Hi all,

I've been looking for an original dipstick for my 62 Dart and stumbled across one in a V8 D100 pickup. I was going to cut it down, but realized the 17 3/4" I have photos on is not right for my engine. My snapped dipstick is still at 17 3/4" and is not touching the oil even with it's snapped off end. There are 5 quarts in the engine.

When I run the longer dip stick into the engine (it's about 28 3/4") and bottom it out in the oil pan (aka eight inches is still out of the top of the dip stick tube) my oil level is in the middle of the marks.

My questions here are:

1. Are the ends of all dip sticks calibrated the same? 2 1/2" to add and 3 1/2" to full?

2. Does anyone know the length of a 62 Dart dip stick?

Paul

Paul

Sounds like the early dart stuff had some variations, and they are uncommon, so it is not easy to find something to compare to.

I do not know if all dipsticks are calibrated the same. I would choose to believe that they are not all the same, and set about calibrating your replacement so you know where full is.

Then at the next oil change, put in one quart less, wait 24 hours and mark the "low" level.

Also I do not believe you want the dipstick to be touching the floor of the oil pan, so keeping it 1/2 inch above the bottom would be my strategy. After all, you are using it to measure where the top of the oil level is, so you know there is enough oil in the engine.

I had to make a proper dipstick on two different engines. I found a donor stick that would fit the tube and the top would seal to the tube, and purposely bought it far too long for my needs. Then I cut down the stick until it exactly would seat fully while touching the bottom of the pan. Then I cut off another 1/4".

Next, I did an oil and filter change, but only added 4 quarts of oil. Ran the engine for a bit and let it sit for a few minutes and took an oil reading. I scribed that line with an awl, and then added another quart of oil, took another reading, and made another mark with the awl. That gave me the two low-and-full marks. This is easy-peasy stuff...

Excellent How to.

That's how I would do it. There's no reason a v8 junkyard stick wouldn't work for this as well.

Greg

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