Crankshaft won't be in contact with oil when it is running there will 3 plus quarts floating around the engine block when it is running. You would actually be shocked to see how little oil is in the sump when an engine is running.

 

I drained some out. Leaving it still a little bit above the safe line just for good measure- but nowhere near as high as it was

 

I tend to believe you're right there. But not with absolute certainty, so why not just do it correctly. When I built my 302, I knew how much oil the aftermarket pan held, but I had to mark the dipstick myself. So I took measurements from the bottom of the crank to the pan mating surface, added the gasket thickness, then put the oil in the pan and measured to the top of the oil (pan tilted). The rear counterweight was only about 1" into the oil. And I know that at least a couple of quarts are going to be out of the sump while the pump is working. But I still wouldn't risk having two extra quarts in the pan. We know there's nothing wrong with having the oil at the prescribed level, so I'd get my old butt under the truck and drain off the extra two quarts..

 

That's what I'd do. Call me paranoid.

 

A couple of quarts up in the engine try closer to 4. You are lucky to have over a quart at speed in the pan in a stock pan and as engine RPM increases the volume in the pan decreases further.

The OP asked if there was any issue with it being over the amount it is.

The answer is NO there is no issue at all. The 460/429 is supposed to take 6 quarts with a filter change regardless. One more quart is not going to make any difference. The absolute worst thing that will happen is the engine will burn off what it is overfilled. Unless the OP is going to be spinning the big block at 5000 rpm in a road race he has absolutely zero to worry about.

 

Mat, you have my blessing to put all the oil you want into your engine.

 

I already call myself that haha.

ps- I’m running straight 40 as recommended by the guy who did the rebuild. Any opinion on that?

 

thanks Matt. Definitely a relief to hear this

 

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That's the difference when you actually know what is ok and when you have to guess is ok you do not need anyone's blessing. So thanks, but save it for those that need it.

 

If you are in the southern US and never see temps below 50°F or only race it then you can get away with it. But if you do see temps below that switch to a good 5w40. Mobile 1 TDT (Turbo Diesel Truck) or Rotella T6 are good choices and both have more than enough ZDDP content to replenish established wear surface tribolfilms in street use without needing a ZDDP additive.

 

unrelated to the quote- but here’s the level after about a hundred miles of driving today.

 

Looks like she seems quite happy on 7qts.
If you had excessive oil in the pan the engine would burn it down as the excess would be flung on the cylinder walls by the crank, thus overwhelming the oil control rings, and get sucked into the cylinder on the intake stroke then blown out the tailpipe post-combustion in the exhaust stroke.

 

I'm sorry..... BUT, I am with the "don't overfill your engine with oil" crowd....

I have been told this for years and all the 'old school" folks I know have always adamantly said, "DO NOT OVER FILL"....

These engines were designed to run efficiently with the factory prescribed amount of oil..... maybe that is why there is an OIL LEVEL shown on the dip stick.....

I agree 100% with Mike.....
Maybe I'm paranoid but better safe than sorry.

my $.02 on that subject.

 

Nice to see you trust Ford that much, but after being an engineer with them back in the day I know better. So you can blindly follow what the dipstick says, but I'll take actual knowledge over the dipstick any day.
And just so you are aware Ford had more than one instance of not stamping dipsticks correctly for the proper oil fill levels, either through error or on purpose.

Generally, you can spot messed with oil fill level dipsticks quite easily as the dipstick will have the full and safe marks right at the very very bottom of the dipstick so the "ADD" barely fits, much like the OP's.

See what engineering tells the company SHOULD be done and what actually ends up being done are not always the same thing.

But looking at it from the bean counters' perspective, you are building 250,000 trucks a year for the NA market, if you can reduce the quantity of oil in each engine by a quart, that's 62,500 gallons of motor oil each year the company does not have to buy, very substantial savings in production costs.

Later on Ford started putting a Max mark (actually the real full mark) on the dipsticks which typically was 1 quart over the hash marks. Most all the SBF trucks in the 80's have dipsticks that read at the top hash marks with 5 quarts but all the service literature and OM's call for 6 quarts which put the oil level at the max mark on the dipstick or one quart above the hash marks. I bet you can guess where they were filled too when they left the factory.
Oh and just as an FYI the 429 CJ had dipsticks marked for 7 quarts full while the pedestrian 2BBL and 4BBL 429's and 460's that used the exact same oil pan had dip sticks marked for 6 quarts full.

So ya do not just blindly believe the dipstick without some education behind it, especially with Ford.

 

I have exactly the same problem and concern. Was told the engine takes 7qts. I use 20w50 with high zinc. My dipstick looked about the same as yours. I changed the oil and only put in 6qts. Still reads considerably over the high end of the dipstick. I realize being 3qts over is bad, but so is being 2qts under. I have gone less than 100 miles on it, but oil pressure is 80 when cold 60-65 when running. What @matthewq4b is saying, so far makes the most sense to me. I am going to stick to 6qts for the moment. I would rather be 1 over than 2 low.