Checking the oil with a strut tower brace

[CrashOverride]

Yes it's a stupid conundrum, why they couldn't bend the pickup tube is beyond me. But I have to say the VQ35DE engine (Nissan) in my old 350Z was a lot worse. While it was easy to pull it out of the dipstick tube, it was darn near impossible to get it back in. Nissan even had a "funnel" to help because it was practically impossible at the night. Now that I think about it, it also had a strut tower brace that I think was in the way.

And yeah, I remember back in the day where you could practically stand between the engine and the fender. Heck and there was what, 8 spark plugs, a fuel line, and a throttle cable that connected the engine to the rest of the car? There's more than that in a PCV setup now. Alas, I digress - back then it took ~ 400 cubic inches to make power that was probably overrated because it was "gross" power not SAE-certified "net" power like today.

Sponsored

 

[MPotter]

Sound tube? Oh, yeah, forgot about that POS. Yanked it the first day I had it! GT350R STB is worth it even if I have to "... use both hands ... " to check her oil. I mean, who doesn't, anyway?

 

[sdiver68]

So I've stayed out of this thread because yes it's been relatively easy so far. When I first got the car new it was about 1/2 way and now close to 3000 miles it was just at the minimum mark.

I just changed my oil to full synthetic. Used exactly 10 qts. I left both drains open for at least 10 minutes to get as much out as I could and a bit over 9 qts came out.

However, now that I'm near full every time I pull the dipstick it smears. Even using the paper towel method to more easily "see" the oil I'm not exactly sure where it is, anywhere between 1/4 under to 1/4 over. So, yeah..the strut tower does make things less obvious than it should.

 

[CrashOverride]

Man I wish the 1st/2nd gen Coyotes had 10 quart sumps. 2x 5qt jugs is nice. Oh well, for now, I'll be running 2x 1Gal Jugs (Rotella-T6).

I remember when cars had 3-quart sumps. Seriously.

 

[Zooks527]

If the biggest issue I have is finagling the dipstick, I think I'll be OK. Best all hell out of tuning up an old Monza.
https://www.nytimes.com/1975/01/10/...d-in-replacing-a-plug-of-chevrolet-monza.html

 

[BluePonyGT]

I finally got around to removing the sound tube. Checking the oil is now a hell of a lot easier. I just guide it in with one hand then twist it as it goes in. Opposite to remove it. Should have removed that sound tube first thing. It was removing the nut off the stud on the fire wall that made me almost want to chew off my own hand to escape.

Sponsored