5.0L oil level check

[Mesozoic]

I would like to hear from the group what the consensus is regarding checking the engine oil level using the stock dipstick. The factory 5.0L dipstick is twisted metal and I'm unsure whether I should be twisting it in the dipstick tube to get a proper reading or I should just dip it in straight and pull it straight out to get the correct level indication. Thanks in advance.

 

[C420sailor]

I guess I don’t really notice the twist…mine goes in one orientation and refuses the other way. I fully seat the dipstick and remove.

 

[410Fortune]

There were two 5.0
Dipsticks the screw type where the whole dipstick is twisted and then the later straight one

Either way I hold the handle firm and keep it from twisting as it goes into the pan. Fully seated, pull quickly without letting it turn and check level

I do same w trans dipstick

 

[FordFlintrock]

As an aside the F350-550 4x4 models are very high off the ground and difficult to reach the oil dipstick. One morning one of the guys came in complaining he put 3qts of oil in the engine and was still not showing on the stick. I had just done a PM on that vehicle a week prior and had to see for myself, sure enough dry stick. After a few minutes and checking for leaks it occurred to me the twisted type stick was not very straight looking. Went to another truck grabbed its' straighter stick put it in and showed overfilled.
My amigos from south of the border not being able to reach them were bending the snot out of it. I did some testing later with the bent stick and if it had a little unnoticeable bend one way or another you would get different readings. New dipstick now when this happens.
The real cure here would be the twisted spring style stick found in some ATF (Allison) applications.

 

[Mesozoic]

We have a 2007 Mazda 3S which was manufactured by Mazda when it was still a subsidiary of Ford. The dipstick on that engine is the best I've seen and it's a genuine FoMoCo piece as well. It's the typical yellow handled dip stick pull, but has a stiff stainless steel cable with a crimped on piece of aluminum as the level indicator. Really good design on that... I thought about fabricating one myself, but that's a fair bit of time!

 

[FordFlintrock]

We on the same page there with those consistent reading bullet proof types. Some sticks nowadays one will get different readings depending which way it is inserted, no bueno.

 

[Mesozoic]

Yep, that's what I'm dealing with. I think I have it figured for now, though. The stick has to go in a specific orientation and not be twisted in order to get an accurate indication of the oil level. I had to test this method out about 20 times to confirm that it works LOL

 

[410Fortune]

Yep! For new 5.0
Builds sometimes the dipsticks get messed around with, there were at least two styles and lengths used by ford on the 5.0 and if you mix match them you will not get a correct reading. So I “tune” them

I have been known to use a v6 dipstick whixh is
Longer (or from whatever ford I have around)
I will fill the engine with 5.25-5.5 quarts of oil (I overfill the 5.0
Just a tad) and then I will
Measure with the new stick. I can cut the top
Off the dipstick and re attach the handle (drill
Small
Hole) or I will cut the end of the dipstick and make my own new proper level marks by notching the stick or drilling a new hole right where the level should be

Next time I might try modifying a trans dipstick to be a oil dipstick I like the round pushrod and the white plastic level reader on those

 

[Mesozoic]

Yeah, I like those round bullet ends as well - the Mazda 3 has an aluminum version of that which is really nice.