dodge 440 engine oil capacity?

[Mike Samel]

oil dipstick tube is broken,can't tell the oil level, does anyone know the oil capacity on a77 Dodge 440?

[Richard W. Cobbs]

6 quarts in the pan and 1 in the filter.

[Mike Samel]

thanks for the info, I had a mechanic replace my leaky exhaust manifolds with headers and he crimped the dipstick tube which then broke when I tried to check the oil, i've only had this rig about 6 months and this was my first oil change.

[Mike and Heather Brancich]

The Oil Capacity in my 74 is 8 Quarts with the big filter. I am a retired Mopar Tech and most of the Truck 440s would hold either 7, 8 , or 9 quarts depending on the oil pan. If the DRAIN PLUG IS AT THE FRONT OF THE ENGINE OIL PAN it will hold 8 max. That meens that your 440 is an INDUSTRIAL ENGINE, which 95% of truck chassis had in them. If the drain plug is in the rear, it holds 7 which means standard car motor. If you have an oil plug in the front and rear of the oil pan and the pan is arched, which is why they put  a plug in both ends so you can remove all oil during an oil  change, this is a HP motor, and depending on the body of car it was in would be the difference in the depth of the 2 different oil pans they installed. short held 7 and the deep held 9 quarts. Mopar didn't believe in waiste back then. They thought the more oil you had, the less chance you had to blowing stuff up. If you have any q's, feel free to respond to me.

Mike 

[Mike Samel]

thanks for the info, do you think I can get a new dipstick tube from a Mopar dealer?

[Mike and Heather Brancich]

Mileage always depends on maintenance, and proper oils. now day oils don't have alot of Zinc in the oil. which in turn helps lubricate the flat tappet lifters. This in turn keeps from wearing down the camshaft. as for how long in miles it depends on brand of oil, viscosity of oil, how often changed(miles), and of corse HEAT. Heat will break down oil faster than any of the above. Thats why you need to run a good quality(brand) of oil. I personally use Valvoline VR1 Racing oil, it has a higher ZINC content in it. I have put over 250,000 miles on a high performance small block using the Valvoline VR1 30, changing every 2500 to 3000 miles. It just depends on that one word maintenance! Now for the big question. the differance between the Industrial, standard car and high performance(HP)engine.First, the Industrial engine. Any Industrial engine before 1975 the 440 has a steel crank, and OPEN chamber heads. for lower compression 9.0:1. These engines were built for longentivity. they ussally were not very well mantained and still would last over 100,000 miles. They would be in a forrest service truck chasis. M300 thru RM450 which is the same as a Motor Home. And they drove the $#!! out of them. Second, the car engine. It came with a CAST crank. and was a 9.0:1 to 9.5:1 compression engine. They had a smallel head design, for the improved compression. they normally ran a Thero-Quad Carb. and they normally would last 150,000 to 200,000 miles. The reason for that was they were in a lighter vehicle and didn't have to work as hard. These were normally found in the Imperial, New Yorker, even some of the first gen cop cars.  Third is the HP(High Performance) which had steel cranks, closed chambered heads, high compression heads, a larger Intake and carb(useally a Holly) and if in the right vehicle (superbird,Daytona, Challenger, Cuda)) produced 425+ horse power.They also were put into the 2nd gen cop cars, including some of the 3rd gen cop cars(diplomat). I have seen alot of them run up to and exceed 150,000 miles. One of my friends drove his "71Cuda 172,000 miles, and the only reason we pulled it to rebuild was that it would smoke on start up, I told him that all it was is a set of valve guide seals, but he wanted to rebuild it anyway. When we tore it down, it still had a good cross hatch in the cylinders. So I say again,    brand of oil, viscosity of oil, how often changed(miles), and of corse HEAT. I always say Choose you oil for your application. I am a RETIRED Auto and Diesel Tech, and have always used Valvoline motor oils. Contact me if you need any info, I'll be glad to give it to you.

Thats all for now   Big Mike

[Mike Samel]

what grade oil would recomend for the 440?

[alan tomalavage]

im interested in this thread as my 78 Landau has the 440 with 10k on a mopar crate engine that was put in I believe when the rig was about 4 years old cause they ran the 1st one with no coolant and cooked it! I want to keep it in good shape for obvious  reasons.

[Mike and Heather Brancich]

What grade oil depends on the region you live in, Nothern I would suggest 10w30 or even straight 30w in the summer, central and southern I would suggest 30w or 10w40 on stock engines, or crate engines. you can also go to the internet and they will give you what weight oil to use in your region. My 440 was custom built and has a lot of machine work done to it and since I live in Oklahoma I run straight 40w year round. It just depends on the weather you live in. As I said, These are just My suggestions. If you need any more info I am happy to spread my knowledge.   Thanks  Big Mike 

[Scott Harris]

Oh my goodness, I have a 440RB big block slightly modified, maybe 425hp in my 90 Ramcharger.  Runs strong.  Trying to decide between Rotella T-6 synthetic 0w40, Valvoline VR-1 silver bottle 20w50, and VR-1 Synthetic 20w50 black bottle.....all of which I have in my garage.  The 440 uses no oil & drs no oil.

Suggestions??