How much oil from L to notch on dipstick?

[David in San Antonio]

The Wretched Roadster leaks oil so I’m careful to check it at least weekly. Question: How much oil does it take to raise the level from the “L” to the Full notch? Or should it be halfway between? If so, how much oil is that?

[Benson]

Dave,

1quart.

A number of people use 1/2 way between the L and F.

[David in San Antonio]

Benson - Thank you.
Secondary question: How long does it take from the time you pour more oil into the engine before it registers on the dipstick? I presumed it should take very little time, like no more than 30 seconds.

[Marshall V. Daut]

'Want a leaker? Fill the oil pan to the "F" mark. 'Want a fighting chance at limiting leakage from the rear main bearing? Set the oil level halfway between the "F" and "L" mark. The difference between there and the "F" mark is less than 1/2 quart. That will not hurt the Model A engine unless you do a LOT of very steep mountain driving. Then perhaps up to the "F" mark would be safer. But for the majority of us Model A owners, halfway between and "F" and "L" will help reduce oil loss. Back in the day when these cars were new and the owner's manual recommended filling the oil pan to the "F" mark on the dipstick, oil was cheap and oil leakage was no big deal. It was tolerated, if not expected. Look at how driveways were constructed next to houses after the automobile had come to stay in the 1910's and later. That strip of grass between the two cement tire paths was meant to catch dripping oil. Times have changed and we modern creatures go ballistic over a little oil leakage, as if that demeans the quality of our restorations. Ford designed the Model A's rear main to leak a little in order to lubricate the radius rod ball beneath the bell housing. We can reduce that built-in tendency by not over-filling the oil pan.
By the way, if you have stuffed a sock or a scrub pad in the oil filler neck to reduce blow-by or oil spitting, take it out. That contributes to creating pressure inside the crankcase, causing oil to exit through the rear main bearing more than usual. Lots of bad advice like the scrub pad trick appeared in older national Model A magazines from the 1960's and early 1970's. Every little thing you can do to reduce oil leakage will help.
Marshall

[Benson]

Right ... 15 seconds or so should be plenty ...

[Patrick L.]

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Many 'A's' have had dipsticks changed over the decades. So one may not know if theirs is correct or not. Start during an oil change. Add 4 qts and mark/notch the stick. Add another and mark/notch the stick.
Remember not to add all the oil thru the fill tube.

[Benson]

Dip Stick measurements:

V8 and Model A dip sticks

[Oldgearz]

I can't really answer about how long or how much. But I go nuts over "just ignore the F mark and go with less". Henry's engineers didn't know what they were designing? Let it drip!!!!

[David in San Antonio]

Patrick L - If I don’t add all the oil through the fill tube, where? I’m guessing remove the distributor and pour it down that hole. Is this helpful for an oil change, not a brand new engine?

[Patrick L.]

Originally Posted by David in San Antonio

Patrick L - If I don’t add all the oil through the fill tube, where? I’m guessing remove the distributor and pour it down that hole. Is this helpful for an oil change, not a brand new engine?

Well, you really only need to add a quart thru the distributor hole if the tray has been removed/drained. I wasn't thinking, sorry. I'm anal enough to probably be the only one that does that to try and flush old oil out of the tray.

[Big hammer]

Putting oil down the distributor hole adds oil to the valve chamber, the first quart of oil down the filler/breather tube flushes old cruddy oil out of the dipper tray spilling into the oil pan. If you leave the drain pan plug out, the first quart of clean oil will flush out the dirty oil in the tray and down and out of the pan drain. Put the drain plug back in and then install not more than 4 quarts of oil down the filler/ breather tube, I stop at 3 quarts of oil and check the dip stick and it should be at the L ( lower mark on you stick) then I add 1/2 to 1 quart of oil

[David in San Antonio]

Thanks everyone. One of the things I appreciate is a range of reasonable options and points of view.

[WHN]

Full means full and low leans down a quart.

Running any piece of machinery low on oil to keep it from leaking is just not right.

This is the type of fix that has given Model A owners the name Shade Tree Mechanic’s.

If your car has a problems? Fix it right or have it fixed right.

Soap box is out again.

[Y-Blockhead]

Originally Posted by David in San Antonio

Thanks everyone. One of the things I appreciate is a range of reasonable options and points of view.

If none of the above options work, try this...

[KenBolton]

I doubt that first quart fully flushes the oil from the tray. Seems like it would be a 50% dilution.

[nkaminar]

Not recommended by Terry, but on my Burtz engine I drilled a small hole, 3/32 inch, in each dipper tray. That way, when I change the oil, it all comes out, eventually. I let the oil drain for about an hour or more. Modern engines like the Burtz engine do not have dipper trays and the oil leaking out of the rod bearings creates an oil fog to lubricate the pistons and everything else that isn't pressure lubricated. I don't think the small holes keep the tray from filling up with oil when the engine is running. I am pretty sure that the oil gallery drains completely on the Burtz engine. Some modern engines have a little nozzle at each cylinder to assure that the pistons and associated parts get lubricated.

[Rodrelic]

My White Construcktor 855 motor held 5 gallons, add mark was 2 quarts low. Starting out every morning I topped it off, most of 2 quarts Rotella. After a couple weeks, I let it go, and it stayed at add mark. Did not leak & healthy motor, just the nature of the beast.

[Fhane]

I have never seen a notch on a real Model A dipstick. Where is it?

[David in San Antonio]

Funny story about peoples’ superstitions regarding motor oil: A college professor (not in engineering) brought his pristine and aged Volvo to the same mechanic I used. Professor Volvo had the mechanic change the oil every 3,000 miles or 3 months, whichever was sooner. This was overkill based on the very light duty the pampered Volvo experienced. He then switched to Mobil 1 100% synthetic oil but insisted on sticking to the same 3k / 3 month oil change regimen. The mechanic patiently explained why it wasn’t necessary, and that he was just wasting money. This went on for a year and the mechanic hit upon a bright idea to drive the point home. He drained the guy’s Mobil 1 into a separate container and carefully removed the used oil filter. He then used the “old” oil and “old” filter in his own Volvo! Well, this failed to convince Professor Volvo, who stuck to his guns. If he’s still alive I imagine he’s supplying free Mobil 1 and filters to the mechanic to this day.

[Synchro909]

Originally Posted by David in San Antonio

Funny story about peoples’ superstitions regarding motor oil: A college professor (not in engineering) brought his pristine and aged Volvo to the same mechanic I used. Professor Volvo had the mechanic change the oil every 3,000 miles or 3 months, whichever was sooner. This was overkill based on the very light duty the pampered Volvo experienced. He then switched to Mobil 1 100% synthetic oil but insisted on sticking to the same 3k / 3 month oil change regimen. The mechanic patiently explained why it wasn’t necessary, and that he was just wasting money. This went on for a year and the mechanic hit upon a bright idea to drive the point home. He drained the guy’s Mobil 1 into a separate container and carefully removed the used oil filter. He then used the “old” oil and “old” filter in his own Volvo! Well, this failed to convince Professor Volvo, who stuck to his guns. If he’s still alive I imagine he’s supplying free Mobil 1 and filters to the mechanic to this day.

I love it and it reminds me of an article I read very recently where after the Nazi invasion of France, management at Citroen, the French car maker, like nearly all French hated the Nazis and resolved to sabotage the trucks the Nazis forced them to make for them. It was a genius move that caused the trucks' engines to seize somewhere, sometime after they left the factory so that the sabotage was never detected. Citroen simply moved the "full" mark on the dipstick down so that there was minimal oil in the engine. At some time, they knew the oil level would drop far enough to destroy the engine.