Setting up dipstick

[Small Block Duster]

Hello. I've been looking and searching through the forums and for some reason I can't find anything about setting up the dipstick during the blueprint process that relates to my situation.

I wanted to use my factory dipstick with my Kevko oil pan. I know it has an upper oil plug to check oil level but it's not really accessible in my chassis with my headers. At least that's what it looked like when I mocked the headers up on the stand. I would also like to run a little higher level then where that plug is.

The engine is a 360 that was originally from a 79 Dodge pickup. My project car is a 75 Duster.

With the oil pan on the block looking down the cylinder bore the stock dipstick wants to run into the baffle in the a body kevko pan. Model m302. I'm sort of thinking that a small hole needs to be drilled where it contacts the baffle so it can get down into the oil level and also be stabilized so it doesn't move around too much and get near the crankshaft. I've read a couple times that supposedly all stock dip sticks will fit. Unless serious modifications are done to this one I'm not sure how to make that happen.

What did you guys have to do on your oil pans ( kevco or otherwise ) to get your dipstick where it needs to go and safely away from the crankshaft and down into the oil itself? And if I need to run an aftermarket dipstick what type of dipstick do you recommend? Also, there was no bottom tube like a small-block Chevy has. As far as I can tell small-block Chrysler's never came with them but I wonder if there's an after-market part for that?

 

[famous bob]

Hello. I've been looking and searching through the forums and for some reason I can't find anything about setting up the dipstick during the blueprint process that relates to my situation.

I wanted to use my factory dipstick with my Kevko oil pan. I know it has an upper oil plug to check oil level but it's not really accessible in my chassis with my headers. At least that's what it looked like when I mocked the headers up on the stand. I would also like to run a little higher level then where that plug is.

The engine is a 360 that was originally from a 79 Dodge pickup. My project car is a 75 Duster.

With the oil pan on the block looking down the cylinder bore the stock dipstick wants to run into the baffle in the a body kevko pan. Model m302. I'm sort of thinking that a small hole needs to be drilled where it contacts the baffle so it can get down into the oil level and also be stabilized so it doesn't move around too much and get near the crankshaft. I've read a couple times that supposedly all stock dip sticks will fit. Unless serious modifications are done to this one I'm not sure how to make that happen.

What did you guys have to do on your oil pans ( kevco or otherwise ) to get your dipstick where it needs to go and safely away from the crankshaft and down into the oil itself? And if I need to run an aftermarket dipstick what type of dipstick do you recommend? Also, there was no bottom tube like a small-block Chevy has. As far as I can tell small-block Chrysler's never came with them but I wonder if there's an after-market part for that?

I may not understand correctly, and have never messed w/ a small block mopar, but I have never seen a pan that has a baffle higher than oil level to start with-------------

 

[Small Block Duster]

I may not understand correctly, and have never messed w/ a small block mopar, but I have never seen a pan that has a baffle higher than oil level to start with-------------

You may be right. I was thinking about that myself. When I look at the pan the oil level check plug is lower than the baffle. Perhaps what I'm calling a baffle should be considered a structural component of the oil pan. However it is right in the way of the dipstick it's self coming down into the sump and the only way I can see the system working is either with the oil level far above that cross brace or whatever it is or drilling a hole through it to allow the dipstick to seat in its proper place. It's easy enough to see what I have to do with the components I have. I just wanted to ask a question before I started drilling on my pan in case there's something I'm missing and also to find out if there is a certain type of dipstick that works well for this type of application.

 

[famous bob]

You may be right. I was thinking about that myself. When I look at the pan the oil level check plug is lower than the baffle. Perhaps what I'm calling a baffle should be considered a structural component of the oil pan. However it is right in the way of the dipstick it's self coming down into the sump and the only way I can see the system working is either with the oil level far above that cross brace or whatever it is or drilling a hole through it to allow the dipstick to seat in its proper place. It's easy enough to see what I have to do with the components I have. I just wanted to ask a question before I started drilling on my pan in case there's something I'm missing and also to find out if there is a certain type of dipstick that works well for this type of application.

View attachment 1715305023

A pic of the inside would be mo betta -------

 

[forphorty]

Should be a pretty straightforward task making a hole in the baffle for the dipstick to pass through. I don't know why you would need another dipstick. Here's my monstrosity:

 

[Small Block Duster]

A pic of the inside would be mo betta -------

For sure! I should be back to the motor tomorrow evening and then I will have some pictures that will help.

 

[Small Block Duster]

Should be a pretty straightforward task making a hole in the baffle for the dipstick to pass through. I don't know why you would need another dipstick. Here's my monstrosity:

View attachment 1715305024

That's actually a lot like my kevko pan! And yes right were the hole you have drilled is where I was thinking I need to drill mine. What did you use for a dipstick tube and dipstick? Are the a body style sump dipsticks a different length than others? BTW, I like your oil pan. Just as functional as mine and you saved a lot of money doing it.

