The Truth about Oil Pans

[Comanche3Six]

Long stroke engines create a lot of distubance in the oil pan. You want as deep an oil pan as possible to get the oil away from the crank. You want kickouts on the sides again to get the oil away from the crank. You want a solid or louvered windage tray to keep the oil from sloshing away from the pump pickup and to seperate it from the crank. Screen trays don't work as well. Crank scrapers are a good idea and are worth a couple of hp.

Yes....full kick out also....not notched for a starter. Great Info!

[Geronimo36]

I run the 14 qt Dooley offshore pans; http://www.dooleyenterprises.com/Oilpans/oilpan.html

[Griswald]

Looks like a nice pan for the money.

WD is minus $150

[freakdave]

As far as manufacturers go what is the difference?
Milodon, Moroso, Canton, Dooley, etc??? If they offer 10qt with windage and trap doors are the constuction of the pans a big issue as far as boating? Is one better than the other size for size specs for specs and if so why? I'm asking because it seems some pans cost $300 while the others cost $700 with the same features. Thanks, Dave

[DAREDEVIL]

As far as manufacturers go what is the difference?
Milodon, Moroso, Canton, Dooley, etc??? If they offer 10qt with windage and trap doors are the constuction of the pans a big issue as far as boating? Is one better than the other size for size specs for specs and if so why? I'm asking because it seems some pans cost $300 while the others cost $700 with the same features. Thanks, Dave

WELCOME TO SOS !!!!!!!!!!!

A good oilpan is realy HP and also a good fit is very importent,,,( enginemounts, fuelpump and all that. defenatly needs to be a marine/offshore pan !!!!

Aluminum ones are also very good, like the lightning/KE one...it safes weight,others like i said ...give more HP in a high HP engine,,,in a stock engine..i don't think it matters that much .

Some off them have better tray's and kick outs,,some off them not.....thats all in the price.

I do believe when it comes to engine parts, most likeley the high dollar ones are the better ones !!!!

[imco offshore]

Gordo ..build your boat DEPENDABLE to have fun ,,without headaches,,,your a good racer and know their is just as much speed in the hull,,x ,,and prop and you dont give up dependablity,, good luck,,

[Gordo]

Thank you all for some great info and options. It looks like the Scarab will have a pair of carbed HP-500s. I think George hit it on the head. Turn-key, dependable/reliable with fun power.

[Anchored]

Canton's are a great oil pan.

Jeff

[Perlmudder]

the cats in the boat I work on hold 165 gallons each, nothing like trucking in 6 55 gallon drums to do an oil change.

[AIR TIME]

Thank you all for some great info and options. It looks like the Scarab will have a pair of carbed HP-500s. I think George hit it on the head. Turn-key, dependable/reliable with fun power.

Gordo you can make 600 to 650hp out of 502s and they will last just as long as stock 500hps chit 525s are more like 560hp from the factory. thats a lot of boat to push and the extra 200 or 300hp will make it more fun 540s would be super with the same power. good luck Iam going over kill this year the saber gets a KONRAD DRIVE and DEAN GELLNER blown 572 shooting for 1100hp shooting for this month.

[cstraub]

At Stef's we feel we build the highest quality marine pan on the market. Companies like Sterling, Kustom Engines, Zuel, MER, Gellner, and DNE all use our stuff. The oil pan is the only non-moving part of the engine that can destroy an engine.

Extra capacity of oil is a good thing. The more you got the better the chances the oil temp will not get to high during max running conditions.

Larger oil pans. As cubes grow and rpm grows windage in the crankcase increases. Aeration of oil leads to bearing failure. In a wet sump system the farther you can keep the oil from the crank the better. In an offshore set up you want a sump type pan for better oil control. We build from 10 to 16 quart models. Nothing wrong with running a quart low on oil. We rate our pans per a formula for capacity L x W x D of sump x .0172 will give you qt capacity. If you run the recommended no of qts we say for the entire system you will average around 1.5 qts in the lines and rest in the pay. As stroke goes up you need as much area in the pan to reduce windage from the high pressure (driverside) to the low pressure side (passenger side if car).

Build quality. We are high, we are high for a reason. Our pans are 100% fabricated. That means the seal radius, the rails, the sides everything. They are 100% tig welded inside and out. Average offshore pan will see 40 hours of time from start to finish. Other manufactures start out with a core pan that has been die formed. Cut the bottom off and finish it. Core pans run about $30. Nothing wrong with this type of pan but 14 qts of oil is heavy and in marine conditions the light gauge steel of these pans can get stressed. Those that have seen our offshore pans will vouch for the quality that goes into them.

When to go dry. We recommend anthing over 4.250 stroke that is going to see 6000 rpm regularly for long durations. Most won't do this because of cost but once the initial cost is over the dry sump stuff runs and runs. In a typical conversion you will see around a 30HP increase.

Benefits: We have had engine builders report back of cooler running temps and power gains on the dyno after our pans have been installed. Windage issues with our stuff are pretty much no existant. customer that have blown out dipsticks with stock pans or other aftermarket bolt ours on and problem is solved.

A good oil pan is a good investment. It would be my suggestion anyone going over 600HP its a good idea to go aftermarket pan.