/ a can of zinc additive and put back only 5 qts racing VR1 10W30 oil. The dipstick now shows the oil level at the U of Full with the dipstick pointed toward the fender. This answers the question if I have the correct dipstick and which way it should be pointed. At this point if the dipstick is pointed in, the level is just getting onto the dipstick about 1/4", showing it to be about 1 1/2 qts low. As far as the oil draining back down through the engine right at startup. The 10W30 drains down quicker which one would expect. It's just that I've never had an engine take as long to drain back down as this 327 takes, especially with the 40 weight oil. I was concerned but my uncle assured me that with the 5 qt oil pan I was in no danger. The level on the dipstick would show 1 1/2 qts low if I just ran it for a minute and then shut it off, weighted a bit and then check it.

Anyway, I searched this board and didn't find anything that really popped out about the dipstick orientation so I thought that I'd post this. My engine is a 1963 327ci 340HP which is in my 1962 vette.

 

That makes no sense and defies logic. If the stick inserts the whole way to the tube in both orientations it has to measure the same volume of oil.

 

I agree.

I expected OP to say that with the handle pointed out, the loop hit on some part or other, preventing it from going all the way down. If that's not the case, we're dealing with muffler bearings and winter vs summer air in the tires.

 

Actually if my poor old brain ain't messin with me, it does make a difference which way the dipstick loop points on some of the '60's engines. The dipstick has a 90* twist in it to help it follow the curve of the dipstick tube and when it enters the pan the tip curves upward or downward depending upon the direction of insertion. I think dipstick loop pointing in is the correct orientation. The mistake is in thinking the dipstick follows a straight path once it exits the tube bore but it follows a curved path at least on some smallblocks.

 

I know, right??!!?? This is crazy but what you're saying makes the most sense - actually the only sense I've heard. I believe the dipstick in my '63 block is OEM for this block and pan setup - flat with no twists. It just must curve up a bit when entering the pan verses the more accurate way. For this dipstick, accurate = loop toward fender. Got to make you wonder how many pans out there are overfilled a bit.

 

Is that stick straight or curved when it's hanging loose in free air?

Live well,

SJW

 

Straight. That's what's so crazy about this.

 

SB engines from this time period have both an OUTER dipstick tube and an INNER dipstick tube. So chances of the dipstick curving significantly are almost nil. I would check my dipstick and outer tube against dimensional standards published here in our archives. Do an Advanced Search.

Larry

 

You're overlooking the torsional bend in the dipstick. You can actually feel that twist when you insert the as dipstick it fights it's way in and that's what bends the tip upward or downward. In free space no forces (other than gravity) act on the stick so, of course, it's straight.

 

You might have the oil drain holes in the lifter galley blocked off or with stand pipes as was done many years for performance purposes to keep the oil from falling into the rotating assembly and causing parasitic loss OR screens that were put in to keep debris in the lifter valley from getting into the oil pan.

Re dipstick what you are talking about is not that unusual - if the lower tube is missing the dipstick is entering the pan on an angle and you get the readings that you see - not a big deal.
You just need to calibrate / train your brain to accept whatever the level is showing cold after a full oil change (when you know there are 6 quarts in there)

 

 

It may defy logic BUT---my 62 is exactly the same. Loop Toward the Block and it reads 1/2 qt LOWER than if the ring is outward.
During my rebuild I took the empty pan and filled it with water--quart by quart and making a careful count. I noted the exact level of oil in the pan with each quart. The pan was advertised as a 4 qt pan and at 4 quarts the pan was full enough that when I went for a 5th quart, it was immediately obvious that the level was MUCH too high. Then I took an old spin on filter and carefully measured that---at one quart--I COULD have added a touch more but not enough to really matter and also because it was an OLD filter, there probably was a bit of oil absorbed in the element so at 1 qt I decided enough was enough.

After re-assembly, I prefilled the filter with 1 qt, filled the pan qt by qt and took careful note of the level on the stick---both ring in and ring out, with each qt. The drew a diagram in my engine log that showed qt by qt---both ring inward and ring outward. The results were consistent---Ring inward was always noticeably LOWEWR than Ring Outward.

At the 4th qt I simply said "4 its for the pan and one for the filter-----then LEAVE IT ALONE!"

Started the engine for a minute then shut it down.
A half hour later, the Dip Stick ring outward showed to the FULL mark, Ring toward the block 1/2 qt lower.

I have no explanation for the difference in reading but I DO know that once I put in 5 its, the engine is full. That's enough for me.

Best,
​​​​​​​Eddie '62

 

Great testing ,I always like to read stuff that members test . Nice job ! Guru of the wrench.

 

One other thing to note here----I recomend that anyone who has their oil pan removed for some reason do this---- when I had the engine on the engine stand-with the pan OFF I inserted the dip stick and it is amazing to see just WHERE that stick ends up among ALL those moving parts. It's pretty scary, actually. When you see "what's what, it sort of explains the difference in readings between ring in and ring out.

Also, if you try this with different length sticks, it is revealing as to WHY you want the CORRECT stick for YOUR engine.

Eddie

 

In Noland Adams book, every photo and drawing of the engine in the cars shows the oil dip stick handle loop pointing away from the engine.

Mac

 

Good luck achieving that if you have a C1 fuelie......

 

Jim -
I know, that's the way I have mine in my 61 fuel car.

mac

 

OK, I can accept the 1/2 qt difference as that's probably just a 1/4" to 1/2" difference on the stick (just trying to visualize the markings without a stick in front of me). How would you explain the 1&1/2 quart difference the OP is seeing?