First 302 oil change and other observations

[1990Merc]

I just did the first oil change under my ownership of my Grand Marquis, and its a good thing I did. That oil had been in there a long time. The silkscreening on the old motorcraft filter was totally different from my new one and i don't think they change that too often. I used mobile 1 10w-30 high mileage if anybody is curious.

My dipstick tube that comes out of the block and the dipstick slides into is rusted into two pieces, and the metal tab it mounts to the block with is rusted off. Anybody have any experience with aftermarket dipsticks? Any suggestions on a particular one? I saw some no-fit reviews on amazon for some and I want to be cautious.

Also, I noticed the rear part of the pan was slightly damp with coolant, there are no obvious leaks that I can find but I did top off the radiator and it took about a quart cold. Any common places for it to ooze? I'm hoping I'm not looking at a head gasket or something.

[gadget73]

rear of the pan I'd be looking right above it at the freeze plugs. If any are crusty, change them all. Where one is leaking, the rest are paper thin and ready to fail. Hope its not the plugs on the back of the cylinder heads. It might be possible to do those in the car, but I'm pretty sure it requires removing the transmission to have any hope of getting at them, and even that is a maybe.



Find you a 5.0 Explorer dipstick tube. I think the tube is the same length. You might even be able to use the Explorer dipstick but it might need to be re-marked for the proper levels. Mustang tubes fit, but are not usable if you have the stock air cleaner assembly in there. As far as I know, the correct ones are NLA, so unless you run across someone selling one, you can't get one new from the dealer.