Picked up a 74' F100 with a 302. Apparently the engine is not the original. The casting number is D4DE-6015-BA with a date code of 4L20. My internet search says this is probably a pssenger car engine that may have come from a Maverick or similar auto. The engine has a front sump oil pan, with the dipstick at the front of the engine, and I noticed that the drain plug sits over the i-beam, which is hard to get to. I saw some posts on the internet about differences, or pros/cons, of front and rear sump pans, but was wondering if there's a front sump pan with a drain plug on the side, or on the curve of the sump, or on the front of the sump to make it easier to drain the oil.

 

Once again, another erroneous assumption based on the "D" in the casting number. The third character in no way is an indication as to what vehicle any Ford part was installed in at the factory. The date code you listed tells me that there's a 99% chance it's the original engine to your truck. It's supposed to have a front sump oilpan and matching dipstick. The apparent difficulty accessing the drain plug is normal. Ford regularly used parts whose engineering costs that were assigned to different vehicle lines, other than those that the third character indicates. The 86 and 87-95 5.0 HO (E6SE & E7TE) heads are a prime example of this, as are the engine blocks found in these cars. None have a Mustang third character in their casting numbers

 

I still question the engine's originality. My 74' F100 was not equipped with air conditioning, but the engine has the mounting bracket for the A/C pump and an extra groove on the crank pulley. I haven't check the model numbers yet, but it appears the trans is also different. But my post question was whether or not there was a different oil pan I could swap to to make it easer to change the oil.

 

Someone may have started an A/C installation in the past. As for the oil pan, if it holds 6 qts with the filter, it's the correct pan. Car's held 5 qts, trucks held 6

 

Been busy this past year. Still trying to get to the 74 F100. Does anyone have a picture of a 74 or 70's, six quart oil pan? I'm still of the notion that the engine in it now was a car engine instead of a truck engine. I wonder if there is other physical features for the stock 74 F100 302 that would help me determine if it's a car or truck engine.

 

There's no difference between a car and truck engine as far as block, heads, crank, rods,etc. The oilpan is just about the only thing different as far as a 70's 302 goes.

 

Here's a picture of the 1969-79 truck oil pan:

 

51dueller - Thank you very much for the picture. I'll have to go out and look again at my 302 oil pan. Do you know if that's a 6 quart pan? I think someone said 6 quart is a truck pan and 5 quart is a car pan. Thanks again for the picture.

 

That's the 6 quart pan. The 5 quart car pan has the front sump slightly shorter and the drain plug points to the side of the pan on a little raised area.

 

Solve your problem for $25.

5 or 6 quarts is not an issue, the 302 will be happy with 5.

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