Dipstick raises

[cycleguy55]

Originally Posted by kevins2

Thanks for all the input. I'll have to try driving the car modestly and check if it rises and then get into the throttle to see if that makes a difference. Meanwhile, if anyone knows the answer to how much residual oil is in an FE when drained, that would help me understand how much I may be overfilled since I calibrated with the full 8 qts. At the time I figured no harm in having a bit too much oil. I don't believe this is actually hurting anything if that is the case, but just trying to understand the issue and resolve it.

Thanks again,

Kevin

For purposes of calibrating the dipstick the bigger issue is the pan capacity. If you know the pan capacity, then you can calibrate the dipstick. I'm not sure the amount of retained or residual oil is relevant, quite frankly, as it will always be there regardless of pan capacity - unless the engine has been pulled, rotated and completely drained.

Calibration procedure, from http://www.milodon.com/dipsticks/dipsticks.asp: "TECH NOTE: You calibrate your new engine dipstick by draining all the oil from the pan, filling it with the recommended number of quarts and marking the new dipstick at that level."

I've also read you should fill it one quart short of capacity and put a 'Fill' or 'Add One' mark on the dipstick, then add the extra quart and put a second mark at the 'Full' level'. FWIW, my new pan is 12 litres, so I'm going to add 10 litres, make an 'Add 2' mark, add another litre and make an 'Add 1' mark, then top it up and make my 'Full' mark. I always fill new filters with oil before threading them on, but I'll check it after starting and see whether it needs more.

BTW: How do you know the system capacity is 8 quarts? Was that provided by the engine builder?