Where's My Dipstick

Dude with a 300 · Oct 10, 2012

How come my 1955 300 doesn't have a traditional oil dipstick to check the level. I received my manual today and it shows a dipstick just ahead of the oil filter. I have an untapped boss there and no dipstick.

Bruce

Charlie M · Oct 10, 2012

Maybe someone changed the block?

Harold H · Oct 10, 2012

Maby your 350 was a distillate with pet cocks. Though rare, distillate was still an option thru the 350/450/650 line of tractors.

Harold H

Harold H · Oct 10, 2012

I mean your 300.

Harold H

D Slater · Oct 10, 2012

Farmall 300 tractors didn't get dipsticks added until tractor serial # 9338 or engine serial # 9341. If your 300 is a lower serial # thats the answer.

sd pete · Oct 10, 2012

Way back in the early 60's Dad bought a early 300 no dip stick on it. When he retired I bought it from him. Wasn't any tractor fuel equipment on it.

W

Dude with a 300 · Oct 10, 2012

Mine is in the 7200 serial range. So how are you supposed to check the oil?

Bruce

uncle henry · Oct 10, 2012

should be two pet cocks on side of the oil pan upper and lower

Berth 29 opinions · Oct 10, 2012

Different tractor, but my Grandfathers Mccormick had a plug on the side of the oil pan (petcock hole) Loosen it, if oil leaked out it was not low.

Janicholson · Oct 10, 2012

Answer; the side of the oil pan has two small projections on the side. These are petcocks (valves). if you open the top valve on level ground, the oil should drip from it if it is full.
If the bottom petcock is opened and none comes out it is considered low. So keep the level between them. Filling till it comes out the top one when checking was SOP when running them hard. Jim

Anonymous-0 · Oct 11, 2012

I put a dipstick in my "H". There's a cast boss that sticks out on the side of the block, just ahead of the filter. Remove the oil pan, get the sharpest drills you have, and start drilling in the center of this boss, at the correct angle down, so you'll miss the crank. Drill a bit, then open that hole up with the next size drill, then go back and drill further with the first drill, the object being not to break off a bit. I had to drill thru 2 3/4" of cast iron. Tap the hole, get a piece of 3/8" tube, as i recall, re-thread it from NPT threads to fine threads, and installthat. I got a Ford dipstick, put it in, and make sure it misses the crank. (Mine misses the crank by 3/4".) Remove all the chips and filings.
Works great, and truth be told, I check the oil much more often now. I used to check it once a year. Dipstick looks real cool too.

Jonnymac348 · Oct 11, 2012

someone probley changed the oil pan out if it doesn't have pet cocks on the side. best answer is look in your service manual read how man Qt's it takes fill it with that and use it if your in a crunch. Just like all the new cars out there no dip stick.

Dude with a 300 · Oct 11, 2012

OK, mine has the two petcocks, just seems kinda half a$$ed way to do it since dipsticks had been around forever.

Bruce

mkirsch · Oct 11, 2012

No, not like all new cars out there.

The 300 at least has a way to visually check the oil, using the petcocks.

New cars, if this whole no-dipstick thing is true, won't have a way to check the oil at all. You're depending on the computer to "sense" that the engine has the proper amount of oil in it.

I haven't looked at a new car in almost 10 years so I have no idea if they come with dipsticks or not. I would not be surprised since most people can't be bothered to check my oil.

caseyc · Oct 11, 2012

GM did away with tranny dipsticks back in the early
2000's, not all models but too many. Ford has also
did away with tranny dipsticks around the late
2000's, again, not all models but some. I have
not run across a vehicle without an oil dipstick,
yet.

Casey in SD

IH fan · Oct 11, 2012

(quoted from post at 11:05:04 10/11/12) GM did away with tranny dipsticks back in the early
2000's, not all models but too many. Ford has also
did away with tranny dipsticks around the late
2000's, again, not all models but some. I have
not run across a vehicle without an oil dipstick,
yet.

Casey in SD

The wife's '05 Lincoln LS doesn't have a tranny dipstick, but it does have one for engine oil. Also, the danged battery is in the trunk... no room under the hood I guess.
IH did the petcock thing for many years... back then you didn't think anything about it, seemed normal to anyone that had one.

Janicholson · Oct 11, 2012

When Tractor fuel is used (not in yours, and also called distillate) the dilution of the engine oil in one day of operation was serious enough that the oil was drained till the lower petcock stopped dripping. then fresh oil was added till the top petcock started to drip, (about 1 quart) this refreshed the contaminated oil. When oil was cheap and tractor fuel was 50% the cost of gasoline, it was SOP. The petcocks were a legacy, and changed mid production of the X00 series. Jim

Leroy · Oct 12, 2012

Petcocks were used long befor the stick to check oil. There was a conversion made to put in the top petcock hole for those that could not understand the petcocks.

Where's My Dipstick

Dude with a 300

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Charlie M

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Harold H

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Harold H

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D Slater

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sd pete

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Dude with a 300

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uncle henry

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Berth 29 opinions

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Janicholson

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Anonymous-0

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Jonnymac348

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Dude with a 300

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mkirsch

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caseyc

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IH fan

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Janicholson

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Leroy

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