I know this is getting old but here is a bit more about the routing issue you posted else where.

I have a built 360 in a 88 W250 and have had dipstick problems from the git go.
Just yesterday I pulled the aftermarket pan I bought for the build and reinstalled the original. The problem was the stick would not always seat into the pan raceway keeping it away from the crank. One day after pulling up close to a Chev pickup and getting the nod, I let er rip and almost found myself in the ditch. The Chev guy was impressed but I snapped the stick off in the engine. So off with the pan. What I found was the top hole in the aftermarket pan is much more closed than the original and you could see where the stick wasa hitting the raceway and sometimes going into the slot and sometimes not. I put the old pan back on after an exteem cleaning and the new dipstick I bought slides right in. But its too short. I am going to take a wire and mark it at the 30 5/8 someone posted and see if that is good. Also I run 6 quarts (calls for 5) in my engine and a cam valley pan. I like oil I have not had any problems with it.
Anyway my 2 cents.

 

i kind of fail to see the point of you bringing up a year old thread. from my understanding the oil pan on a 318 and the oil pan on a 360 are different so it would be hard to even compare the 2. i think my system may also hold 6 quarts but i use the a PH8A size filter instead of a ph43 since it is twice as long.

 

My 87 318 has, the nearest I can measure, a 33" dipstick from the flange that seats on the tube and a 13 1/2" tube.

 

I forgot why I don't visit this forum much. You just reminded me. Thanks.

 

i am not trying to be rude. you just brought up a thread that is over a year old and the guy has already received the answers he was looking for.

 

Again you miss the point.
I entered a question into Google about Dodge truck oil dipsticks. And guess what it pulled up this thread. Now some guy has a question about oil dip sticks and do you think he cares how old this thread is? That is the power of forums. Now the guy may have been impressed and thought this is a great forum and decided to become a member. Or he could have received a response like the I got from you.
By the way I got the info I needed right now in 2011. Somehow as we were building this engine we miss placed the dip stick and tube. Who would think it would be such a hassle to replace. But "wa la" a Dodge truck forum had some info about it.

Again thanks for the OLD but current info.

 

usually if someone bring up a old thread they usually post a question instead of a story.

 

The easiest way I know of to solve a dipstick problem is to change the oil/filter and add 4 quarts, run the engine, stick a universal dip stick in it, and mark that level as one quart low. Add 1 more quart and mark the dip stick level as full at that point. This will work for all stock pans.

Running 6 quarts instead of 5 can cause the crank to splash and therefore aerate the oil. This is not a good thing. IMHO

 

Some models had bigger oil pans. My 87 takes 6 and the owners manual says that too.
It seemed to change year to year some times.

 

I have never seen that. I guess I stand corrected. Learn something new everyday.