Wrong engine block?

If I had an engine overhauled with the block changed and it went from holding 5 quarts of oil to 6 quarts of oil, is my car going to die?
I have had repeated problems with oil leaking from my intake manifold and engine vacuum issues that cause my car to want to die when stopping and flucuations in ideling.
Any thoughts?

Welcome to AF. You have provided absolutely no pertinent info, What car/engine, what was done to change oil capacity from what it was? Stock, carb stock, cam stock?

1973 Javelin,360 4 barrel, small cam, Elderbrock intake manifold, stock block, and nothing was done to change the oil capacity; only the overhaul.

Ok how does it go from 5 to 6 quarts? You mean you used to put in 5 qts and dipstick read full now it takes 6? Same capacity oil pan and oil filter? What is the idle vacuum? Stock carb? If the idle vacuum is low enough to cause a stall have you checked for vacuum leaks around all the hoses, sprayed carb cleaner around the carb base and intake and see if the idle changes? See what I mean about info.

It did use 5 quarts and now after overhaul uses 6 quarts. It takes the same oil filter. So, I guess the oil pan on this motor holds an extra quart.
I had the vacuum measured. It read 18 inches at park and then when put into drive and pushed on brake went to 14 inches. I have tried the things you mentioned for the vacuum leak and all the lines checked.

do you think maybe it's taken more after the overhaul because before it had 1 quart of oil in the lifter valley and other engine parts, now come the time to re-fill it after the overhaul you need to put in 6 quarts because you need to fill those other galleries?

so usually you'd fill it with 5 quarts and 1 quart would still sit in certain parts, but since it's "dry" from the overhaul it's taking more oil.

Nope, the only thing on that motor that changes the oil capacity is the oil pan or filter. There were several pans available, you probably just got a bigger pan.

ooh, i just remember something my mate said about oil in the lifter valley when i helped him rebuild his big-block. although, i think it was something to do with the dry-sump system, i think it had a scavenger pumps that removed oil from the lifter valley so there wasn't too much oil there. something like that, not completely sure.

The first oil change done was after running the lubricant the garage had in the engine to held break it in the first 5,000 miles. This was when I found out about the 6 quart.
From what I can figure out (ok, from the chilton) the 1970 AMC did not have 6 quart engines. So, would the garage have put a bigger oil pan on it by mistake?
What I paid for was a AMC 1973 Javelin motor that had not been overhauled yet to replace the one that I had which had been overhauled but 'bored the holes to big'.

Has your dipstick or dipstick tube changed or moved?

It still is lined up the same; I noticied they didn't have it secured the last time they worked on the car.

Don't stress over it. AMC motors were pretty much identical from the first to the last. In the late 70s they started doing 6-quart pans, so its possible that your 360 was sourced from a later car. Its the same exact casting as your 1970 engine, but it came from a car or year that used a 6-quart pan. Its also possible that they used an aftermarket pan that was stamped the same as a stock pan. Milodon makes them and I think Stefs and Hamburger makes them as well.

If you're really worried about it, go get a 5-quart pan from a 70 and switch them out. The blocks are IDENTICAL and completely INTERCHANGEABLE. I can't stress that enough. It doesn't matter where it came from, an AMC 360 is an AMC 360. The only thing that is different is your pan. Relax, 6 quarts are better than 5 anyway.

I replaced my 1973 454 with one from a 1985 truck. In the process I specifically chose the larger pan for more oil capacity, but the ONLY THING that made the oil capacity different was the pan. The blocks were completely interchangeable. Here's how it works... The oil level is set by one thing; height of the oil in the pan. If its too low there isn't enough oil. If its too high it gets whipped into a froth by the crankshaft. Almost all of the oil drains back to the pan when you shut down, so the dipstick is set to a certain position relative to the crank. Different pans are made wider, deeper, or longer to hold a greater capacity of oil, but the proper level remains the same. You could put a 60-quart pan on it, but the dipstick remains the same; the only difference is the pan. The internal passages of the block don't have anything to do with oil capacity, and even if they did they're the same from one block to the next. It is so not a big deal. Relax and drive it.

Hi. I don't know if anyone is still following this thread, but just in case...
I got the engine block number from the garage, and they said it was 3195528. On the internet I found AMC Jeep engines, but not Javelin engines. When I looked for ways to read AMC Javelin engine block serial numbers, it didn't have near as many numbers.
Is the number 3195528 a 1971 Jeep engine? If it is, can it work on my Javelin; or, which I have been worrying about, is the oil leaking from the bolts on my manifold and vacuum leak because they aren't made to work together. I found this site that said Jeep engines did not have a flywheel centering hub on the back of the crankshaft in 1971, which sounds important.
I am very bummed out because I wish I just had my old engine.
Any information would be helpful.
Thanks.

Nash = Rambler = AMC = Jeep, at least that's how things used to be. They're different now, but an AMC 360 is the same exact thing as a Jeep 360. You could put a 1968 Rambler 360 block with 1984 Jeep 360 heads and a 1973 Gremlin crank. Then you could top it all off with a 1979 360 intake and it would be NO different than if you replaced it with all 1970 parts. I promise. AMC made molds. Then (for instance) They cast the same intake for 25 years, so regardless of a casting number or date stamp, its the same intake. There are subtle differences in the part itself, like you found with the flywheels, but where things meet up (like intake to head, or the crank journals in the block) are the same. I promise.

If your engine is leaking oil, it has NOTHING to do with which heads and which intake, its a bad assembly job, period. I feel I've been very clear on this but you seem so intent on saying its the "wrong part" but it CAN'T be. Its not possible. A 1980 360 block is 100% interchangeable with a 1970 360 block. The only reason to get the right casting number is if you're worried about keeping it stock-looking in case some random passerby knows AMC casting codes by heart, but you've already changed the engine so its no longer numbers-matching.

You're leaking oil around the intake bolts because the shop didn't use sealant on the threads. You can help the situation by adding an additional breather in the valve covers but the proper way to do it is to remove the intake and do it again using sealant on the threads. You're having idle hunting and stalling issues for the same reason; poor assembly has allowed a vacuum leak at the intake gaskets.

Trust me, if there were something as major as a "wrong" block, it wouldn't run at all. Chances are you couldn't even engage the starter without major death to internal parts.

Thank you so much, yea I don't catch on quick because I don't get engines.
:banghead:
I have had the garage pull the bolts, put sealant on it, and put them back in the manifold twice this year; so I was confused about why it kept leaking oil around the intake manifold bolts. Sooo, I think its time to go to the high performance garage I finally found!!
Oh, while you are helping me; I have an elderbrock intake. Is there such a thing as it wearing out and needing replaced? It was with the original AMC engine block.

Nope. I've purchased 30 year-old Edelbrock intakes that may have been installed 20 times and they're fine and dandy. Check for obvious corrosion around and in the water passages, but as long as the mating surfaces are straight and flat there is nothing that can wear out about them.

That's frustrating about the bolts leaking. I had a 454 that leaked oil around the center manifold bolts. Never could figure out why, but they leaked slow enough that I didn't care to fix it :)