My newly acquired 1948 Chevy 3100 has a 1954 235 passenger car engine in it (according to the engine serial and casting numbers). I checked the oil when I got it and it was just under the full mark. I drained the oil tonight to do an oil change and only got 3 3/4 quarts of oil out of it.
I put 4 quarts of oil in it and it brought it right up to the full mark on the dipstick. The engine does NOT have an oil filter housing currently on it (I have the oil filter housing and plan on reinstalling it at a later date).
Internet research says the engine should take 5 quarts of oil, but putting this much in would surely show overfilled on the dipstick. I'm questioning whether or not the correct dipstick and/or tube for this engine is actually installed in it...
If I measure from the fill mark on the dipstick to the stop washer (that rests on the top of the dipstick tube), I get 13 3/8".
If I measure the dipstick tube length sticking out of the block, I get 5 3/4".
If I measure from the top of the dipstick tube to the oil pan rail (bottom of block), I get 8 1/4".
By my best guess (and not accounting for the mounting angle of the dipstick tube), the fill level line on the dipstick sits at 5 1/8" below the oil pan rail / bottom of the block when installed.
Do I have the correct dipstick/tube for this engine or does it really only take 4 quarts of oil?
NOTE: oil pan is not bashed in but I'm not sure what oil pan is on the engine (passenger car or truck).
Last edited by SinisterPerf; 10/06/20234:04 AM.
1948 Chevy 3100 Thriftmaster pickup Old skool engine swap ('54 pass 235) Four on the floor 12v conversion
As long as the oil level in the pan keeps the pickup screen submerged so it doesn't suck air and cause the pressure to fluctuate, half a quart plus or minus won't make much difference. With the usual canister type filter installed, there's about 3/4 quart trapped in the filter housing after the engine stops and the canister drains to approximately the level of the inlet line in the side. 5 quarts in a filter-equipped engine will put the dipstick level on a stopped engine at or slightly above the "full" mark. Most of that extra quart will stay in the filter canister and won't affect the dipstick level much, if at all. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
Back when I was doing several oil changes a day as a high school age gas pump jockey, the rule of thumb for stovebolt engines was "4 quarts without a filter, 5 quarts with". That was 60 years ago- - - - -some things never change! Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
I have heard others mention, that some of these engines have a thick layer of sludge in the bottom. Enough sludge that it makes capacity a little head scratching at oil change.
Just pull the dipstick tube out of the block half an inch- - - -then you'll feel comfortable putting in an extra quart, and the engine won't care one way or the other! Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
