i am pretty sure that i have the wrong oil dipstick in the car. how would i go about to find out exactly how big my oil pan is. I've been putting 5 1/2 qt in it at everyoil change and it loooks fine but i just want to be sure.
As far as I know, the pans are the same capacity. There may have been a windage problem in the '67 that was cured by filling it less in '68. I would assume, also, that this would require a slightly longer dipstick in '68. If anyone has a stock '67 and a stock '68 car, this would be an interesting thing to look into. (Banshee, you've got at least one of each, right?)
I recall that during the oil embargo in the mid '70s, oil filter sizes were cut in half to save on the amount oil put into cars as they were leaving the factory. I doubt this was considered as a strategy in '68, though.
the motor has been taken to a shop and has been worked and re-built is it possible that it could be a 5qt? i've been putting in 5qt and haven't had a problem. but do they make 5qt pans for the pontiacs?
The most likely occurance is that since we have a two piece dipstick tube, that the tube, when repositioned in the block, was not set quite right, and there for will give you the impropper reading. (That is very common, and easy to do... don't ask me how I know)
So what I do is change the oil and filter, fill hert up, let it settle for a while, and then check the level. (make a new mark if you need to) and then you know where it tops off at. Anywhere from 5 - 6 quarts will be ok, but the proper amount is obviously better!
How is the car doing by the way? If you have a chance, can you post a link to some pix of your car, and hood etc... I'm sure some of the guys here would like to see it! It's some nice work!
On the "service chart" I have that the gas stations used in 'those' days , it states Pontiac Firebird 1967-69 "service at time or mileage-whichever comes first
ev. 4 mo. or 6,000 miles ( oil filter , replace at first oil change and every second oil change there after. On 400 RamAir engine, filter loosened and tightened from under the car, lifted out and installed from under the hood.)
Crankcase, 1968-69 SE,SD API service motor oil , 1967 SE,SD,SC API service motor oil 5 qts except 1967 8 cyl.,6 qts and 1969 6 cyl 4.5 qts add extra 3/4 - 1 qt when replacing filter...
above +20F, 20W-20, 10W-30, 10W-40,20W-4-, 20W-50* 0 F- +60F, 10W,5W-30,10W-30, 10W-40* below +20F,5W-20,5W-30* * 30 may be used abv +40F,5W-20 is not recommended for sustained high speeds.All RamAir and H.O. engines, 30 or 10W-40 all temperatures.
maybe this will tell the tale... of course its 'aftermkt' station service ,not dlrship...
OK guys, I'm lost! I have had unmolested, meaing factory assembled, engines and all of them had 5 quart capacity. (It wasn't that they were sludged up, displacing oil volume.) My 69 service manual doesn't give oil capicity.
I cannot be positive because I don't have the book at my house, but I have a 1970 Motor's Manual--an excllent book--and I'm almost positive that it lists capicity as a total of 5 quarts. If I can remember to fish it out of wherever it is, I'll check the Motor's Manual.
5 quart total gives me an exact full reading. A few drops more will cause an overfull reading. I know that lots of you guys are running factory headers, and the oil adaptors would add to the volume.
How many other guys are get a full reading at 5 quarts?
Amervo, is that w/ or w/o filter change? I get 5 w/o, 6 w. according to the chart , have`nt really kept that close of an eye on it before....just keep adding until it reads full....lol (and no headers.... adapter)
Bjorn: That's 5 quarts with a filter. Even with virgin (well, reborn virgins) engines, 5 quarts puts the oil at exactly full on the stick.
My 2001 Cadillac STS takes exactly 7 quarts and 24 ounces (who the heck ever invented that number? Does that equal out to an even liter unit?) with the filter. On earlier cars, however, Ford/Chrysler/GM all seem to take 5 quarts with the filter.
Later on, many engines, even the little ones, took about 5 & 1/2. Now a days, there is no telling what oil capacity they take. Then again, I'm kinda' rusty on what's what in the last decade and a half.
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