I recently purchased a 1952 Ford F1, with the 215 ci inline 6 and a heavy duty three speed transmission. It runs well, and I'm easing into a routine to keep on top of it. I check the oil weekly, because it ,like many others its age, tends to leak a bit. For what its worth, I topped it off earlier this week.

I decided to give it an oil change today; the first for the truck since I've owned it, and the first time for me to play mechanic in a few decades.

I was concerned to find that I drained what I thought was a quart of oil, maybe two, ONLY. I made a mental note and continued. I also replaced the filter, but little came out of it.

I installed the new filter, and began to fill, stopping after each quart to check the dipstick. Much to my surprise, but consistent with the drain, the dipstick read full after two quarts.

I drained the new oil, left the filter in place, and removed the oil pan. I expected to find it full of sludge, but found very little sludge. After cleaning the pan though, it occurred to me that this pan appeared to be the victim of some sort of blunt force trauma...the section of the pan closest to the drain plug, dip stick, and back of the engine appeared to be pushed in; no holes, just damage that may account for at least some of the oil volume.

I decided that I should put the pan back in, fill the engine per the service manual (5 quarts) then mark the dip stick.

I did that. After replenishing oil, I set it in the drive to idle. After a few minutes, it began to blow blue smoke. This truck has never smoked since I've had it. I immediately shut it off.

Am I wrong in thinking that I can still keep 5 quarts with the damaged oil pan?

My plan is to drain the oil into a clean container, then replace all but 1 quart of it, and see if the engine settles out and smoke goes away. If it continues to smoke, wash rinse repeat.

I'd appreciate any insight and advise that you all would be willing to share with me.

Regards,

Bob

 

So you have the right dipstick? What part number is stamped on it?

How bad is the pan dented up? A replacement may be inorder.

 

I could not find a number on the dip stick. It measures 16” from measuring tip to top of finger hook. The parts manual mentions 16” in its description for the stick for a ‘52 215 ci engine.

does anyone sell a new replacement?

thanks!

 

It would take a mighty big dent to reduce the volume of the pan by a quart; can you post a picture of it? Was there any damage to the suction screen or pickup tube?

 

Are you sure you have the correct oil pan on it?

 

The suction screen appeared intact and undamaged.

Here are a couple of pictures…



it’s difficult to see in the last picture, but there are two distinct indents that are inline with a subtle crease in the area between the drain trough and the tranny side of the pan. I didn’t notice it until I had the pan out.

thanks.

 

DTurk, no, I am not sure itis the right pan.

thanks.

 

I have an original 52 215 I6 engine. Here are some pics of the oil pan:



I'd say your pan looks pretty correct, and it looks too like it would hold more than 2 quarts of oil.

The dip stick is 16 inches long. From the tip of the stick to the full mark, is 3.5 inches, and the stick extends 8.5 inches into the tube and motor.

Good luck.

Jim

 

Thanks Jim! What I have looks similar to yours in shape.

Do you run yours, and if yes, how much oil did you fill it with?

I followed the shop manual, 5 + 1 quarts, I only put 5 quarts in, but mine behaves like that is too much; it now makes blue smoke.

Thanks again,

Bob

 

I'm embarrassed to say, but I have a shop change oil and grease the many fittings--so I don't really know for sure how much oil my engine takes. How does your dip stick compare to the description of mine?

Jim

 

Hi Jim,

Here is a picture of the dipstick,,,

Overall length as you described, but my "FULL" line is 2" lower than yours.
Now, the confusing part. I checked my level, and its about 1/2" above the FULL mark. Yesterday, I observed half-way to full after 2 quarts (or did I).
I just emptied the pan, and got a little under 4 quarts out of it. Makes sense, I filled with 5 ish quarts (I spilled about a 1/2 pints). 1 quart give or take in the filter, leaves 4 quarts.
I'm going to fill, again. a quart at a time, and observe the level on the stick to verify.
Still troubling, why the blue smoke?

 

There's been a lot of talk about length of dipstick, but that's only half of the equation. What's the length of the dip stick tube? If the tube is too short, even if the stick is correct, the stick will go down too far and read full before you're full.

 

52 Merc - There is no dipstick tube...not to say there wasn't one.


This image shows the dipstick.

dipstick removed.

The shop manual doesn't have much detail beyond pointing to the dipstick. The description for the callout number (6750) mentions only a 16" dipstick.
Looking at the picture of Jim's (USCGPanel) engine in the message above, there doesn't appear to be much of a tube.
I wish I could get a pic from the same perspective on my engine, but my arms aren't long enough.

Thanks for your input,
Bob

 

As you can see, there is just a bit of a tube for the dipstick right next the oil filter canister. It measures only about 7/8's of an inch. The dipstick extends just a bit more than 8 1/2 inches into the engine.

Here's a pic of the dipstick:

 

That tube has traces through my Ford part books under various part numbers and falls out of Ford's documentation in the mid-late 80s.:

9N-6754
9N-7020
B8A-6754-B

Roughly described as an Oil Level Indicator Tube with a .375" OD and a length of 1.420"

A commercial source: https://fixthatford.com/oil-indicator-tube-9n7020.html