Dip Sticks

[Phil Waterman]

I’ve been reassembling and engine to go into my 1941 C60L Pattern 12. The engine is a 1952 Chevy 216 which had the shallow oil pan. The issue is that when I mate the deep pan up with the engine need to make sure that the dip stick is correct. This would seem simple but what I discovered is that the 41 dipstick is shorter than 42 or 45 by an inch and 4 inches longer than the 52 shallow pan dipstick.

The CMP manual calls for 5 quart oil change if crankcase and filter are drained and 6 if the oil filter is replace. Of course manual is talking imperial quarts and I’m putting in US quarts.

Imperial = US
2.5 = 3
3.33 = 4
4.16 = 5
5 = 6
6 = 7.2

To determine the correct level I tried filling the oil pan one quart (US using a graduated cylinder) at a time noting the depth as each quart was added. The first thing that becomes clear is that you can have nearly 3 quarts US of oil in the lower sump when the dip stick tip is just showing oil. That the full mark takes 6 quarts US which would agree with the manual.

Several things are interesting to note:
• That the deep sum oil pans most of the oil is carried in the lower pan.
• Oil troughs each hold 2 ounces for 12 ounces in total.
• With my other trucks if engines oil is topped off to the full mark the oil leakage seams to increase and that the rate of leakage drops once the engine is reading 1quart low.
• That a half inch oil in the pan equals roughly a quart US of oil

Conclusion that the wrong dip stick can result in a quart to much or to little oil in the engine.

The pictures below show the difference at this size it is hard to see the clear water so I've added an arrow.

Also just finished doing the oil nozzle checks on this engine if your interested check my web page
http://canadianmilitarypattern.com/P...Page%20Two.htm

[Phil Waterman]

Tried to edit the picture and it would let me delete the old but not add the new.

[Jon Skagfeld]

Phil...thanks for the 216 info.

At first, I thought you were going to be making derogatory remarks about MLU members!

(...or is "dip-stick" a particular Canadian expresson, perhaps unknown in New Hampshire?)

Regards

[RHClarke]

I would show you my least favourite dipstick...cancel last, you can see him on TV every night one upping the Conservatives...

Something else to note when working out the right dipstick to use, is that the shallow sumped engines the dipstick enters through the side of the block and on the deep sumped engines it enters through a tube on the sump itself. I'm sure this would alter the height which the dipstick hangs into the oil!!!

[Phil Waterman]

(...or is "dip-stick" a particular Canadian expresson, perhaps unknown in New Hampshire?)

No it means the same thing down here and seems to apply particularly well to politicians.

Guess I should have use the CMP parts book official name “ROD, Oil Level Indicator”

Robert you have a good point about standard location of the dipstick. Had to make up the little metal plug for the hole in the block.