crankcase capacity

[Alaska Jim]

Not trying to open a can of worms here, but what is the oil pan capacity for a y-block ford with a rear sump pan? I have seen listing's for 5 qt. ( with oil filter ) and also for 6 qt. I have a 272 with a rear sump pan ( don't know what it came off of ) and a spin on short filter. I changed the oil and put 4 1/2 qts. back in. my dip stick is a custom one that is located down low on the right side of the eng. just above the oil pan. ( the eng. is in a fenderless, hoodless '30 Model A coupe ). any help will be appreciated, I know it may depend on what the pan came off of, but that is a mystery, although it is baffled around the oil pump pick up. looks like it coud be a little difficult putting the pick-up in the pan because of the baffling. --Thanks ---Jim

 

[darrell]

light trucks 5 heavy 6.thats not much help

 

[dmsfrr]

....... I know it may depend on what the pan came off of, but that is a mystery, .......

Here's a picture of 3 different kinds of rear sump y-block oil pans.

from top to bottom
Heavy Duty Truck, deep/extra capacity
light Truck, a shallow step in the sump
55/57 T-Bird, rear facing drain plug and shallow front

 

[TedEaton]

Pickups and light trucks: 6 qts with filter.
HD trucks: 7 qts with filter.

 

[Alaska Jim]

Thanks everyone, I think I have a deep truck pan. if I ever figure out how to post pictures, I will post some of the oil pan I have. If I have the deep pan ( 6 qt. ) do I need to run 6qts. or will the level be to low with 5 ? I currently have 4 1/2 qts. in it with a short filter. The dip stick reads full at this time with the 4 1/2 qts. as I said the dip stick I have is not stock it is a custom unit (maker unknown ) it has a full and low mark but do not know how accurate it is. it is just above the oil pan level on the right side of the block where there is usually a soft plug in that hole. Thanks again for everything.-----Jim

 

[Ole Don]

Maybe you could ask for someone with a light truck to measure his stock dip stick that goes in the side to see how close you are.

 

[streetdreams]

Sounds like you need to recalibrate your dipstick. With 5 qts in engine and filter of choice, run engine for a few minutes. After allowing about 5 minutes for the oil to drain back to pan, mark your dipstick with a file or similar tool. This is your one quart low mark. Add one additional qt, repeat above. That is your 6 qts full mark.

 

[dmsfrr]

Thanks everyone, I think I have a deep truck pan. if I ever figure out how to post pictures, I will post some of the oil pan I have. If I have the deep pan ( 6 qt. ) do I need to run 6qts. or will the level be to low with 5 ? I currently have 4 1/2 qts. in it with a short filter. The dip stick reads full at this time with the 4 1/2 qts. as I said the dip stick I have is not stock it is a custom unit (maker unknown ) it has a full and low mark but do not know how accurate it is. it is just above the oil pan level on the right side of the block where there is usually a soft plug in that hole. Thanks again for everything.-----Jim

Do you have a digital camera or a cellphone that takes pictures? That's about all you need. You could message or email me and I can try walking you thru the process.

I'd be inclined to go with 5.5 with your spin-on filter, since 6 is what most rear sump y-block oil pans are, with the big oil filter canister. If you have the HD truck pan it would be 7.
But you wouldn't want to overfill the engine if something is different so here's a way to figure out what the 'full' oil height in the pan would be.....
My Y-block 292 uses the same position on the center/right side of the block for the dipstick as you mentioned above. I recently got a new/reproduction dipstick so I went out and measured it.
To rule out any difference in overall length compared to your custom one, you can pull out the whole dipstick tube and measure down from the bottom end of the tube to the Full mark on the stick.
I got 4 and 5/8ths inches. (Yes the pic shows 4.5 but I snapped it before I made sure it was pushed all the way in, oops.)
.

 

[Alaska Jim]

Thanks sweetdreams, and dmsfrr. I was planning doing a combination of both of you guys suggestions and see what I come up with. there is no dipstick tube on my custom application. stick goes right in the block. I have a couple of old y-blocks for parts, I think they are either 272 or 239. I will go and ck and see if one has the side dipstick and tube. I know that the 239 ( if that is what it is, is pretty much worthless for parts interchangeability with the 272-292-312. Thanks again for the suggestions, the last time I worked on y-blocks until I got this car was in high school. more than 40 years ago. I have forgotten a lot, but still remember the mistakes I made back then, and what not to do lol. ---Jim

 

[dmsfrr]

....... Thanks again for the suggestions, the last time I worked on y-blocks until I got this car was in high school. more than 40 years ago. I have forgotten a lot, but still remember the mistakes I made back then, and what not to do lol. ---Jim

If you'd like I can re-measure down to the Full mark from the exterior of the block.

Here's a good web site to refresh your memory about engine parts.

http://www.ford-y-block.com/technical.htm

.

 

[Alaska Jim]

That may help. I do not have any other engines with the dipstick on the right center. I had 4 1/2 qts. in the eng., topped off to an even 5 qts. eng. had been shut down a couple of hrs. and it read just above the f for full on the stick I have. thanks for all your help, and the link for the refresher.-----Jim

 

[TedEaton]

Check that the pan you have has a baffle to prevent oil slosh to the front during braking. If no baffle, this is a good time to install one as drops in oil pressure are common during braking without the baffle.

Check the owners manual and/or service manual for the correct oil capacity. All references I have show a minimum of five quarts plus filter which makes the total capacity 6 qts in my book for both the front sump and pickup/light truck rear sump pans.

 

[dmsfrr]

If you'd like I can re-measure down to the Full mark from the exterior of the block.
.

Alaska Jim,
Ok, I'm assuming there's a lip or flange of some sort on the custom dipstick you have that stops the dipstick handle at the outer surface of the block.

I inserted a dipstick tube and dipstick fully into the block and marked around the outer surface of the tube at the top edge of the hole in the block.
Then I measured from Full on the dipstick up to the center of the angled mark on the tube (that lined up with the exterior of the block) and got 6 inches.

.

 

[Alaska Jim]

I tried to post some pictures of the oil pan, but got a message saying that a security token was missing. guess I will try and figure it out and try to post some later.---Jim

 

[Alaska Jim]

trying to post the pictures again. also trying to include picture of the car

 

[Alaska Jim]

Hey, It worked. I will try and get some close up pictures of the dipstick and where it goes in the eng. there is no tube.

 

[dmsfrr]

That's one nice lookin' car!

 

[Alaska Jim]

Thank you for the compliment, I know this is the late v8 forum and this is an early car, but it is Y-Block powered. I am off to the garage for the dipstick photo's.

 

[Alaska Jim]

O.K. going to try to post pic. of the stick and of the eng. so what do you guys think with the combination I have ( the stick and the pan, and the short filter ) should I stay at the 5 quart level shown on the stick, or do I need 6 or more? I would rather be a little low than over full. on closer inspection, it does look like there is at least a partial tube in the block, just cut off flush. when I had the pan off to fix the rear main seal leak, it never occurred to me to look for a tube from the inside of the eng. . thanks for everyone's input, it is all valuable to me, and is appreciated.---Jim

 

[miker98038]

Just in passing. I accidentally overfilled my 55 bird by a quart. Running at high rpm, even with a well working PCV system, I puked a bit of oil out the top of the stock tube. With no tube, you might want to watch for oil loss after a highway trip.

Great looking car. I've got a y block in a 32 cabrio.