400 oil capacity
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From: toledo oh
400 oil capacity
this has been a topic before and cant find it again. i have a 400 in my 78. i cant remember what the oil capacity says its supposed to be, but that when you fill it to spec. it still doesnt show on the dip stick. so how much oil does one of these beasts need to have in it?
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From: horton, ks
agreed. had a 79 f150 4x with a 400 that took 6 to 61/2qts with filter. just depended on how long i waited for the oil to drain in the crankcase and my patience
. should be 6qts with filter factory but you never know.
. should be 6qts with filter factory but you never know.
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From: toledo oh
yea jbgs book says 6 quarts, but hardly even reads on the dip stick, and was the same out of the old 400 i had in it before it died. ill just keep it at 6 1/2 qts and call it good ha
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Oil Issues (both capacity and pressure)
Howdy folks,
I am finishing up a '79 clean up with a 400m. I have been having super low oil pressure with a mechanical gauge (pegging 0 at idle after warm, but rising with RPMs) and lost the dipstick somewhere along the restoration. Right now I have 6-1/2 quarts of 10w40 in it and then half a quart of Lucas Oil. The Lucas brought my startup oil pressure up. I have no idea what the capacity is. I have seen so many different numbers, from 5-1/2 to 9 quarts. It is a 2wd and the oil pan looks nice and normal. Would love any suggestions or help. Thanks!
I am finishing up a '79 clean up with a 400m. I have been having super low oil pressure with a mechanical gauge (pegging 0 at idle after warm, but rising with RPMs) and lost the dipstick somewhere along the restoration. Right now I have 6-1/2 quarts of 10w40 in it and then half a quart of Lucas Oil. The Lucas brought my startup oil pressure up. I have no idea what the capacity is. I have seen so many different numbers, from 5-1/2 to 9 quarts. It is a 2wd and the oil pan looks nice and normal. Would love any suggestions or help. Thanks!
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Grumpy goat
Joined: May 2017
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Yep, 79 owner's manual says 6 quarts for 400, 4wd. With oil and filter change, mine takes 7 quarts to get in on the mark.
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Howdy folks,
I am finishing up a '79 clean up with a 400m. I have been having super low oil pressure with a mechanical gauge (pegging 0 at idle after warm, but rising with RPMs) and lost the dipstick somewhere along the restoration. Right now I have 6-1/2 quarts of 10w40 in it and then half a quart of Lucas Oil. The Lucas brought my startup oil pressure up. I have no idea what the capacity is. I have seen so many different numbers, from 5-1/2 to 9 quarts. It is a 2wd and the oil pan looks nice and normal. Would love any suggestions or help. Thanks!
I am finishing up a '79 clean up with a 400m. I have been having super low oil pressure with a mechanical gauge (pegging 0 at idle after warm, but rising with RPMs) and lost the dipstick somewhere along the restoration. Right now I have 6-1/2 quarts of 10w40 in it and then half a quart of Lucas Oil. The Lucas brought my startup oil pressure up. I have no idea what the capacity is. I have seen so many different numbers, from 5-1/2 to 9 quarts. It is a 2wd and the oil pan looks nice and normal. Would love any suggestions or help. Thanks!
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He said his is a two-wheel drive. Does that make any difference? Or is a 400 a 400 and no matter what chassis, it's still 6+ quarts?
Did the 2wd trucks come with 400's from the factory? If not it might be a car pan, if that's different (which they usually were back then) and the dipstick is in the front of the block vs the pan?
thedanflan, is the engine rebuilt or are you running it as-is and you're just cleaning up the truck itself?
If it's an older engine, that low pressure could be legit. Be nice to run that mechanical gauge on another vehicle just to verify the pressure readings though. Big pain in the butt, but would be nice to have some sort of confirmation that the gauge is reading properly.
Good luck.
Paul
Did the 2wd trucks come with 400's from the factory? If not it might be a car pan, if that's different (which they usually were back then) and the dipstick is in the front of the block vs the pan?
thedanflan, is the engine rebuilt or are you running it as-is and you're just cleaning up the truck itself?
If it's an older engine, that low pressure could be legit. Be nice to run that mechanical gauge on another vehicle just to verify the pressure readings though. Big pain in the butt, but would be nice to have some sort of confirmation that the gauge is reading properly.
Good luck.
Paul
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Joined: Jul 2018
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He said his is a two-wheel drive. Does that make any difference? Or is a 400 a 400 and no matter what chassis, it's still 6+ quarts?
Did the 2wd trucks come with 400's from the factory? If not it might be a car pan, if that's different (which they usually were back then) and the dipstick is in the front of the block vs the pan?
thedanflan, is the engine rebuilt or are you running it as-is and you're just cleaning up the truck itself?
If it's an older engine, that low pressure could be legit. Be nice to run that mechanical gauge on another vehicle just to verify the pressure readings though. Big pain in the butt, but would be nice to have some sort of confirmation that the gauge is reading properly.
Good luck.
Paul
Did the 2wd trucks come with 400's from the factory? If not it might be a car pan, if that's different (which they usually were back then) and the dipstick is in the front of the block vs the pan?
thedanflan, is the engine rebuilt or are you running it as-is and you're just cleaning up the truck itself?
If it's an older engine, that low pressure could be legit. Be nice to run that mechanical gauge on another vehicle just to verify the pressure readings though. Big pain in the butt, but would be nice to have some sort of confirmation that the gauge is reading properly.
Good luck.
Paul
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