31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

Should I drain some out so that it equals full, or just leave it?

I did an oil change and put in 5 quarts. The oil is about 3/4 in above the full mark.

After reading some oil threads it looks like I should have put in 4 or 4.5 quarts.

So, is the correct amount 4 or 4.5? I do not have a filter.

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

Make sure your checking it on level ground.
Yes put it at the full mark, some run less than that to cover up oil leaks and rear main problems....

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

Well you have a choice you can try to drain a quart or you can clean it up off of the garage floor. Any extra oil will leak from the rear main. It will find a happy level.

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

To drain a quart, have someone tightly cover the oil fill tube while you loosen the oil drain plug. But, this could be messy. You are not the only one who's done this at least once or twice.

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

Instead of trying to drain out one quart, drain all the oil out into a clean drain pan and then put 4 quarts of that oil back in, check the level on the dipstick and adjust as necessary.

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

Leave it. It takes 5 but only about 4.5 come out when you drain it. 1/2 over will do no harm

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

Likely will save a big mess. Add four quarts and check and run the engine a little while. Then check the level the next morning after it has all drained down, Wayne

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

3/4" over the full line sounds like quite a bit for adding 5 quarts instead of 4 1/2 quarts.
Is there any chance the oil pan has a lot of sludge, or have you cleaned it?

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

No I have not cleaned the oil pan. The engine has about 1,500 miles on a rebuild. I would only "assume" they cleaned it.

I just checked it again after a 50 mile ride. More like 1/2 inch over the full mark.

I like Katy's method of fixing it, and will do it that way.

So, is the correct amount 4 or 4.5. I guess I will start with 4 and slowly see when it stops on full.

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

The pan would be clean with only 1,500 miles on a rebuild.
I use 4 quarts for an oil change because I buy it in a gallon jug.

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

I have to disagree. Put five qts in if the engine is newly rebuilt and has not yet had oli added. After that initial fill, only four qts should be added at oil change. Excessive oil will be pushed out the rear main, an unnecessary waste and mess.

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

I've wondered in the past whether all Model A dip sticks, especially repro, have the fill line in the correct place. My Model A takes five quarts to reach the "F" . What is the proper distance on the dip stick from the tip of the loop down the stick to the proper fill mark?

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

http://fordbarn.com/forum/showthread...ipstick+length

Do a search "oil dipstick length". All sorts of info pops up to answer your question

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

So, would this make any difference with anything? Is it the correct dipstick?

I have a 29 engine with a 30 style dipstick.

Dipstick is 7-15/16 inches.

1 and 1/2 inches to the top of the F mark.

1/4 inch to the L mark.

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

Tom, I might have been wrong about my sludge. I just drained the oil into a clean pan, I did an oil change about 200 miles ago.

I had about a 1/2 inch of sludge built up on the top of my drain plug in 200 miles.

The previous owner and me have been using non detergent oil.

1: Should I be using a different "non sludge" producing oil? If so, what is recommended.

2: I am going to pull the pan and see what is in there. Besides an oil pan gasket, is there anything else I should get? What is the best pan gasket?

3: Once the pan is off is there anything else I could/should do?

I have read many past threads on types of oils synthetic vs non, and pan gaskets.

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

Hey old31,
X-2 on katy advice:).
As an extra 'bonus' to doing it this way, after 1500 mi, when you drain it all, the entire contents can then be closely looked at for evidence of what has been going on during the 1500 mi. Any silver flecks and iron chips, etc will tell you good, bad and/or ?

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

That's a lot of sludge for such a low mileage engine. I wouldn't recommend no detergent oil for anything except an air compressor.

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

1500 miles and an 1/2 inch of sludge....wow... Some rebuild job

Make sure you run a thermostat to heat the engine up better

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

In this day and age why would anyone want to run non-detergent oil? It was used "back in the day" because that's all there was. IIRC detergent oil came out in the late '50s, correct me ifn I'm wrong.

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

"The previous owner and me have been using non detergent oil."

big mistake

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

I can't see it building up 1/2 " of sludge in 1500 miles with non detergent oil

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

If that is the case, then would I be correct in guessing it is running very, very rich and/or the rings are not yet seated?

