Napoleon1991

How many quarts does a stock 403 oil pan hold? The reason im asking is because the dipstick on mine says its full at 3.5 quarts (and thats including the filter). Seems way off to me. I always that most stock oil pans were 5 qt. Btw, the part on the dipstick tube that holds the dipstick snugly in place is broken off, so im not sure if its sitting at exactly the correct level. I want to know what it should hold for sure before i either under or overfill it.

jensenracing77

The complete oil system is 5 quarts capacity. That includes the oil filter. This is assuming you have a stock pan.

joe_padavano

You need to fill the oil, then run the engine to fill the oil filter and passageways, let it sit for 15 minutes or so, THEN check the level. You may or may not have the correct tube or dipstick, so the best thing to do is to start with a fresh oil fill, run the engine as I described above, then scribe a new FULL mark on the dipstick.

FYI, I'm not completely sure that the 403 uses a full five quarts - someone needs to check the CSM for one of those. I do know that the 307s are actually spec'd at 4.75 qt due primarily to the smaller filter. There may also have been an attempt to reduce windage losses (and gain a fraction of an MPG) by lowering the level in the oil pan.

Napoleon1991

Thx for the reply joe. I did fill it, run it and then let it sit before checking like you described but it still reads over full with 3.5 qts. Upon closer inspection, the dipstick tube definately looks as if it was cut off at the top so its probably not holding the dipstick at the right level. How difficult is it to replace a dipstick tube?

Octania

That depends
You can clamp a bolt in it and hammer away... it may then break off at the block entry. Still not the end of the world. You have to get down there to tap the new one in anyhow...

Might need to loosen/ remove/ move aside the LH exhaust manifold, remove the starter [can leave wires on it]. It can be a couple hrs on a rustfree CA car where the xst bolts come right off, or a 3 day nightmare including pulling the oil pan, on a crusty MI car.

which kind of rustiness do you have?

Napoleon1991

Thx i think il try replacing it. I have an extra tube on one of my 350s so it should be interchangable. Its a rust free ca car so it sholdnt be too difficult.