Lokar dipstick

[Darrman]

I developed a nice blow out leak in my dipstick, made quite a mess, and have since replaced it with a lokar dipstick, non locking. I noticed right away that the new is not as long as the original by one inch, the original being 19 and the new being 18. Not sure why, the fit on the new was perfect. I backtracked the part numbers on the new and its the right one.
The original one was not original to the engine, I picked it up at a junkyard, as the engine builder lost the true original stick. So I dont know for sure if its correct for my 390.
I lost quite a bit of oil, to be safe I added a whole quart, as I drove it a few times waiting on the new part to arrive. With the quart added it registers to the add section on the new dipstick, so I am not sure if I am low or not. I know the best way to check is to change the oil, but I just did, less than 200 miles on a Mobil One synthetic, pretty expensive.
So, any thoughts or ideas?
Thanks!

[fordman]

i had one that i sold to a guy on the forums that was 18 inches. it was a stock dipstick. there was a thread abotu the stock dipsticks being wrong. and i cant remember where it is or what was wrong abou them. but it could have had something to do with length or markings on the stick itself. hopefully soemone will remember and clear this up.

[cdeal28078]

I think I would get a used one from a yard and while there measure the tube also making sure it is the same was what is on your engine.
What caused the oil loss? Did oil come out of the dip stick tube? I have had that happen on a couple of engines after a rebuild due to wrong PCV valves.
clint

[robroy]

Good day Darrman,

I'm also using the Lokar dipstick on my FE. I'm using part number ED-5012. There are some photos in Which after market dip stick is best for an FE?

The Lokar 'stick is very nice looking and seems to be well made! Yet I've been experiencing two symptoms with it, one of which is identical to your description:

• The Lokar 'stick seems to read about a quart low when the engine's at its proper capacity.
• The Lokar 'stick tends to ride up on to the windage tray unless it's inserted rather carefully, at a particular angle, to avoid this.

I've been focusing on other things with the truck but will ultimately need to address this. I already consulted with my engine builder, Tom Lucas at FE Specialties in Sacramento, and heard that the windage tray issue is super common for all FEs, and that a OEM dipstick style might help me to avoid that issue.

I haven't heard from him regarding the oil level reading specifically so far, but I'm planning on asking him about that.

It's actually nice to know that I'm not insane and that at least one other guy out there is seeing this same thing!!!

Robroy