Technical SBC Oil level from bottom of block?

Find another sbc with the same dip stick location. Swap the dipsticks. Compare the readings. Mark the dip stick as needed. Two minutes worth of time.

 

I didn't want to butt in here but that little devil inside me said "what the hell" Put 5 quarts in it start it up. Shut it off and after 3 minutes pull the dip stick out and mark it, that's full. Stocker and S/Stockers you 10 qt pans and put 4 quarts of oil in them. You are over thinking this.

Pat

 

That's strictly a hypothetical , IMO .

 

There is a Fathers Day (weekend) swap meet in Butler, PA I will try and hit to look for a steel OEM style pan and dipstick, and/or a low profile steel pan if it is reasonable and has enough info with it. Might get lucky and find a cheap magnetic drain plug too, this car is fairly low and already has some road rash on the head of the current drain plug.

1. Any aftermarket ‘OEM’ steel pans that I should stay away from?
   
   
2. I may need a new oil pickup/related parts, not sure if this one has been changed. Any brands or models that I should stay away from? (I need to do more research on this topic with installation tips, if you have a good thread saved on this I’d appreciate the link!)
   
   
3. Since I have the pan off, is it worth adding a windage tray? It’s not a race motor and I won’t be carving corners on the 5” wide front tires, but if it works good just in case for odd angles, why not have the extra insurance? Speedway has one for $16 but I assume I may need additional fastening pieces (need to do more research).
   
   
4. Is filling the oil via the passenger side head better than using the Edelbrock performer intake manifold oil fill location? Just curious if one is better.

Why do I like the idea of the steel oil pan so much (even though it may not be as good looking)? I had an old bimmer I fixed up that had a stock aluminum oil pan. Pennsylvania road work in the spring and smacked a protruding man hole cover that was hiding across an intersection with no where to swerve. It was a rainy/misty morning and you’d think it hit a leprechaun or unicorn with the rainbow trail I left behind (half a block) after scattering the front of the pan. The Cluster lit up like a German Christmas tree and I immediately dropped the clutch and killed the engine. No motor damage luckily, but I was stranded and needed to have it towed. Just caught the corner of the pan, a steel one would have *most likely* allowed me to get where I needed to go and check things over or leave as is if there were not leaks or issues.


Once I get into the project I will try to get a few measurements (if I remember), filling the oil filter first and dumping the rest of the 5qt container via the head. I will also note the resting angle of the motor at the time of the measurements. I know this angle will very slightly change the height at the dip stick.


I’m tempted to find a stock pan and dip stick, use the old gasket and fill the pan with the oem equipment to the ‘max’ mark (after running and confirming fill line sitting idle for a week), and then remove the pan with the oil in it and take more accurate measurements, with and without the engine angle. I see a potential mess in my future!

 

I memory says the windage tray bolts onto a different style main bolt. Sort of a stud with a nut, the threads stick out for the tray.
Tomorrow I can get a measurement of a stock GM oil pump pick up for you to compare with what you have.

 

I bought a stock style Dorman pan off Amazon. Seemed to be OK and easier than cleaning up an old crusty pan for a decent paint job on the engine.

 

Some of the earlier corvette pans held an extra 1/2 quart, circle track cheater pan, so just make sure you know what you're buying.
I would continue using the oil fill tube in the intake manifold to fill it, easier and faster to get the oil in.

 

Much appreciated! I think I may go with this one that will not work with the speedway tray but it will go alright with the yellow colored block and have a good resistance to corrosion:

https://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/502...xxLyXBYR-6F0Ec_tC6v2_SJ8vKf1PlEAbezq4wswswcDk

 

Let me throw another wrench into the problem. How do you know if the aftermarket dipstick is correct. If you search some of the Chevrolet specific websites, some people have had issues with aftermarket dipsticks being incorrect. One site said that over time there were a dozen different dipsticks available for the small block Chevy. If your block is a '73 Camaro I would start there and purchase one specific for that block. I would think your biggest issue is to where the oil pick up tube need's to be. With that crazy pan, who knows?

 

Not all aluminum pans crack, or leak. Depending on when yours was built, and what company built it that could be a very good oil pan. Almost anything newer will be low quality, and made overseas. But I've had cars with aluminum oil pans from the 60's and 70's that never had any issues.

 

Update on the annoying oil level issue. Sourced a GM sbc factory dipstick and it reads high as well. I put a 5 quart container in the aluminum oil pan, I am wondering if it is a 4 or 4.5 quart pan?

too high of a level to run?:

 

Oh wow, I forgot all about getting you some information. I just and measured a stock SBC pickup and pump.
From where it bolts onto the main cap to the bottom of the screen assembly is pretty much 5 inches.

 

I’ll go get a stock pan depth for you to compare.

 

Depth of the pan is right at 7 inches

 

3.5"

 

So based on Jim’s reply above, I did some “country calulating”.
The spot on the rear main cap where the pump bolts to is about 2 below the pan rails. Give or take.
Add that to the 5 inches of pump and pick up I checked, (no gasket) seemed the bottom of the PU would be darned close to the bottom of the sump.

What have I measured wrong?

As I’m killing time today, I can post pics of what I’ve measured if need be.

