The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 1954 3100 dip stick tube and stick length

Would someone with an original equipment 1954 235 (31xx-36xx) please measure and post the following lengths:

1. dipstick length - from cup/cap down to the pointed end of the stick

2. dipstick tube length - the length of tube extending out of the block

The 1960 2-ton school bus 261 in in my 3106 (with a standard 3100 oil pan) might still have one/both of those longer parts from a 2-ton deeper oil pan.

That truck/engine lived most of its life over/above a dirt floor garage (I did not notice any significant oil drips/pools).

That truck is now in a cement floor garage - I do not drive it often.

I change the oil/filter once a year.
I get a pool of clean oil on the floor (the morning after the oil change).
I do not think that my wife/neighbors are playing a nasty/sick trick on me.

Thanks

Tim, here's the set of measurements from a '54 235, suffix F54Z. Passenger car service, but according to the '68 Chevy Master Parts Catalog, the same dipstick PN 3701556 was used for both car and truck service (photo of the parts listing is first).

Dipstick: Overall, 15-1/4" from grommet to tip; grommet to "Full" (A dimension) 13-5/16"; grommet to "Add" (B dimension) 13-13/16", (exactly by the book, and using the key from the Master Parts Catalog for the measurements).

Dipstick tube length: 6-1/2" - 6-9/16" from block to end (not sure depth into the block).

Hope this gives you what you need.

Doug

Thank You Very Much, drdoug/Doug

That page (and your photos) are very useful/helpful.

Tim

I have a flat dip stick of unknown origin. I changed oil (6 qt w/filter) and filed a little notch for the full mark. I keep it up to the full mark and I don't need an add mark.

Tim, does a 261 have a deeper oil pan and if so will it fit a 235? Ed

Tim, the dipstick I had was adapted from another vehicle and inaccurate at best, but the tube was still there. So I discarded the stick and made one by:
1. determining the bottom of the oil pan with a 3/32" brazing rod which had been flattened at one end (up about 4 inches from bottom)
2. adding the proper amount of oil minus 1 quart
3. inserting the brazing rod until it bottoms on the oil pan
4. drilling a 1/16" hole at the point of 1 quart low...I could have cut a line here, however I think a hole is easier to see
5. adding the missing quart and drilling a 1/16" hole where "full" should be
6. drilling a 3/32" hole through a brass rod which fit loosely in the dipstick tube
7. chucking that into a drill press and cutting 2 grooves for O-Rings (I have PCV and want to keep a slight negative pressure inside the crankcase)
8. drilling a 3/32" hole through an old French Franc (they no longer use these nor do they particularly care what happens to them)
9. soldering the brass piece and the Franc (for a stop) on and adding the 2 O-Rings.
10. bending a hook at the top end

Doc.Hall,

Yes, some/many 261s have larger/deeper oil pans (if used on big trucks - mine came from a large 1960 School Bus).

I would not be using the dip-stick from the 261, but I might have used the 261''s exterior tube?

Jon & Wally - Thanks.