Franklin Dipstick Reading - screwed in or not ?

blimpy

blimpy

New member
No help from Franklin Manuals .

Which is the correct way to check oil level ?

Dipstick screwed in... or not screwed in ??


:?:
 
Hi,
During the 300 or so hours I flew my 165hp Stinson I read the dipstick after I screwed the dipstick in. I figure as long as you do it the same way every time, you're good. I doubt you fly it close enough to the minimum oil level for it to make a difference.
 
What makes a difference in day to day flying is NOT overfilling it.
8 qts unscrewed is 9 quarts screwed in.. and overfilled equals blown gaskets, and blowing oil
out the breather and other orifices.

Obviously when I do my first oil change.. I will find out myself.

meanwhile, since running with 7 quarts apparently eliminates leaking around the starter and blowing it out the breather.. I'd like to know. :wink:
 
BEEE, the Stinson 108-3 (FKL 165) I take care of calls for 8.8 qts full. Just as Dan C. said you put that amount in and 1.8 is out the breather, on the plane. Run 7 qts and it is a no blow. Lynn the crate :shock:
 
Just like everybody has said, drain, refill with 7 quarts, run for a couple of minutes, and note where it is on the dip stick for reference. If you have an oil filter, you may need to add more, but you can determine that from the 7 qt point on the dip stick. I agree with Jack, Dan and Lynn, the 8th quart will just get blown out. But then as I always say, Franklins are externally lubricated, so...
Larry Lowenkron
 
I have always read the stick after it was threaded in. Larry, most of the external oil leaks in Franklins come from old, hard pushrod housing packings.
Reach under each cylinder. Grasp each housing with your thumb and forefinger. If you can twirl the housing, you have bad packings that leak...or will leak. They are easy to change. Most think it's the rocker box gaskets that are leaking, but it is the upper packing. More on that later if folks want...or it may exist as an earlier thread.
Dan
 
I agree with Dan. on my 150 I changed the tach drive seals and installed REAL silicone pushrod tube seals.. totally dry engine.. 8 quarts no-blow. no filter. no breather recovery.
 
I've done that. I have used Real Gaskets packings, Franklin packings and O-rings like Gene Hamilton uses. I don't think it is coming from the push rod tubes. When I do find one, I fix it. Thought it was my oil cooler for a while, but had that OH by Pacific years ago. Once I had a small piece of junk in my quick drain valve, and it seeped. Fixed that too. I guess I am just use to it by this time. It's not that bad, more of an irritant. Like I said, I believe that when it was designed, they figured on "external" lubrication.
Larry
 
Thanks for all the replies.

I guess I am lucky.. no leaking at the pushrod tubes.. and have the red rocker cover gaskets
also dry.

Little weeping around the fuel pump base.. but the lulu is from the danged starter.
Nice oil bath on the bottom of the plane to clean up after every flight.. although now that I am down to 7 quarts this seems to be abating some.

Measuring with the dipstick screwed in until the next oil change.

Capt. Larry
 
I was checking both a 150 and a 165 recently and noticed that the markings on the dip stick are different. That goes along well with the reported 8 quarts required for a 150 and the 8.8 quarts for the 165. I have always wondered were the extra .8 quart was in a 165, since I can not see any difference in the oil pans. As I frequently do, I called Larry Lowenkron to try to figure it out. I could not locate my 150 parts list, but Larry had his. The confusion got more fun when we compared oil pan part numbers for the two motors, and they are the same. That eliminates a larger sump. We then compared the dip stick part numbers, and the assembly numbers are different, but the parts that are listed as not sold separately are the same for both engines. I then went back to the hanger with a flashlight to see if maybe the case was a little different in the area that the dipstick screws into. No detectable difference found. The simple problem is that if you use a 165 dipstick in a 150, you will always have less oil than you think, because the 8 quart mark is lower on the stick which would make your minimum safe oil level .8 quart low. I got to wondering about this since , in my spare parts pile, I have 3 Franklin oil pans and each one is a little different. One has the drain plug on the right rear, one has the drain plug on the center rear and one looks the same as the one with the drain on the right rear, but is made out of aluminum. Is this one of the mysteries of owning 65 year old motors, or is there some logical explanation?_____Grant.
 
I just reread the whole thread and I wonder if running a 150 dipstick in a 165 could account for blowing the first quart out, since you would be over filled, yet show the right amount on the stick. With motors over a half century old, I wonder how many engines have had dipsticks accidentally swapped ? That would not explain the 150s doing it, but certainly could cause a problem for the 165. Another of life,s little mysteries?____Grant.
 
In following up with Grant and this string and also similar questions in the Stinson Yahoo group. Last time I changed oil (and filter) I refilled with 7 qts, and ran the engine. Then checked it, and the dip stick showed 6 qts. I let it drain over night, to be sure that EVERYTHING that could, was drained. I did NOT drain the oil cooler when I changed oil. Figured that it would drain back, since it was "higher" than everything else.
And so it goes!?
LL
 
Hi Larry,
I noticed in your post that you changed the filter, put in 7 qts and the dipstick showed 6 qts. Could this be because the engine did not come stock with an external oil filter and when you start the engine the extra quart is going into the filter? That is what happened to me when I put a spin-on oil filter on my 165HP Franklin in my Stinson.

Jack
 
I was just looking at the Stinson Yahoo group and was reminded that I should read the manual before I ask questions. On page 29 of the Franklin service manual it states that there are different dipsticks for the 150 and the 165. It states that the markings for the 165 read 3-5-7-full. My 150 reads 4-6-8. Something didnt seem right , so I went and looked at the 2 engines that I previously mentioned and the dip stick for the 165 was marked 4-6-8, but the markings were at a different level than the 150 stick. Just enough difference for about .8 quart. The 165 didnt have a mark above the 8. I am still wondering where the extra .8 quart is supposed to be in a 165 since the sumps are the same part number? Someone else on the Stinson site said that the 108s that were put on floats had a special dipstick since the engine sat level. I wonder how many engines are put together with wrong parts?______Grant.
 
Jack, I am sure that you are right. I just didn't know how much is in the filter. So, today, I called Champion and talked to their rep. He was on the road, but said that he thought that he had the information in his office, and would let me know tomorrow (Friday 2/8/13). When I get that information, I will post it here.
Grant, also sure that you are right, and that more than just dip sticks are installed that don't really
"belong" in the engines. Oh well, as long as they run. I haven't heard of an engine failure in a Cruisair that could be attributed to wrong parts.
LL
 
yes, the different oil pans are discussed in the Overhaul Manual... note the doubler used on the steel pans
is not used on the heavier cast oil pans.

Any engine requires more oil when the filter is changed ( should you actually have one).
Capacity of the filter? .. take a new one and pour oil into it !
 
Blimpy, Good Eye, I went out and looked at the pans and sure enough the one I thought was aluminum matches the description of the magnesium pan in the manual. Being the curious type I weighed both pans (old fishing scale) and the mag pan was about 3 lbs lighter. I still dont understand where the extra .8 quart is in a 165, since the parts lists show the same part number for 150 and 165 pans. I probably will never know. OH WELL!_____Grant.
 
The Stinson 108-3 I take care of has a FKL 165 with remote spin on 109 filter. Change oil, add 8 qts the stick shows 7 screwed in. Change oil and filter add 8 qts the stick shows 7--And so it goes.
Lynn the crate :?
 
The remote filter and lines take about 1 quart to fill....That is why Lynn gets the readings indicated.
This topic is worn out!!!!
Dan
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top