hey guys.
iv'e got a strange problem. i have an 04 screw(new style. not heritige.). i checked my oil just a week after i did my last oil change and the dipstick was dry! oil on it when i first pulled it out but when i stuck it back in and pulled it out again, nothing!
now, i know what your thinking. does this idiot know how to read a dipstick?
well the answer is, yes! i took the old girl to walmart just incase it was low from some weird leak and put another quart in. just to be sure i waited an hour when i got home and drained the oil. 6 quarts came out! thats 7 quarts total with the filter! put 6 quarts back in, let it settle, no reading again! put 1/2 in let it rest, got a tiny reading on the stick?! like a millimeter! what the f#%ck?! any ideas guys?

 

What engine?

 

I wouldn't freak out at this time. No that's not normal, but is the dip-stick actually down into the oil pan. There have been incidences of the the pipe not being attached to the pan. Your oil pump cannot actually siphon all of the oil out of the pan. That is by design that there is a sludge space at the bottom of the pan. I would check using a "coat-hanger" or similar and carefully poking around at the bottom of the pan for the presence of oil, and or if the stick actually enters the pan properly.
Hope it works out. Peace

 

check to make sure that your dipstick tube isnt rotted through. if it is than the dipstick wont actually make it to the oil pan

 

If you have the 5.4, it does in fact take 7 quarts. The 4.6 takes 6.

 

ok. update. checked the dipstick tube and there's no rot and its seated properly. nice and tight! i'll try to put a coat hanger down there as suggested. wish me luck!

 

Once again, what engine do you have? If it's a 5.4, put 7 quqrts in, let it settle, then check the stick. Whereever it is on the stick will be your full mark. They do vary.

 

sorry. i thought i answered that question on the office computer at work. my engine is a 4.6

 

Then after you put 6 quarts in, it should be full. let it sit a while, then check the dip stick and that is your full mark. I would etch it.

 

Yea, don't overfill... The top hash IS NOT full. Maybe mom should help?

 

Read this

https://www.f150online.com/forums/v8...tick-info.html

Your welcome.

 

Make sure the dipstick is not bent and make sure it goes straight down into the pan. Try rotating the stick 180 degs when you install it from the position you are getting the low fill reading. Sometimes the stick will take a bend and hit a crankshaft counterweight and go off in another direction besides down. If you just purchased this truck and have only done a couple oil changes maybe its not the original dipstick? Is the dipstick tube attached to the cyl head with a bolt or is the bolt and or tube bracket broken off. If so the tube itself could have pulled up and partially out of the block keeping the stick from going into the pan all the way. If you have done any work on the truck such as headers, exh manifolds, etc. and in the process bent the dipstiuck tube the bend will essentially make the stick shorter and the stick will not travel as deep into the pan. Like others have suggested as long as you know you have the correct fill and the truck is on level ground then take a file and mark the fill line on the stick for future reference. The oil has to be in the oilpan because it pours out when you drain it.

 

ok, thanks for all the input guys. jbrew. i realize that full is BETWEEN the full and add marks! and as far as my mom helping me! she passed away 10 years ago, so i would respectfully ask that you or anyone else outside of my family refrain from talking about her! i make the utmost effort on this site to be respectfull and honerable and ask that others do the same! now. as i wrote before, i drained 6 qrts out of the truck. i put 5 and 1/2 back in. so as of now, the truck has a total of 6 and 1/2 qrts. if the dipstick had a reading below or on add, i wouldn't be concerned with this. it shows either no reading or a very tiny one. like a drop! i have asked a professional mechanic who i have known for 30 plus years and he's stumped! i used a coat hanger at the same depth and got the same reading. i then put the coat hanger in about 4 inches deeper and got a reading. whenever i read the dipstick, the truck has been resting for at least an hour and is on level ground! i dont check oil when its hot or running! i dont check oil after iv'e drained it unless i first refill it and let it rest! the dipstick tube is fully seated and shows no signs of corrosion. it is a 4.6 engine and i know it takes 6 qrts. i do understand the dangers of overfilling! my father taught me about cars when i was 12! he was a mechanic for the marines and worked on cars for over fifty years, till his death of liver cancer. he was a driveway mechanic till the end! one of the ways i honor his memory, is by making sure i maintain my vehicle and the vehicles of my friends and family! i have owned this truck for two years and this is the first time iv'e had this problem. i have changed the oil in her every 3-5,000 miles. dynotech, thank you for your suggestions about rotaing the dipstick e.i. hitting the camshaft. i will give that a try.
thanks.

 

My truck takes 6.5 Qts with the 820 motorcraft filter and reads at the top fill mark.
Your situation is strange. I know by rotating the dipstick my reading changes by about a 1/4 inch. Good luck!!

 

Don't be so dramatic. Man-up, laugh it off, - even if. This ain't no damn soap opera. Kindly remember that and just fix the truck, right! That is what your here for, -or good and correct info. That's what you got, I don't care about the other, - you MISSED THE POINT.