TD/TE/Tf Dipstick oil level marks

In the 3 litre '50th Anniversary Collection' D Michie's published service notes state 'to prevent oil surge it is recommended that the High level is re - marked to 3/8 inch higher on the engine dipstick.' The previous High mark should then be regarded as the new Low mark. This apparently gives an additional two pints of oil in the sump. An additional advantage is that two extra pints of oil must aid engine cooling, oil being a significantly better cooling medium than water. Has anyone tried this or have experience of this modification. Posted by dbqa 10/06/2015 19:50:22

I too read the article and added the mark to the dipstick of my TA21. Overall I have found the modification to be unnecessary. That said most of my driving is rather sedate as I respect the age of the car. My advice would be just to keep the oil level topped up to the full mark.  Richard Melbourne Posted by RichardWallach 10/06/2015 21:44:45

I was advised to make this mod by Roly Simmons a long time ago following my complaints re surging manifest by oil pressure dropping and the attendant rumble of thunder as the bearing ran a bit dry.I was also told by RT that dipstick markings were altered from car 26174 to take this into account.I believe the dimension details to be as follows; prior to 26174 the high mark was 26.9cm from the collar and the low 27.7, post 26174 the figures are 22.8 & 23.8..My advice, check your dipstick markings and modify to the later figures, it is a lot cheaper than new bearings/crank.The dipstick arrangement on TA/TC's is different . Posted by Peter Martin 11/06/2015 11:03:05

Out of interest I checked the level marks on the dipstick of 23803, and they appear different to the above mentioned figures, although the engine is a combination of TD/TE spec.  Stick total length = 33.5 cm from underside of collar/felt to immersed tip of stick. High Mark = 27.8 cm below collar Low mark = 32.6 cm below collar  Are these perhaps the dimensions of a TA/TC dipstick? A large difference between H + L levels in any case.  Is there a different length of dipstick-tube between TA/TC and TD/E/F models? (TA stick tube perhaps longer than TD/TE stick-tube?). It would be good to know, although I have thankfully never seen any oil-pressure surges / dips despite plenty of steep hills / sharp bends around here.  Giles Lacey Posted by lacey giles 11/06/2015 22:24:13

I have taken out the dipstick from 24314 an early TA21. Total length from collar to end is approx. 14.5 cm. The Low mark to the bottom of the stick is 1 cm. The high mark to the bottom of the stick is 5.7 cm. These three posts make for interesting reading. I would ask other members to contribute in order that we can confirm measurements. My TA21 dipstick is surprisingly short, I wonder if it has been tampered with over the years? The entire length of the dipstick is about 35.5 cm.   Richard Melbourne Posted by RichardWallach 12/06/2015 00:06:28

For my TD21 Series II, the levels are;  Stick total length = 30 cm from underside of collar to immersed tip of stick. High Mark = 23.3 cm to 24.3cm below collar (the "H" level has 2 markers) Low mark = 29 cm below collar Posted by Philip 17/06/2015 18:51:51