Oil filter, oil capacity, gaskets

hello all!
we changed the oil sunday and in was surprised at how much came out of the pan. my guess is 3 gal.
i have 3 questions…

  1. What is oil capacity for a '60 4.2? i added 9.5 qts and level is barely touching the dipstick. dipstick appears original and is not damaged.
  2. I have attached a pic of filter that was in the canister, a Crosland 403. my replacement filter came from MOSS and is a paper element with no jacket on it. what is the purpose of the green jacket on the Crosland filter? is my MOSS replacement ok without a jacket?
  3. the filter came with 2 gaskets. i only found one installed gasket, it slips into the circukar slot which accepts the leading end of the canister. i replaced that one. the other new gasket is similar diameter but flat. i did not install this one anywhere. started engine and no leaks. where does this gasket go?
    any help would be appreciated. my pontiacs will seem simple when i get back to working on them:)

pic of original filter

btw i used fresh 20w 50 oil, plus a pint of Lucas oil additive.

thanks again

Hi There,

  1. 9 quarts for the 6 cylinder, your dip stick could be sliding across the top of one of the baffles in the oil pan, or bent or it has altered. When I purchased my 68 I tought it was full of oil only to find the dipstick had slipped on the collar. Yours could have been repaired incorrectly, IIRC it should extend ~9.5 inched beyond the collar.
  2. not a concern IMHO
  3. they send two ‘O’ rings, presumably for different apps.
    Cheers,
    LLynn
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Hi,

  1. Probably a typo as the 4.2 came in 1964 and since the E-type also first came in 1961 maybe you have a ’70 4.2L?

They all have about 8.5 liters of oil (18 US pints, 15 Imperial plnts)

  1. Looks normal, usually they have that ”jacket”.

  2. The filter was used in many other cars, so there typically are 2-3 different seals. The thin one is the right for the E as you figured out.

FWIW the V12 holds even more oil, about 11 liters.

Cheers!

Nominally, 9 U. S. quarts. But the oil galleries and filter also need to be filled. I put 9 quarts in mine and then start the car and check for leaks. I let the engine warm up and then shut the engine off wait 1 minute and check the oil level. Then I add oil to bring the oil level up to the full mark on the dipstick.

Make sure your dipstick is going down the hole without resistance. Sometimes they can catch the windage tray and slide in at an angle, giving a false reading. Also you might double check your dipstick; it should measure 9-3/4" from the round stop to the end.

I was under the impression that the conventional wisdom on this was that the capacity is, what the capacity is, irrespective of what the dipstick reads? Basically 9 qts just like the manual says.

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thanks all
sounds like my unjacketed moss filter is fine and there is only one gasket as i assumed. all good.

i will check the length of the tail on the dipstick tonight

i’m sure there are lots of opinions, but is the 20w50 weight oil good for this engine?

I believe so.
I have been running Valvoline 20-50 VR-1 for the last 10 years.

Bill, You’ve seen plenty of good replies by now. All of them good.

To add my two cents, if the dipstick is sliding across the pan baffle instead of going the through the hole in the baffle, I find that it will be very obviously bent and need straightening.

Also, filling to the top mark on the dipstick is not necessary and may result in more leaks than otherwise.

I have used various oils. 20W-50 is fine and a good enough place to start. Many will suggest a somewhat lower viscosity in colder climes or seasons and I would agree. But just about anything on the market is better than was available in 1960s.

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My engine builder (a Jaguar specialist) insists that I only use Valvoline VR-1 20w-50 Racing Oil.

Alan
N.J.

On my and customers’ Jags, I always ran the level just above the bottom of the crosshatching: it lessened leaks and lowered consumption.

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Hi,

My experience with my 1st Series 1 car over 16 years and 67.000kms was exactly the same. Besides, adding half a litre of engine oil would not take it from the bottom of the cross hatch further up than maybe a few mm’s.

Cheers!

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Agree on all, but prefer to wait several hours, rather than 1min, to get a correct reading. And always with the car on a perfectly level garage floor.

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I do one minute because that’s what Jaguar recommends in the driver’s handbook and on the plastic insert on the dipstick.

Hi,

It’s nice to see there’s at least one other fellow enthusiast who reads the manuals. :slight_smile:

Cheers!

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thank you all for your input. I filled my drain pan with water to the level the old oil filled it, and there was approximately 13 qts of oil in the engine. wow The oil level was at top of crosshatch, meaning full, so understandable how previous owner did this.
i have attached a pic showing the stick and readings. collar is 9.75" from tip, and i only get about 1/4" of oil on stick when 9.5 qts are in engine. no evident damage on dipstick. i am thinking i will add 2 more qts or whatever it takes to get to bottom of crosshatch and call it good. engine ran fine with 13 qts and did not leak. this would put me at around 11 qts.

Bill,

That dip stick looks pretty bent to me. Wouldn’t surprise me at all if it’s not going through the hole in the steel baffles, but skating across the top causing a misread. I’d straighten it for the entire length below the collar and insert it gently. You may be surprised…

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It should drop right in up to the collar just by gravity.

2 Likes

I agree completely. The dip stick is bent and under-reading the quantity of oil/fluid. Straighten it and re-try. It is currently hitting the baffle plate and skidding across it when you force it in, bending a bit more than the photo and then springing back. Hence it is not showing much of a change when you add oil.

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will do
hopefully this will solve the mystery!
thanks guys