custom oil pan
07-30-2006, 03:24 PM
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custom oil pan wasnt sure where to put this, so i put it in tools/fab as its mainly fabrication, but if you have any input please post it over there, or if a mod thinks its in the wrong section put it where it belongs
https://ls1tech.com/forums/showthrea...wpost&t=550492
https://ls1tech.com/forums/showthrea...wpost&t=550492
07-31-2006, 08:46 AM
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Originally Posted by mikespeed95
wasnt sure where to put this, so i put it in tools/fab as its mainly fabrication, but if you have any input please post it over there, or if a mod thinks its in the wrong section put it where it belongs
i currently have a nissan 240sx i used a off the shelf "bolt on" kit to put a ls1 in i use for an scca pro series. anyways the time of year is coming where building a car for 2007 / sema is coming along and i was considering fabricating my own ls1 oil pan on the 07 car. here are some understandings, and questions i have.
- i understand the ls1 oil pan actually acts as structure for the block itself.
therefore, what type of aluminum should i use, how thick?
could i also use this thicker aluminum to make the flange for the bottom of the block, just run longer bolts if it is thicker than stock.
- oiling
i dont know if id like to do front or rear sump, but does the amount of oil in the sump have to do with proper oiling at all? my current setup you have to notch the subframe (illegal next year) to make the stock gto oil pan clear. if i make a new pan i can make it fit closer to the subframe in some places, but move stuff around so that i can keep oiling capacity if needed, but i am usure of the proper way to go about this, or if the sump has anything to do with anything other than purely a place to pickup oil, therefore the amount doesnt really matter, as long as tehre is a good amount there.
also as far as proper oil to run, i am just going to fill my stock oil pan up, subtract that from the normal amount of oil i run, and when the new pan is done, measure it full, and add to original amount
n = new oil pan filled to top
0= old oil pan filled to top
a = amount of oil normally used in ls1
a-0+n=proper amount of oil to run with new pan.
-improving pan design
is there any pimpy designs/baffles/traps i can add to keep my car happy as far as oiling? it sees a lot of actoin that throws oil around, drifting, auto-x, road racing, all kinds of stuff, and if theres any advice anyone has or tricks of the trade with fabbing oil pans that yall wouldnt mind passing along that would be great
sorry for the dumb q's, but skimping out on making sure i do everything right on my oil pan could easily = blown motor, and i cant really afford that.
thanks in advance.
i currently have a nissan 240sx i used a off the shelf "bolt on" kit to put a ls1 in i use for an scca pro series. anyways the time of year is coming where building a car for 2007 / sema is coming along and i was considering fabricating my own ls1 oil pan on the 07 car. here are some understandings, and questions i have.
- i understand the ls1 oil pan actually acts as structure for the block itself.
therefore, what type of aluminum should i use, how thick?
could i also use this thicker aluminum to make the flange for the bottom of the block, just run longer bolts if it is thicker than stock.
- oiling
i dont know if id like to do front or rear sump, but does the amount of oil in the sump have to do with proper oiling at all? my current setup you have to notch the subframe (illegal next year) to make the stock gto oil pan clear. if i make a new pan i can make it fit closer to the subframe in some places, but move stuff around so that i can keep oiling capacity if needed, but i am usure of the proper way to go about this, or if the sump has anything to do with anything other than purely a place to pickup oil, therefore the amount doesnt really matter, as long as tehre is a good amount there.
also as far as proper oil to run, i am just going to fill my stock oil pan up, subtract that from the normal amount of oil i run, and when the new pan is done, measure it full, and add to original amount
n = new oil pan filled to top
0= old oil pan filled to top
a = amount of oil normally used in ls1
a-0+n=proper amount of oil to run with new pan.
-improving pan design
is there any pimpy designs/baffles/traps i can add to keep my car happy as far as oiling? it sees a lot of actoin that throws oil around, drifting, auto-x, road racing, all kinds of stuff, and if theres any advice anyone has or tricks of the trade with fabbing oil pans that yall wouldnt mind passing along that would be great
sorry for the dumb q's, but skimping out on making sure i do everything right on my oil pan could easily = blown motor, and i cant really afford that.
thanks in advance.
