So, I've decided to try to improve my trucks oil pan.  It's the standard, almost flat, truck oil pan.  Fortunately it's the one that already has the baffle!  I have made a gate with some piano hinge:

And thus far I have clamped it to the pan, filled it with water, and sloshed it around to see if it actually improves anything:

The good new is that it seems to help a lot.  The flow back to the uh.. "sump" seems to be the same.  While the flow out of the sump has slowed greatly.  So I think this is all good.

There is about 1/4" of clearance beween the bottom of the pan and the bottom of the stock baffle:

I'm trying to decide wether I should trim another 1/4", totaling ~ 1/2", off of the bottom of the baffle to help flow back into the sump.  I'm not so great at welding yet.  So I am looking for advice before I do anything that may result in repair.

I really can't see how it would hurt anything.

Lawrenceville, GA

Homespun:

I think most hot oil is about the same consistency as water.  Ever drain your oil after the engine is warmed up?

John

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

Well, here it is:

I trimmed some of of the bottom of the baffle.  It's barely visible.

The gate, appart:

I smashed the third nuckles (second nuckles of the top half) so that the pins will not wander around.  It flops freely.  The pin is 1/8" so it should last.  I mean, it's going to be in a pool of oil.

I'm going to consider making some kind of rail that can catch the oil and let it flow over the top of the baffle to aid in the oil's return to the pick-up.  I may add a baffle for side to side motion, near the pick-up.

In any case, it works very well with water.  So hopefull it will work well with the oil.  I'll just keep my eye on the pressure gauge when I first use it.

My welding wasn't as bad as I thought.  The tensioner on the wire feed was not tight enough.  The last thing I welded was 22 gauge steel.  An extensive air cleaner modification for my firebird.  22 gauge is quite difficult for a beginner.

Lawrenceville, GA

I'm accually kind of surprised nobody has really went out and tried to manufacture a windage tray of some sort for Y's. I know their still available for the FE series engines and have seen a few modified to work on Y's. I think it would be a good marketable idea accept you'd have to make 2 types for cars and trucks.

                                                   Michael

Michael

Sandy Valley, NV

I have a baffle in my pickup, and it doesn't have a problem with oil pressure at any time. Runs right under 50 unless i'm on it, at which point it goes up to about 70-75.




My name is Greg and I am addicted to Y's.

Before going to the trouble of installing a baffle in the pan,  I’ll suggest checking that the oil pickup is not placed too far up from the bottom of the pan.  Maximum distance from the pan bottom should not exceed 3/8”.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

My oil pressure does not drop at all with this mod.  I also haven't noticed any pressure drop at the higher RPMs which is good because it indicates that the gate is not restricting flow into the pickup area.  I did trim an additional 1/4" off of the bottom of the baffle. - However, it is hard for me to say with certainty that it is the installation of the gate that caused the improvement - I changed a lot of things at once.  I like to think that it did though.  It was fun to do.

The pan that I had when the pressure would drop while braking is the almost flat pan with no baffle.  The pickup was the wire-mesh-basket-held-in-with-a-clip type.  The pan I modified already had a factory baffle and the pickup is of a different design.

Michael, I started work on a windage tray.  I found that ARP standoff studs for Chrysler will work in the Y.  And, of course, the studs can be special ordered specifically for the Y.  I think a windage tray could be universal for the Y.  The dipstick locations are different and the pickup locations are different.  I know that the truck pickup is low enough so that it won't interefere with a windage tray.  I suspect that the car pickup is as well.  Of the two dipstick locations, only the rear will require a provision in the windage tray for it to pass through.  A car dipstick can be used on a truck.  It has to be shortened and the level mark has to be determined and scribed.

Lawrenceville, GA

Charlie,

     thanks for letting me know of the windage tray. I'm glad somebody else also thought of the possible idea. I didn't know or realize ARP made bolts for the oilpan on Y's I've only used stock ones on my stuff. What you did with the hinge sounds like it works out just fine keeping the pressure up like it should. Love your Unibody, both of mine are 61 F250 longbeds.

                                               Michael

Michael

Sandy Valley, NV

Charlie Im a bit confused about your mod, did you weld the hinge to part of the existing pan? what gage was the hinge?

Thanks

Dan

I used a pan which already had a baffle. I trimmed the bottom of the baffle to allow more oil to flow back into the sump area and welded the hinge so that it closes while braking to prevent the oil from moving away from the sump. I don't remember the details of the hinge. It was a piece of piano hinge I got from an industrial supply. I can get more info about it when I get back home.


Lawrenceville, GA