# 66 gto oil ?



## noluck (Aug 13, 2008)

hello, we"re just finishing a freinds 66 gto. the stock 389 was rebuilt useing the stock oilpan and the original dipstick. to get the oil level up to the full mark it takes almost 9 qts of oil? in the factory manual it states all v8 "s had 5 qt pans plus filter and on the forum someone stated all gto"s had 6 qt pans? 9 qts seems like way to much but thats what its showing to get to almost the full mark. the dipstick handle seems positioned right , any ideas?
thanks


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## injn37 (Nov 16, 2008)

Kinda stinks to have to pull the pan, but that is what you might have to do. Check to make sure that the dipstick is positioned correct, and is not running parallel to the pan rail inside the motor. Check the height from the pan rail to the oil pump pick up, and then fill the level pan with about 5 quarts and see where the level falls. Pontiac used several dipstick tube configurations and sometimes there is nothing like doing a visual check to make sure you don't run the beast dry!

rich


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## 05GTO (Oct 6, 2004)

My 66 is 6 quarts, Does your car have A/C or the longer A/C dip stick tube? The top of the tube on a non-A/C car is just above the exhaust manifold. The top of the A/C tube is between the compressor and the valve cover. Maybe the A/C tube with the shorter non A/C dipstick?


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## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

Mine hold 6 quarts, 7 with filter. The two above posts are right on the money...check dipstick routing and application.


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## zzomby (Aug 23, 2009)

My 65' 389 holds 5+1 Similar situation. I have the wrong dipstick. Its dry. Or do I have the wrong oil pan? Now you got me thinking. By the way if those are your cars Randy they are sweet.


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## VettenGoat (Jun 19, 2007)

Oil capacity should be 5 +1. It sounds to me as the dipstick is either too short or the dipstick tube in the side of the block is longer than the previous set up. 

Considering how similar Pontiac engines are, it is odd that there are so many dipstick variations. We had similar issues when we built my motor and ended up taking down the pan, checking to ensure the stick was routing through the windage tray, and measuring the depth the stick went into the sump. It took some experimenting and I don't recall the exact length unfortunately. Alternatively, you can raid the local junk yard for a variety of Pontiac dipsticks to find one that reads to 6 quarts full. 

DON'T fill it to 9 quarts.

Good luck//Mike


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