FE Oil Capacity - Should I add an extra quart?

[mad2smile]

According to an article in Car Craft magazine, all FE engines should have an extra quart of oil added. Here's the oil section of the article: http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/cc ... heads.html

The theory there makes sense. While running, there's always about 1 quart in the filter, about 3 quarts circulating the engine, and the remaining 2 quarts in the pan. The article states that with an FE, the 2 quarts in the pan can easily move away from the oil pickup during a moderate launch. I would imagine that the same could be said for offroading (think horribly-uneven jobsite).

My question is this: could adding the extra quart cause any potential problems? I'm a huge fan of making sure my engine has the best protection possible when it comes to oil, but I don't want to do anything potentially hazardous to my engine.

What do you guys think?

[fireguywtc]

I have a couple of things to say about this but also I am just plain curious to hear what the engine experts have to say about this. I did read on the "did you know" marquee taht the boss 302 and CJ 428 where having oil problems, so Ford put new dipsticks on those engines to add 2 quarts. Than pan wasn't any bigger, just the measurement on the dipstick.

With that my 67''s 352 had always read full at 4 quarts counting the oil filter. On an oil change it would read above full when I first filled it with the gallon until I ran it getting oil into the filter. I recently started my project because the crank moved and took out my thrust bearing and scored the heck out of the crank and even some of the block. I don't know if the oil level would have helped much. I always had adiquete oil pressure, and never ran it too hard. But I often wondered how much more oil it could have held safely and if it would have helped with the longevity of my engine.

I was told along time ago by a mechanic about the potential problems of having too much oil in the crankcase. I don't know if this is accruate for sure so please correct me if I am wrong. Having too much oil where the crank and bottom of the piston rods are splashing into the oil will create a lot of bubbles and such. And apperantly that airated oil going through your engine can cause a lot of damage. Heat+air bubbles+expansion= damage to close tolerence parts. Again its not something I have seen or really know about, that is what I was told.

So finally if you can add an extra quart of oil into the engine without it getting to high in the crankcase, I can't forsee any problems. But again I want to hear what the engine experts have to say about this and any other problems that may not know about.

[fordman]

you are not suppose to over fill the oil because the oil will splash up onto the cylider walls. or something like that. it can actually damage the engine. i doubt the the oil pans would draw that much away because of the way the pan is designed. i did not read the article.

[convincor]

oil splash is how the wrist pin and cylinder walls get lubricated.
A crank sitting in to much oil will cause airation. which is not good.
If you run the extra quart, you should have a windage tray.

[fordman]

thats what i read before.

[mad2smile]

I feel kinda stupid now. The Car Craft article explains the need for a windage tray when running an additional quart. Oh well...

[averagef250]

I would add the extra quart if I was running an FE with a stock 6 quart pan and turning it over 6000. I personally feel a much better oiling solution is to run oil restrictors in the heads to prevent excess oil from entering the valve covers since FE's have poor oil drainback.

I do not believe that there are 3 quarts of oil circulating in the engine. The whole engine minus filter holds maybe 2 cups of oil and hot oil drains back pretty darn quick. The really easy way to tell if you're running your pan dry is watch the gauge, a real mechanical gauge. If you're sucking the pan dry you'll see it as either a pressure drop, a fluctuation or a failure for oil pressure to increase with RPM. You're not going to see this below 5000 and most FE's don't turn that high.

When the crank sits below oil level it sucks a huge amount of power. The oil actually forms a mass that rotates with the crankshaft, that's what a windage tray helps to prevent and what a crank scraper eliminates. The other effect is overoiling of the cylinder walls. The cylinder walls need a healthy spattering, but hit them with a typhoon of oil and you will have oil consumption and ring issues.

[sgs]

I off road raced a FE powered F150 for several years during the early 80's. I used to shift at 6000. The engine was totally bullet proof. I did not have a windage tray and I don't remember overfilling the engine. I think sometimes magazine writers latch onto something which probably might show a little improvement and then pronounce it as a "must do". There are so many of these engines out there which have had hard long lives and are still running without the benefit of a windage tray or overfilling the oil. You don't sell many magazines touting the virtues of a stock rebuild. Ford new what they were doing when they designed this engine. Didn't the series run something like from 1958 to 1978?

sgs

[averagef250]

Totally agreed. The FE was used through 76 model year, but the FT's went well into the 1980's in heavy truck and industrial applications. D4TE is the newest FE/FT casting number I've seen though.

My engine builder has a 67 stang with a 428CJ/toploader that shifts at 6000, he runs a stock pan, stock oil level, stock oil pump. It has 5 PSI at hot idle and 55 PSI at 6000 RPM. He slapped it together from spare parts in the early 80's, it's never been apart and he drives it daily in dry weather.