Oil pan dipstick problem
 

looking at a car I just received in trade. Its not been on a hoist yet and won't be till it gets warmer. Here is the problem, checking the oil, I find the dipstick is broken off. Talked to previous owner, said he just had someone change all fluids. Has no idea how many quarts of oil were installed in pan. Aftermarket oil pan, not sure of capacity. 5,6 or 7 quarts. Its stated to me that its a 383 stroker engine. My question is this, does the oil level remain constant with all pans? I,m going to replace the dipstick and filler tube. Don't know if I should use a 19" or 21" dipstick. I can drain the oil to determine how many quarts were used on the oil change, but don't know if the right amount were added. Once it gets warmer I can get it on a hoist and check to see if the pan has any marking as to manufacturer. Again my main question is, does the oil level remain constant when checking levels no matter what the capacity of the pan is? Any and all suggestions will be appreciated.

How many gallons of fluid does a Gallon Bucket hold?

that was helpful, just what I expected. Thanks

Actually, the easiest way would be to apply a "Tape Measure" and see how much larger the sump of the pan is than a stock one. If the pan is the same width then from the bottom of the front part of the pan (this varies because of the additional clearance needed for the stroker assembly) but the sump dimensions usually doesn't change much. However, if the sump is deeper than a stock one (Measuring from the bottom of the shallow part of the pan) then add a quart per inch. A stock SBC pan is 5 quarts in the sump, generally.

All this goes out the window when you start widening and lengthening the oil pans for a number of reasons, capacity, being one of them . .

Didn't mean to sound like a smart ass but you're just doing basic physics . . Y'know, that's the class we all slept through in High School because we were gearheads and were never gonna need that stuff . .

Thanks for the info Yella brick and Roadkill

PHYSICS ?! I was more into PHYSICALS of those cute females than math and formulas and such. CARS and CHICKS :D :D :D :D :D

Yeah . . Heheheheheheh . . I wish I knew as much about cars and women as I did in 1956 . .

I wouldn't have had nearly as many race cars or wives . .