 

[nm9stheham]

M301 - 340M302 - 360Stock Location

 

[Small Block Duster]

M301 - 340M302 - 360Stock Location

Yes I have the m302. Kevko doesn't advertise anything special about dipstick requirements. I probably should have started off this thread by asking what dipstick do you guys recommend I run? I'm going to need to run it in the stock entry location into the block. I am still unsure as to if I order a new stock style dipstick if there are different lengths as far as tube height goes. The bottom line is no matter what I buy I can cut it to make it work but since I have to buy a new tube and dipstick at this point I'm going to try to make the best most logical purchase. It seems like there's stock style chrome dip sticks everywhere, maybe I'll just order one. I'm not too worried about the stock markings on the dipstick as I am going to try to run my own oil level and I will re mark them once I get the levels I want to run figured out. Read that as I'm going to try to run it as high as possible without the crankshaft starting to pull the oil and cause froth. But then again with all the questions I'm having on this new build this is probably not that big of a deal.

 

[sccachallenger]

If your pan is same depth as the truck pan use the truck dipstick and drill the hole.
if it'a the same depth as a stock A body pan you'll probably have to re-mark your dipstick.
Some folks with deep, drag-race type pans put too much oil in them, the point is to get the oil away from the spinning crank, and still keep the pick-up covered.

 

[Small Block Duster]

If your pan is same depth as the truck pan use the truck dipstick and drill the hole.
if it'a the same depth as a stock A body pan you'll probably have to re-mark your dipstick.
Some folks with deep, drag-race type pans put too much oil in them, the point is to get the oil away from the spinning crank, and still keep the pick-up covered.

Thank you. I think my oil pan is either the same or slightly deeper than a stock a body pan ( I've never seen one ) on the shallow part ( the main body ) but I'm pretty sure I figured out why it looked like the dipstick physically wouldn't fit the original pan on it, but I didn't have the old oil pan around and it had been so long since I took it off I couldn't remember what it looked like. I now think the housing part of the pan (the main body not the sump ) on the truck rear sump oil pan that was on it is deeper, and that's why the dipstick fit without bottoming out for that application. The kevko I have now is, of course, an a body center/front sump. For a while I couldn't figure out why my dipstick was so long. I have read that all dipsticks will fit. I searched but I couldn't find any more detailed information about that. I couldn't figure out how my original dipstick would have fit the original truck pan with a rear sump because I thought main body of the pan was the same depth. At that point everything looked wrong for everything and that's why I couldn't figure out if I was supposed to run some sort of special dipstick, not the one I have.
Now I can drill the slosh guard ( or bracket or baffle or whatever it is ) for the dipstick I have and I will fill the oil pan by itself to see how how many quarts I can put in it without it getting too close to the crankshaft. Then when the oil pan is on the engine I will put that amount of oil in it ( and also mark a quart low ) and re mark it.

 

[gliderider06]

Can you not use the stock dipstick location on the front of the block?

 

[MopaR&D]

Basically just get a parts-store dipstick and shorten the tube if you need to adjust the level of the stick, you could also shorten the stick itself if needed but you have to make sure to put marks on it. The key is to have the engine at the same angle as in the car and then fill up the pan with the exact amount of oil the pan is advertised to take. This can be tested with the pan off the engine using water to check how close it comes to the baffles etc. Once the sump is filled and the engine has sat for 10 minutes or so to make sure all the oil drains down put the dipstick in and see where the oil level is. Wherever the oil level comes up to is going to be the FULL line on the stick.

I just went through this for my Magnum build, got a parts-store universal replacement and without cutting it the marks aren't too far off. I just know it needs to be filled a bit past the FULL line, I always count how many quarts I put in anyway when changing oil.

 

[Small Block Duster]

Can you not use the stock dipstick location on the front of the block?

Yes that's the one I'm using. The problem I ran into was that my project engine is from a pick up and I tore it down quite a while ago and forgot what the truck pan was like. So when I started mocking up the dipstick the first problem I ran into was the dipstick running into a welded in part of my new a body aftermarket oil pan which confused me because the dipstick length seemed to be off. I couldn't figure out how it fit the truck pan either because it was going into the shallow spot in the pan. So the combination of the truck pan and the stick not working with my a body oil pan either confused me and led me to believe somehow I had the wrong dipstick and there was almost no information on any forum that I could find about actual Mopar dipsticks other than how to remove them but not much on the different types of dipsticks that there are. This is my first Mopar build and the problems I ran into in this case were lack of knowledge of Mopar oil pans and dipsticks. From what I understand the original release of the book on how to rebuild Mopar small block engines was very good but I can't find it and I have the newer version that has a magnum rebuild in it and it answers almost none of my questions. I haven't been able to locate any of those excellent Mopar performance publications either. I have a lot of small block Chevy building experience and in this case it was no help. I'm still learning Mopars. In this case I think it was my lack of knowledge that turned a non-issue into a problem for me. Once I get back to the mock-up then I will know for sure.

