CalBoy101

I recently bought a 2002 GT. When I'm looking at a car I always check the oil and transmission fluid (auto) for level and condition. The engine oil looked pretty clean but was a little overfilled but that often happens at quicky oil change places so I figured what heck.

I just changed the oil and filter, my car was built in late 2001 so I'm figuring it has the 5 qt. oil pan.

I put in 5 qts but the dipstick is showing maybe around 1/8 of a quart overfill.

Do these engines actually take less than 5 qts or is my dipstick off a little?

Also, to be honest I've been chevy guy for a while and this is a pretty "different" style of dipstick. Its heavily twisted and is kind of a pain to use because its pretty flimsy but I guess it must be the stock one as it has Ford on it.

Does anyone know of an aftermarket dipstick that works better than this stock one?

(add on) - I just searched the web and found the "factory" dipstick below:

http://www.latemodelrestoration.com/...-Oil-Dip-Stick

This looks pretty different than my dipstick (not twisted), is this the way the factory ones are supposed to look, did they change over this one at some point?

the5schlueters

Did you start the car and then check it or did you check it before you started it? It will suck some oil down to fill the filter after you start it and let it cycle for a min.

barqsdrinker

Mine is a late 2001 MY and it, too, has the "twisty" dipstick. However, when I change my oil and filter, it takes 6 quarts to be right at the "Full" mark.

Check out this thread: https://mustangforums.com/forum/4-6l...-capacity.html

uberstang1

6 quarts is what they take

cliffyk

The oil pans for all 4.6L 2V engines are the same.

In 2001 an independent test reported oil starvation in very high G turns, Ford responded by changing the recommended oil capacity from 5 to 6 qt, and changing the dipstick--those were the only changes--more about all that here...

NicksGTR

Is there a part number anywhere on the dipstick?

CalBoy101

Fellas, thanks for the help.

I ordered a replacement dipstick from Ford, fortunately the pic looks like a non twisty one with the "pill" on the end, I like how those work, I have that style on the auto trans dipstick, Ford did have a better idea on that one.

I'm assuming the new one will show 6qts as the full point and hopefully will be more accurate than the current "slinky" one, I think it got unwound a little and that's why its reading high.

The cars running great. We flushed the trans, put in new plugs, topped off the rear end, got the new pipes on (Magnaflow catted OR X-pipe, Flowmaster catback), popped on the Airraid CAI, dumped in the Bama tune, we're off to the strip on Weds night to see what it can do.

Its a convertible and I'm a fatso so we're not going to be breaking any records but we'll have some fun, it will be my son's first trip down the strip, he's jacked up about it.

CalBoy101

My new dipstick came in and its way better than the original slinky one, its a stiff cable with a long pill on the end and its pretty easy to read.

As Cliff explained about Ford increasing the full amount from 5 to 6 quarts it reads one quart lower than the original.

Also if you have one of the slinky ones, look out. With 5 quarts in the engine my slinky stick was reading overfilled by about an eighth of quart or so. I think overtime it had unwound some, causing it to stick down lower and read high.

The new stick with the 5 qts just put in reads right on the min mark, as you would expect.

If anyone wants to get one of the replacement dipsticks the part number is F85Z6750BA, this is Ford's replacement part for all Mustang 4.6 2v engines.

automan_1954

I have both the 1998 Cobra for valve and a 2002 GT both oil dipsticks are exactly the same length even though one is the flat metal twisty one and the other one is the cable type with the long pill on the bottom I put them side-by-side and the holes in the twisty one line up perfectly with the min-max on the pill of the cable type. It doesn't make a difference what engine you have whether it's a two valve or a 4 valve they all use the same amount of oil. Personally I use the larger oil filter which is about 5 in tall as opposed to the short 3 inch tall version and I fill my motor with 7 quarts of oil and after 10 minutes I pull the dipstick out and it's up to the Max mark.
Seeing that a lot of people just don't understand what Ford has done, like as been stated in previous posts you can run anywhere between five and six and a half quarts in these mod Motors. Since I love my 4 valve and use it to its full potential 80% of the time, I like the extra oil in the oil pan knowing that it takes a while for the oil to get back down to the oil pan. So if you use the standard short filter six to six and a half quarts is perfect for these motors.