FE oil capacity??

[ForingaMex]

Hi all,
I read the writeup in the tech articles about the dipsticks and tubes today which also mentions different size oil pans. It states in the article that if you put the wrong dipstick for the tube it could show full when in reality you could be about 2 quarts low or too heigh. I've always thought that 5 quarts of oil in my 390 seem kind of little for a big engine. This makes me think if I have something like that. Is there a part # on the outside of the oil pan somewhere or how do I know what kind of oil pan I have. Or is 5 quarts oil correct? I did a search in the forums and didn't find an answer to my questions.
I would really appreciat any info on this or even some pictures.
Jake

[fordman]

whats the link to this write up you read? they use abotu 5-6 quarts aproximately. 5 1/2 sometimes.

[ForingaMex]

Thanks for the reply, this is what I was reffering to. http://www.fordification.com/tech/dipstick.htm

[fordman]

the fe 2wd stock oil pan dipstick is 18 inches long from the tip to the bottm of the dipstick tube cap on the dip stick. 352 360 390 with the exhaust mounted dipstick tube. i dont know abotu the front head dip stick tube. i have never actually seen one in person to measure it.

[ForingaMex]

That helps some but acording to the picture in the thread I linked to above, some of the dipsticks have the
(add >I I<full) marks closer to the end than others and that would show the wrong oil level. I would also need know the length of the dipstick tube. Do you know what I need to look for to know for sure that I have the correct oil pan?

[ForingaMex]

Thank a lot for the reply Keith.
If 5 quarts is correct for my 390 than I won't worry about it as it is almost completely stock. I have thought about modifing my own pan by cutting the bottom out of the rear portion of the pan and adding a piece from a different pan so that it would be the same depth all the way from front to back. Exactly like that picture. From the weld it looks like that exactly what they have done, just modify a stock pan. I guess I would need to put a bafle across the middle of the pan so the oil couldn't just rush to the back during accleration if I was going to use the stock oil pickup. Is my thinking correct? I really trust what you have to say, you know your stuff.
One more reason for wanting to modify my pan is to relocate the drain pug. I don't like that it's on top of the crossmember and... you know what happens during oil changes. Yep, oil running all over the crossmember.
Alteast I'm not worried about the oil capacity anymore,
Thanks again.
Jake

[FORDification]

Don't reinvent the wheel. Just find yourself a full-sump pan from an FT engine in a medium-duty truck (F600), and make sure you get the dipstick tube, special oil pump pickup and main cap stud for holding it. It'll fit fine, bolt on with no modifications, and you can probably find one in a salvage yard very inexpensively.

[fireguywtc]

My 352 always read full at 4 quarts including the oil filter. Over the years of me owning it I tried adding more and it would read over full. I became afraid to overfill it at all when a person had told me I could do more damage then good if the oil is overfull. When I had the motor rebuilt in late 99, the person that rebuilt it assured me that everything was normal and stock the way it was, including the dip stick. The time I found this most emberassing was when my dad had bought a Geo Metro with the small 3 cylinder and it took 5 quarts of oil to change
I don't know if this was the casue of my engine problems casusing the crank to move forward and contact the block, but I as sure it didn't help either. I know one thing for sure, with my next engine, I am going to make sure I have an increased oil capacity for my peace of mind.

[ForingaMex]

Don't reinvent the wheel. Just find yourself a full-sump pan from an FT engine in a medium-duty truck (F600)

I'll try that but I think it's not going to be easy to find something with an FT engine in the yards around here. Because of the rust problems the vehicles don't last long here and most of the older ones are long gone.
Thank you anyway, I'm going to try that.
Jake