How full is my oil pan?

-
j par

j par

Well-hung Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2014
Messages
33,152
Reaction score
20,800
Location
Portland Oregon
I was wondering at what point does it start pushing against the seals? Like my 8 quart milodon oil pan, if I was to lay on the ground face up and pour oil in it at 8 quarts would it make it up to the seals?
I reckon when installed there's things like the pickup tube that are displacing oil.
I'm just never tried it.
Thank you for your experience.
 
I know on a trans pan, the static level is about 1/4 inch above the pan rail where it will seep out the dipstick if allowed. Oil pans should be easy to figure out, just put the dipstick in and youll get a rough estimate where the static fluid line is. Used to be a good indicator of whether your trans dipstick O-ring was bad was if it leaked over night but not while idling.
 
In my opinion the deep pan is not so much for more oil but to keep the oil away from the crank and rods so they don't hit the oil.
 
pishta said:
I know on a trans pan, the static level is about 1/4 inch above the pan rail where it will seep out the dipstick if allowed. Oil pans should be easy to figure out, just put the dipstick in and youll get a rough estimate where the static fluid line is. Used to be a good indicator of whether your trans dipstick O-ring was bad was if it leaked over night but not while idling.
Click to expand...
I put seven of the eight quarts in and just an eighth of a quart in the filter and it was just below one quart low on a normal dipstick. So, it seems if I put another quart of oil in it would be right up to the normal level with a regular oil pan? And I'm not even sure if it makes it up to the seals with 5 quarts in a normal pan?
A couple other comments talking about keeping the oil lower. I normally just put 7 quarts in the 8 quart milodon oil pan.
But if I put another quart of oil in and it brings it up to the normal oil height I'm not sure if that theory is correct? I certainly don't know.
 
Kind of wondering at what point does the oil start pushing against the seals when it's not running.
 
If you have one of these that makes the oil far away from the crank do you need a windage tray?
 
do you have an old pan? if so add 5 qts of water. I bet the sump will hold most of the water.
 
you do know that 5qts of water is more than 5 qts of oil, right? lol
 
Build a good crank case evac system. Stick a rod (wire coat hanger) down your dip stick hole. Measure the length of the rod. Compare that to your dip stick. When the rod hits the bottom of your pan you have a number you can work with.
 
I went through this exercise with my recent rebuild of my 340.
I have the Milodon #30935, 8 qt pan.
The photos are with the pan filled with 8 qts of water.
The water level is 4 inches down from the pan rail.
pan_8qts_a.JPG
pan_8qts_b.JPG
pan_8qts_c.JPG
 
j par are you over thinking things agin?

If you have the oil level at the rear seal your crank would be about half way under oil.
The farther the oil is below the crank the more power the engine makes.
 
1970 TA said:
I went through this exercise with my recent rebuild of my 340.
I have the Milodon #30935, 8 qt pan.
The photos are with the pan filled with 8 qts of water.
The water level is 4 inches down from the pan rail.View attachment 1715227004 View attachment 1715227005 View attachment 1715227006
Click to expand...
Thank you that was exactly the answer and view I was looking for. I will definitely go ahead and put the 8th qt.
I'm going more by your description than the pictures because I can't get good contrast with my phone.
Jadaharabi said:
j par are you over thinking things agin?

If you have the oil level at the rear seal your crank would be about half way under oil.
The farther the oil is below the crank the more power the engine makes.
Click to expand...
But wouldn't that be well lubricated?
 
Damn, someone finally put 8 qts of fluid in an 8 qt pan. Simple enough... and its far below the rail.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top