Chrysler Repair: 98 Voyager 3.0L 7 qts oil to fill new pan

Question
Hi Roland, a few days ago we replaced oil pan on 3.0L 1998 Grand Voyageur. 59000 orig miles but orig pan rusting out (not leaking yet). Replacment from Specter (CR01B) which Specter confirmed correct and they said fill was 4.0 qts + .5 qts for filter. Issue is that it took 7.0 qts to fill to full on original dipstick. In the past 4.5 qts always filled it on oil changes.
The full mark was double and triple checked after changing pan. After driving 150 mi on new pan, I rechecked and dipstick bound up and tip broke off (about 2 inches) This made me suspicious that maybe it was binding up or contorted going into pan-causing mis-reading. Jims Mobil who helped me change pan said that a dry fill can take more oil - but 2.5 qts?? Pls advise. Thanks Bob S

Answer
Hi Bob,
The combination of the 2.5 qts to show full and then the dipstick breaking suggests that the shape of the pan is different from that originally on the engine. I haven't heard of this before.
What depth does the dipstick show now if you can read it? If it now shows an overfill condition then before the tip broke off it probably wasn't being allowed to go in far enough (did the stick protrude from the filler tube before it broke)? Is the old pan available for comparison?
If it now appears to be overfilled then I would drain off a couple of quarts as it isn't good to overfill the pan either. You might ask at dealer parts counter to see if the oil pan was modified over the many years it was manufactured.
I have never heard of a "dry fill" requiring an extra 2.5 qts.
Roland