oil pan modification
oil pan modification has anyone taken a truck pan and just sectioned 2-3" out of it to make the sump less deep and then welded the bottom back on? is there any reason it can't be done that way? i have a 6.0 going into my 91 formula, and i need to find an oil pan. on tgo there has been a lot of guys saying their f-body pan doesn't clear the k-member, and on the dimensions thread it looks like the truck pan will solve this but it hangs too low. if i just take a little height out of the pan, pickup tube, and dipstick, it should be fine right? i would think i'm no tthe first to think of this, so if theres a reason it won't work i need to know and get a cts-v pan or f-body pan coming right away. thanks,
nick
nick
modified truck pan in a '72 nova: https://ls1tech.com/forums/10044185-post2.html it's just below the 'mounting' section.
EDIT: guys have modified f-body pans to clear rear-steer linkages, k-members, etc. the truck pans are much cheaper though.
EDIT: guys have modified f-body pans to clear rear-steer linkages, k-members, etc. the truck pans are much cheaper though.
The truck pan holds 6.5 quarts of oil.
The F-body pan holds 5.5 quarts of oil.
The truck pan is about 2.5 - 3" lower than the F-body pan.
For every inch you take out of the truck pan, you are going to loose a little less than a quart of oil. (A quart is about 57cubic inches)
To get to F-body oil volume with a truck oil pan, you can take a little more than an inch out of the bottom of the pan.
To get to oil capacity of the previous generation GM small block, about 4.5 quarts, you can take a little more than two inches out of the pan.
But there is a reason the LSX motors have more oil capacity than the previous generation of small blocks
The LS motors can also be run over-full. My service advisor at the Chevy dealer near here tells me that Bondurannt driving school uses Corvettes (Bondurant) that over-fills them by two quarts every morning. (It fills the intake with oil blow-by until some of the oil burns off - they say they can use up to three quarts a day on the road race track bumping the rev limiter all day)
My plan is to take 2" out of the bottom and over-fill the pan by a little more than half a quart to get near the F-body oil capacity.
I'm going to pick-up a truck pan tonight, comandeer a measuring cup out of the kitchen and make actual physical measurements I have an f-body pan to compare it to already.
I'll keep you posted if you're interested in the results.
I'm putting a 5.3 in a Jag XJS and that truck pan is hanging down bigger than Dallas below the cross member. I need to do something and I'm too cheap to buy an F-body pan and cut that up.
The F-body pan holds 5.5 quarts of oil.
The truck pan is about 2.5 - 3" lower than the F-body pan.
For every inch you take out of the truck pan, you are going to loose a little less than a quart of oil. (A quart is about 57cubic inches)
To get to F-body oil volume with a truck oil pan, you can take a little more than an inch out of the bottom of the pan.
To get to oil capacity of the previous generation GM small block, about 4.5 quarts, you can take a little more than two inches out of the pan.
But there is a reason the LSX motors have more oil capacity than the previous generation of small blocks
The LS motors can also be run over-full. My service advisor at the Chevy dealer near here tells me that Bondurannt driving school uses Corvettes (Bondurant) that over-fills them by two quarts every morning. (It fills the intake with oil blow-by until some of the oil burns off - they say they can use up to three quarts a day on the road race track bumping the rev limiter all day)
My plan is to take 2" out of the bottom and over-fill the pan by a little more than half a quart to get near the F-body oil capacity.
I'm going to pick-up a truck pan tonight, comandeer a measuring cup out of the kitchen and make actual physical measurements I have an f-body pan to compare it to already.
I'll keep you posted if you're interested in the results.
I'm putting a 5.3 in a Jag XJS and that truck pan is hanging down bigger than Dallas below the cross member. I need to do something and I'm too cheap to buy an F-body pan and cut that up.
Just run the pan through a dish washer a couple times, then cut and weld. We notched our '04 GTO pan to clear the rack in our swap. We used a 5052 aluminum patch for the cut, and had it TIG welded with 4043 aluminum rod. Pre-heat the parts as much as possible (250-400F) and weld un-restrained. Our pan "bowed" about .080" from weld shrinkage, and the M8 bolts on the oil pan rail pulled it down nicely. No problems.
Look at the link in the second post and he tells you how to modify the truck pickup to fit the shortened pan.
Taking 1.375" off the bottom of the truck pan will give it the same oil capacity as the F-body pan at 5.5 quarts (I measured it last night)
If you are willing to run 5 quarts, you can cut 2" off the bottom of the truck pan
Phil
Taking 1.375" off the bottom of the truck pan will give it the same oil capacity as the F-body pan at 5.5 quarts (I measured it last night)
If you are willing to run 5 quarts, you can cut 2" off the bottom of the truck pan
Phil
