VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1961-1964 235 oil filter 61 pickup

Hi, has anyone experienced a problem with oil level change due to the oil filter draining back into the engine after shutting down and causing the level to increase by one quart?

There is no way the oil in the filter can drain back.The return hole is in the center tube of the filter about 3/4 up from the bottom.The only way it could drain back would be if the tube is rotting away at the lower end.
If you check the oil shortly after turning off the engine and the oil is still cool it could read close to the add mark.If doing it when oil is hot and engine has been off for an hour it will read almost full.Two reasons-oil expands when hot and about 1/2 quart will slowly drain/drip back into the pan.

Chevgene, I said the same thing, NO WAY!

So I am at present doing a detailed experiment and will report my findings after completion.

Chevgene


I was not able to tell just how much oil was in the engine because of the 1 qt. fluctuation. So I pulled the pan to inspect and clean. Although the screen was dished up in the metal scoop or housing, it appeared clean.
While the pan was off I changed the filter cartridge and filled to the top with clean oil, let it soak in the filter element and topped it off.

I than noticed the slow drip of oil from the pick up screen. Oil was also dripping from the main bearings. I also noticed that the oil in the filter had dropped down to the inlet opening which is about half height. I left it that way for the time being.

After reinstalling the pan dry, I filled the engine one qt. at a time allowing 1 hour for drain down between quarts, than checked with the dip stick. It took the 2nd qt. before showing on the tip of the stick. I filed a notch at that point for future reference. Adding the 3rd quart nailed the add mark and the 4th qt. brought it to full.

Than I cranked the engine to let the engine oil pump fill the balance of the filter. Ran it till the heater hose felt warm and shut it off. The dip stick now was showing just below the add mark. I put in the 5th quart.

Let it sit overnight and found the oil level above the full mark the same distance that exists between add and full. Pulled the filter cap and found the oil level down to the inlet connection. Replaced cap, cranked again, this time drove it until it reached full run temperature, shut it down and checked immediately. The oil is now at the full mark. Pulled the filter cap and oil was at the top covering the filter cartridge.

In summery:

Five (5) quarts with new filter will indicate full on the dip stick after running up to temperature and checking just after shut down. After allowing the oil to drain down for an hour, the dip stick will indicate above full.

Note of interest:

Both hoses have been replaced by ¼” copper tubing farrell type fittings.
(Old hoses were leaking and I had tubing on hand.)

Purchased this truck just over a year ago and have driven it about 5,000 miles completing five (5) oil changes with filter prior to this.

Engine does not smoke that I can tell and has 95k miles at present.

My experiance with 216/235 engines thru the years have found that with an engine with no filter the dip stick will read at the F of the full mark with 5 qts of oil after a complete drain down.This would be a bit over the full mark.With a filter it will read the same if the oil is changed but not the filter.If the filter is also changed the 6 Qts. will bring it to the full line and not up to the F...This is with the common AC filter.A Fram had a smaller canister and will hold slightly less oil.If the pan is removed another 1/2 Qt. is required.With pan removal and filter change 6 1/2 Qts is necessary.
Even with out a filter Its normal for oil to drip from the pump and mains as the main oil gallery is draining down.If the pump is removed more will drip out.The oil filter should drain down to the return hloe but no farther.
I always dump the first Qt. of oil in the pan while its off,filling the rod troughs.(yours is pressure lubricated so some oil could drip from the crank journals as the hollow carnkshaft emptys.
Sounds like everything is normal in your engine :)

Thanks for your reply.
Now that I know what to look for I will just keep the oil level between full and add mark while hot, and expect to see it read high when cold.