 

So now I know what I did wrong.
My pan has a tray and a hole in it for the PU to fit into.
Seems I went to that tray, not to the bottom of the sump.
To the bottom of the sump is 8 inches, not 7. So the PU would sit about an inch from the bottom of the sump.
I feel better now

 

Ever get out this way? I'll give you a stock setup off a 350 that I have here. Pump and pickup, too. So you have a matched setup Baffled like GM made it. Also I might have a deep steel pan that needs a little work. Yours if you want 'em. That aluminum one looks cool, but a stock design is probably best. I don't see how the oil in yours won't all slosh to the front on deceleration.

 

Thanks @Budget36 , for some reason I thought the pick up was only supposed to be a 0.25” to 0.5” from the bottom of the pan, not a full inch? (This is based on limited research, I am no engine builder!)

 

the pickup wants to be about 1/4 to 1/2 inch from the pan.

 

Just basing it on my eyeballing the tape measure.
But with your research and Jim’s reply, you should be able to figure out what you have and if it will work.

 

No , about 1/4 to 3/8", oil pump pickup to pan floor .
Sorry Jim , you beat me to it !

 

I'm with JD Miller on this one.

If this is the oil pan you are running, it looks like a disaster waiting to happen to me.
Not a SBC guy, but been around a few motors in my day, and I have replaces a lot of smashed, leaking, and broken oil pans.

Issue #1, If the oil pickup is suppose to be 1/4" above the bottom of the pan, how that pickup is orientated in that pan is going to make a big difference how far off the bottom of the pan the pickup really is. It appears to be about an inch difference between the bottom of the sump towards the front, and the bottom of the sump at the rear of the pan. Its pretty obvious that the distance of the pickup to the bottom of the oil pan is going to be a bit more then the 1/4" suggested by Jim, could be an inch off the bottom of the pan, depending where in that sump the (level to the pan rail) pickup is going to be.
If that pan holds 8 quarts, that probably won't be an issue, If it holds 4 quarts (a normal 5 quart system), you run the risk of the oil pickup not being able to reach the oil in the bottom of the pan.

Issue #2, If there is not a baffle that will keep the oil in the sump, every time you stop fast or hard, you run the risk of the oil flowing away from the oil pickup. No oil at the pickup tube means no oil pressure until it returns and the oil pump can suck the oil back up.

Issue #3, The bottom of that oil pan sump hangs a long way below the pan rails and the drain plug is the lowest point. I have replaced enough low hanging oil pans in my day that I would run away from this aluminum oil pan.

Your not racing. Put a steel GM oil pan on that motor.

Remark the dipstick. With a 5 quart oil pan system, you add 3 quarts to the pan, insert the dipstick, and mark the dipstick for the "Add a Quart" line. Then add that 4th quart and insert the dipstick and mark the dipstick for the "full" position. Then add that 5th quart (for a replaced oil filter) and start the motor and let it run until the motor has oil pressure (not more then 15 seconds). Shut off the motor and check for oil leaks at the oil filter, and the drain plug. With the car sitting on level ground, check the oil level. It should read just above the full mark (the difference being how much oil the filter holds, and how much oil the system retains that doesn't drain immediately back into the pan. That extra 1/2 quart or so, won't hurt your motor at all.

 

Well, be happy to post pics of measurements for ya.

 

Someone feel free to correct me but shouldn't the oil be at the same level, relative to the block/crank, regardless of the pan used? Example: Four quart pan, oil level comes to ____. Wouldn't a five quart pan simply mean the sump carries an extra quart (and the pickup tube positioning must match the pan) but the overall oil level in relation to block remains identical to the four quart pan?

If I am correct, then the only thing a person needs is a factory dipstick and its matching factory dipstick tube then filling to "full" on the dipstick should correct. The pan design shouldn't dictate the dipstick length should it? The dipstick doesn't measure the depth of the well, it measures overall height/level of oil.

The easiest solution is to simply find a factory dipstick and its matching tube and fill to "full". If it takes 8 quarts due to pan design, so be it. If it takes 3.5 quarts due to the pan being an oddly shaped aluminum unit ... filling to "full" on a factory tube and dipstick should be correct.

Am I wrong?

(I'm not smelling a brain fart but I am aware that not all farts smell )

 

This is a typical late 60s 70s car oil pan dipstick on driver side , with 4 quarts is right at the baffle on the inside of the pan sump which is 3 -3/8 of inch off the bottom, sump of pan to rail is 7-1/4 deep , 1 qt of oil is wright around 1/4 inch per Qt in """Sump""" out of Sump its like 1/16 ish inch per ""Qt ""

 

Please do , perhaps we can determine what's wrong with your particular pile of parts .

 

I also would use this style pick ip for the Op pan shown , for correct depth of Sump

 

Where you have to be careful is with all the alleged "improved" aftermarket "Rickey racer bobby off-road" oil pan configurations , add to that all the aftermarket dip sticks ( human & inanimate) & "creative" engine mounting angles .

 

All this pan talk doesn’t change where oil level should be.

Elder Indian say, “Only the white man cuts top off blanket then sew it to bottom too make longer”.