Ok, I have the 66 dart 270 sedan, 225ci. I have the original stock Oil Dipstick and tube.
When i first got the car it had the wrong dipstick on it, it had a 1990s Toyota dipstick of all things.

Anyhow when I had the engine rebuilt, he swapped out the oil filter holder with one that does not have the Spear in it. Now when I check my oil, and change my oil, I never seem to be able to get more than about 4.25 qts in it before it says FULL on the dipstick. Should I be putting 5 Qts in and re-mark the dipstick? Is it showing more oil than usual due to the non-spear oil filter holder? I mean in theory when I stop my car all the oil drains into the pan now. If it had the Spear, then wouldnt the filter retain about 1qt, and not drain back into the pan??

HELP>>>>

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66 dodge dart 270, 225ci, 3.7l, L6

Sounds like he replaced the oil pump. That's where the filter screws on. The "spear" is called a standoff, and if you use a filter with an integral anti-drainback valve, it doesn't matter if it's missing. Someone more knowledgeable than me can tell you which filter to use.

Ok, so you have the original dipstick installed now? Are you sure it's original? There were a few different length tubes over the years. I could see the missing standoff/drainback valve causing the discrepancy you describe, if the Full mark is assuming there's .75 qts held up in the filter.

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Somehow I ended up owning three 1964 slant six A-bodies. I race one of them.
Escape Velocity Racing

This is really not that critical. Next time you change the oil and filter, make sure to have the car on a level surface and completely drain the oil and remove the filter. Then, install a new good quality filter (like a WIX 51515, equivalent to a Fram PH8A, but don't use Fram). Then pour in 5 quarts of fresh oil. Start the engine and let it run for a few minutes. Shut the engine off, wait 5 or more minutes, and check the oil.

Wherever the oil mark is at that point, that will be your correct "FULL" mark. You can mark this by scraping it with the edge of a flat file.

Plenty of factory dipsticks, even IF you have the correct one, are not marked exactly.

With all of this said, you can run it about 0.5-1 qt low and be fine (unless you are doing hard cornering or braking), or at least 1 qt high and be fine.

Hope this helps,

Lou

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