BB with Milodon Road Race pan and (if I remember correctly) the Milodon "stroker" windage tray. Anyone else have this combo ?? I don't think the dipstick is going down into the pan, I think its bending at either the windage tray or possibly one of the pan baffles. Problem is, I don't recall if the tray has the cutout or hole for the dipstick and likewise the pan.

External pickup model. Can you find a link to the tray? I might have one loose.

I had a 70 383 with a stock dipstick that I put the 31580 pan on. It fit like a glove and the dipstick worked fine.

IIRC the tray had a dipstick cutout. It was a stock stroke.

Several people have reported the pickup hits the pan and requires reworking. Guy in here this year and I checked reviews and saw the same mentioned over the last few years. Not sure that would play into your issue, but worth mentioning.

Thanks for the photo. Looks to me like it might hit right here

Pretty sure this is the tray - the others have way more holes and cutouts than I remember

I needed I can measure the distance from the lip of the pan to the baffle support rail. Not sure if that will help solve the mystery. Let me know!

I think what I'm going to do is take a piece of welding wire and stick it down the dipstick tube and measure where it bottoms out versus the length outside the pan. I'm also thinking of making a dipsitck adapter that will thread into that hole on the opposite side of the pan.

Yes…..i had to cut the baffle at that location to use the stock-type dipstick.

I have that pan and windage tray with an internal pick up. The dipstick would hit the pickup tube and deflect upwards, never dipping into the oil. When I flipped the dipstick around, 180 degrees, the curve went below the pickup tube and into the oil pan without a problem.

You realize the hole in the block that the tube fits into is what dictates the tube direction, right ?!?!

hahaha . this just happened to me . I have run the road/race pan for 6 or 7 years on 3 different motors no problems . I just replaced the oil pan gasket last week and now stick only goes in one way .

Tex

I'm talking about the dipstick, not the tube that it goes into. Mine has a slight bend, matching the tube. Installing it in the opposite direction of the bend of the tube causes it to pass below the internal pick up tube and into the oil pan.

I've seen similar results on aftermarket aluminum deep sump drag race pans with baffles and trap doors, I've bent the last 1/2 inch on the tip of the dipstick around 15 degrees to make it fit one way in the pan and not fit the other way