 

[Small Block Duster]

Basically just get a parts-store dipstick and shorten the tube if you need to adjust the level of the stick, you could also shorten the stick itself if needed but you have to make sure to put marks on it. The key is to have the engine at the same angle as in the car and then fill up the pan with the exact amount of oil the pan is advertised to take. This can be tested with the pan off the engine using water to check how close it comes to the baffles etc. Once the sump is filled and the engine has sat for 10 minutes or so to make sure all the oil drains down put the dipstick in and see where the oil level is. Wherever the oil level comes up to is going to be the FULL line on the stick.

I just went through this for my Magnum build, got a parts-store universal replacement and without cutting it the marks aren't too far off. I just know it needs to be filled a bit past the FULL line, I always count how many quarts I put in anyway when changing oil.

Yes what looked to me to be a problem came about because I wasn't aware of the differences in depths of some of the oil pans and applications of dipsticks. When I searched online there was almost no information about the actual differences in Mopar dipsticks and the rest was a domino effect of one thing seeming to make the next thing wrong and the next thing and so forth and so on. Thank you MoparR&D, you have answered several of my questions and have been a big help to me. I appreciate it!

 

[sccachallenger]

Thank you. I think my oil pan is either the same or slightly deeper than a stock a body pan ( I've never seen one ) on the shallow part ( the main body ) but I'm pretty sure I figured out why it looked like the dipstick physically wouldn't fit the original pan on it, but I didn't have the old oil pan around and it had been so long since I took it off I couldn't remember what it looked like..

I've had several D truck and B van pans, that I've modified, I think they all had a curved tube spot welded to the pass side of the pan. This tube guides the long dipstick into the deep part of the rear sump pans.

 

[Small Block Duster]

I've had several D truck and B van pans, that I've modified, I think they all had a curved tube spot welded to the pass side of the pan. This tube guides the long dipstick into the deep part of the rear sump pans.

Thank you. I didn't know that. I may have the wrong dipstick after all. I'm going to try to find a Mopar performance dipstick assembly.

 

[MopaR&D]

Yes what looked to me to be a problem came about because I wasn't aware of the differences in depths of some of the oil pans and applications of dipsticks. When I searched online there was almost no information about the actual differences in Mopar dipsticks and the rest was a domino effect of one thing seeming to make the next thing wrong and the next thing and so forth and so on. Thank you MoparR&D, you have answered several of my questions and have been a big help to me. I appreciate it!

No problem! I actually picked up that method from an issue of Mopar Action some years back. Apparently even from the factory Mopar engine oil dipsticks were oftentimes way off so it's best just to verify the oil level and "make" your own dipstick specific to your engine/pan setup.

 

[Small Block Duster]

I've had several D truck and B van pans, that I've modified, I think they all had a curved tube spot welded to the pass side of the pan. This tube guides the long dipstick into the deep part of the rear sump pans.

That's good to know about the curved tube. I didn't know that. That's starting to make more sense now.

 

[Small Block Duster]

No problem! I actually picked up that method from an issue of Mopar Action some years back. Apparently even from the factory Mopar engine oil dipsticks were oftentimes way off so it's best just to verify the oil level and "make" your own dipstick specific to your engine/pan setup.

I'm learning about that with Mopar engines lol. They definitely have their own personality.

 

[Small Block Duster]

I'm learning about that with Mopar engines lol. They definitely have their own personality.

The more I work through the problems, the more I'm starting to like these engines.

 

[forphorty]

Avoid using a chrome plated tube if you can. In my experience with one on a BB, the thickness of the plating made it difficult to press into the block and forcing things made the chrome flake off(imagine where that might end up).

 

[Small Block Duster]

Avoid using a chrome plated tube if you can. In my experience with one on a BB, the thickness of the plating made it difficult to press into the block and forcing things made the chrome flake off(imagine where that might end up).

Thank you. I'm looking for a dipstick and tube now.

 

[MopaR&D]

Avoid using a chrome plated tube if you can. In my experience with one on a BB, the thickness of the plating made it difficult to press into the block and forcing things made the chrome flake off(imagine where that might end up).

True that, I had to use a hammer to get mine in, distorted the top end of the tube a tad but not enough to cause issues (rubber mallet didn't have enough oomph). I didn't see any chrome flake off but I wasn't really looking.

 

[Small Block Duster]

True that, I had to use a hammer to get mine in, distorted the top end of the tube a tad but not enough to cause issues (rubber mallet didn't have enough oomph). I didn't see any chrome flake off but I wasn't really looking.

I ended up ordering a chrome one because it's the only one I could find but I'm going to wire brush all the chrome off the part that goes into the block. I'm also probably going to wire brush off the area on the dipstick itself where it reads the oil level.