Here's what I can share with you from my personal experience / opinion.
Opinion:
I don't think the oilpan is quite as structural as everyone thinks. I'm sure the pan adds some level of rigidity to the bottom end (any pan will), but the structural reference has got to be the fact that they're bolting the transmission to the oilpan and using it for a structural member there.
So, if you drop the oilpan / transmission bolt-up out of the plans (Powerglides, TH350's, and TH400's all do just fine behind big-blocks without bolting to the oilpan) the pan becomes much simpler. I think GM has added the trans bolt-up to further reduce NVH (which most hot rodders don't care about).
Personal Experience:
I thought seriously about modifying a factory pan, but came to these conclusions:
1.) I can't weld aluminum, so I'd have to farm it out.
2.) An aluminum pan that has been used will have oil soaked into the casting, adding all kinds of fun to the welding process (smoke, inclusions, won't weld, etc).
3.) I needed to modify it enough where it was just as easy to start over.
Therfore, I fabricated the pan for my conversion from scratch from steel. (For the record the truck isn't running yet, but it will be soon.) The pan itself is 16ga steel CRS sheet, with 3/8" thick flanges (started as 3/8" x 1.5" & 3/8" x 2" 1018 CRS barstock). I built the flange, drilled it to match the pan's bolt pattern, and cut the outside to match the contours of the block. Then I built the pan in pieces onto the flange.
I welded it up, both inside and outside (most of the outside was ground off for a smooth appearance). When welding, be careful not to warp it. I was careful while welding the outside, only welding in 1" long segments randomly around the pan and letting it cool, stayed nice and flat. Then I did the inside, and didn't use the same procedure (figure'd it was already welded and wouldn't pull any more --> WRONG!) and welded in big long segments. Went all over the place. Ended up having to twist and bend it back to flat (using a shop press and my milling machine table w/clamps to tweak it), and then machine the surface (basically fly-cut the mating surface) dead flat.
I am running a remote filter because the front driveshaft is right next to where the stock oil filter location is. And it was a whole lot easier to weld a couple of -8 AN stubs into the flange and run hoses than it would be to try and build the oil filter mount in place.
I've got some pictures, but none available right now. I'll see if I can post them up later (tonight or maybe tomorrow).
As for baffles and such, you certainly could do trapdoors and the like. I decided not to worry about it, the sump is pretty deep and holds a fair amount of oil, well below the crankshaft. Your application will probably be different.
One of the things to think about if you're concerned about oil supply / pressure would be an oil accumulator. Moroso has a couple, I'm sure others do. This would fix the problem of low oil pressure by holding a quantity of oil (Moroso's are 1.5 or 3 quart capacities) and supplying it to the motor when oil pressure is below a certain point. And if you're doing a remote filter system it might be easy to incorporate into the system.
That's about all that I can think of at the moment.....(as if this post wasn't a book already)
'JustDreamin'
07-31-2006, 12:53 PM
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cool post, thanks.
i am conceared about slosh though, the car gets thrown around a whole lot, so i want to add some baffles and such.
steel isnt a bad idea, its not like im super concearned about wieght and that woudl be much easier/cheapr.
i am conceared about slosh though, the car gets thrown around a whole lot, so i want to add some baffles and such.
steel isnt a bad idea, its not like im super concearned about wieght and that woudl be much easier/cheapr.
07-31-2006, 02:42 PM
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If you're concerned about slosh and such, you're talking about needing baffles, trap doors and such. Don't have any solid advice there. But, I know Speedway Motors has a claimer pan kit (designed to be added to a stock SBC pan for roundy roundy racing) which has some trap door parts. Summit lists similar parts from Moroso.
Here's a couple links: http://www.speedwaymotors.com/xq/asp...qx/Product.htm
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku
Oil accumulator:http://store.summitracing.com/egnsea...DS=1&N=700+115
'JustDreamin'
Here's a couple links: http://www.speedwaymotors.com/xq/asp...qx/Product.htm
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku
Oil accumulator:http://store.summitracing.com/egnsea...DS=1&N=700+115
'JustDreamin'
