checking oil level

ksurfer2 · Sep 15, 2020

Ok....yes, I know how to do this, BUT.....At some point in its history the 440 in my car had the dipstick removed and plugged. Now there is not easy way to check the oil level. I remember as a kid, the propane tank on my Dad's grill had a tape of some sort on it that when he poured water on it showed the level of gas in the tank. Is there any such product, or easy way to tell the level of oil in the pan externally????

493 Mike · Sep 15, 2020

I have found in life the best way is usually the long way. Fix it correctly and you will be glad.
Mike

Mick56 · Sep 15, 2020

The only other way, would be to drain out the oil, and then pour in the correct amount.

ksurfer2 · Sep 15, 2020

493 Mike said:
I have found in life the best way is usually the long way. Fix it correctly and you will be glad.
Mike

Yeah, that is what I am afraid of. Was looking for a fix that didn't involve pulling the motor, dropping the oil pan and installing a new dipstick.

Ranger16 · Sep 15, 2020

ksurfer2 said:
At some point in its history the 440 in my car had the dipstick removed and plugged.

Why in the hell would anyone do that?

R413 · Sep 15, 2020

Ranger16 said:
Why in the hell would anyone do that?

There is a group of folks that think it’s cool to remove the dipstick, and the trend is spreading out to the masses. Not a good thing really. So it’s drain and refill. You’ll get good at it or hurt your engine.

it might be the thing to do when:
you increase stroke
have a main girdle
Have some crank scraper or windage tray In the way

toolmanmike · Sep 15, 2020

ksurfer2 said:
Ok....yes, I know how to do this, BUT.....At some point in its history the 440 in my car had the dipstick removed and plugged. Now there is not easy way to check the oil level. I remember as a kid, the propane tank on my Dad's grill had a tape of some sort on it that when he poured water on it showed the level of gas in the tank. Is there any such product, or easy way to tell the level of oil in the pan externally????

No. The sticker on the LP tank is thermometer. It doesn't work with oil. Find a tube and dipstick and fix it right.

MoparDanMan · Sep 15, 2020

ksurfer2 said:
Yeah, that is what I am afraid of. Was looking for a fix that didn't involve pulling the motor, dropping the oil pan and installing a new dipstick.

How did they plug the hole in the block? You may be able to open the hole back up and then tap in the new dipstick tube. Depending on options you may not have to pull the motor. You can get a new tube and stick from 440source.com

1967coronet · Sep 15, 2020

Many of the big block truck pans had the tube and stick mounted off the side of the pan.
Still would have to pull the pan to mount a set up similar to a truck pan.
Ksurfer if your block is a truck block there is a plug in the tube hole that will remove.

MOPAR MARTY · Sep 23, 2020

ksurfer2 said:
Ok....yes, I know how to do this, BUT.....At some point in its history the 440 in my car had the dipstick removed and plugged. Now there is not easy way to check the oil level. I remember as a kid, the propane tank on my Dad's grill had a tape of some sort on it that when he poured water on it showed the level of gas in the tank. Is there any such product, or easy way to tell the level of oil in the pan externally????

put the oil dip stick back iin have a machine shop do it .

MoparLeo · Sep 23, 2020

So I am "assuming" that you just recently came by this engine/car as you said you don't want to pull it out. If you don't know about the history of the tube being plugged, you probably don't know for sure about the internals of the engine either. I would pull it and do a thorough inspection to find out just what I am working on. Especially if any problems come up later. It makes it very difficult to diagnose a problem with out know what you have.
. There is just no good reason to remove it completely. If there are things in the way of the original design, those things need to be modified to fit what the factory designed, not the other way around. Unless it was a fuel or alcohol drag race car that requires complete oil changes constantly. No other reason and even that it not a good reason. The dipstick is used for other things than just checking the oil level, like fuel/water contamination etc...

MoparDanMan · Sep 23, 2020

1967coronet said:
Many of the big block truck pans had the tube and stick mounted off the side of the pan.
Still would have to pull the pan to mount a set up similar to a truck pan.
Ksurfer if your block is a truck block there is a plug in the tube hole that will remove.

I had forgotten that the truck engine had the tube in the pan. My guess would be because of the K frame they couldn't use the truck pan and put on a car pan. Then said "screw it, we'll just change oil every 3K".

BB BELLA · Sep 24, 2020

if your truly want another route to take you could look at OMC and the way they plumbed the tube into the drain plug, one would need to be fabricated to fit your application! It has been done before and the best part is you can use a vac. pump to change your oil, or you could add a fitting at the plug for oil changes

ksurfer2 · Oct 26, 2020

I came up with this configuration to check the oil without a dipstick. To remove the tube, a pair of pliers pinches off the bottom of the tube and then the oil from the tube is put back into the motor. As a plus, the Fumoto valve makes draining the oil a whole lot easier as well.

BB BELLA · Oct 26, 2020

great idea! same as dipstick to pan drainplug,but much easier!

MoparDanMan · Oct 26, 2020

ksurfer2 said:
I came up with this configuration to check the oil without a dipstick. To remove the tube, a pair of pliers pinches off the bottom of the tube and then the oil from the tube is put back into the motor. As a plus, the Fumoto valve makes draining the oil a whole lot easier as well.
View attachment 1018945

Conceptually this is an interesting idea.

checking oil level

ksurfer2

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