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

And would probably have a crankcase full of fuel

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

To check for sludge you could drain the oil and use an Allen wrench or wire bent into an L shape, then stick it inside the drain hole and spin it to scrape the pan bottom and see if it picks up any sludge.

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

using non detergent oil would allow sludge to settle into the oil plug cavity. When you say 1/2 inch you mean the drain plug was full of sludge. I don't see how you could remove the plug with a 1/2 inch of sludge resting on top? I wouldn't pull the pan just replace the oil with detergent oil and change it 200-500 miles and monitor the sludge.

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

If you do pull the pan, definitely start using detergent oil.
I doubt you will find any slug in the pan, but if you do, then you should check out the valve chamber also.

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

This is the advice I got in 1956 when I got my first Model A. It worked then and will work now.

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

Ya, the sludge just kind of piled up on the top of the plug.

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

Follow up:

I drained out the non detergent oil. Filled it up using Mobil 1 15/50.

This is what the quantities looked like on the dipstick.

1 quart = 0 reading
1 and 1/2 quarts = 1/8 inch from bottom of stick
2 quarts = Bottom of "L"
2 and 1/2 quarts = 3/4 inch up stick
3 quarts = 7/8 of and inch, about half way up
3 and 1/2 quarts = 1 and 1/8 inch up
4 quarts = Botton of "F"
4 and 1/4 quarts = top of "F"

So, at my original 5 quarts I was 3/4 of a quart too much.

This winter I will pull the pan and see how it looks.

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

Follow up to the follow up.

Just came back from a 20 mile ride and the oil drips are a fraction of what I had with the 5 quarts non detergent.

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

Follow up:

I pulled the pan because of the oil leaks. The pan was pretty clean with little sludge. I ordered the Snyders oil pan kit.

I will be redoing it because it is leaking as bad or maybe worse. Not sure what happened. I used dabs of Permatex 2 where the gaskets met in the corners. I did not use any sealant on the rail gaskets. ANY TIPS?

With so much written about the oil pump falling out, and finding bolts to hold them in. What am I missing (besides brain cells) I grew up in the 60's.

I left the pump attached and never removed it. So, why cant you use the same bolt that holds the pump in if you chose to remove the pump? Some have said to use Snyders A-6621-R pump retainer, or other types of hardware store bolts.

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

Where was the oil leaking from?

Oil pump likely stuck in place. Should you decide to remove it, just side load it with a wire loop until you get a few oil pan bolts started then pull the wire loop and continue with oil pan installation.

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

If you need to remove some oil from a sump there are some great vacuum pumps available that do the job cleanly and efficiently. Much better than trying to drain off a bit of oil or refilling the sump with most of the oil that you drained.
http://i1370.photobucket.com/albums/...pssok0sfzi.jpg

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

No bolt holds the pump in place. The spring at the bottom of the pump holds it until you lower the pan. Make sure the spring doesn't have any rust pits, or it might snap while in use.

The side of the block should have a 1/8" pipe plug with a screwdriver slot.

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

Don't put a bolt into that 1/8" pipe plug hole! It's a pipe thread and a standard bolt will mess up the threads. When I have to hold the pump in position when installing the pan, I use a Phillips head screwdriver or a drift punch wedged throguh the hole and between the frame and the pump.

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

Unless I'm missing something, that sounds right.

When the oil pan is removed/installed then 5 qts are required. During a normal oil change 4- 4 1/4 qts are then needed. The dip tray and valve chamber holds 1/2-3/4 qt.

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

Isn't this bolt used to hold up the oil pump? I was able to remove the bolts on the bottom of the pump and removed and cleaned the pump screen, and the oil pump remained up.

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

It depends on what the other end looks like and how long it is. It looks as though it is a pipe plug used to replace the original, but, needs to be removed and looked at to be sure. It could also have been made to hold up the pump when the pan was previously removed/installed and just not removed as it should have been. But, as has been said, the oil pump is not to be held up under normal usage by anything but the spring under the pump.

Re: 31 Deluxe Roadster too much oil, should I drain some?
 

Did you ensure that the gasket surface of the pan was FLAT before you re-installed it?

Where exactly was it leaking?