Aftermarket 401 Oil Pan Options

[Nikkormat]

Cause of death for the 401 has finally been determined... Pulled the intake manifold to clean it and rebuild carb and discovered that the valley is full of oil. (I'd been priming the pump with used oil to look for cracks in the block) Further inspection revealed that a bunch of sludge busted loose from somewhere and clogged the return holes. Starved the cam and crank bearings in the back half of the motor. This is especially concerning to me because the oil was as pretty and golden as could be only 30 minutes prior to catastrophic failure. I haven't dissected the filter yet but I suspect that it failed allowing all of this BEEP through and into the engine.

So... The builder on the new 401 won't offer a warranty on the build if I make him do the oil line mod to help spread oil out in a starvation situation he will only enlarge the return holes and modify the pump to work at a higher flow rate than stock. That makes me even more worried about running the pan dry again. What if any after market pans are you guys running to combat this problem? I am already planning to do an external filter to get an extra half quart or so of capacity in the lines but I don't think that that will be enough. Is there anything else to add capacity?

[Tatsadasayago]

An accumulator will give you an additional 1 1/2 to 3 quarts depending on the size. It provides additional benefits of pre-lubing your engine before starting, providing oil pressure during a starvation event and add some cooling effect depending on where it is mounted. Remote valve switch kits are available so you can pre-lube from the cab which is a nice thing on a cold morning.

[fulsizjeep]

Keep the oil changed regular on the new 401 and forget about the oiling mod. These engines really do work fine in stock configuration if maintenance is kept up. I would only do the oiling mod and external oil filter if I was racing one. That is my $.02 worth.

[78 Arizona Chief]

I run the Milodon 8.5 quart pan on my 360. I like having it for peace of mind when we are in the sand dunes and I am climbing a hill pulling 4,500-4,800 rpms for extended periods of time. I also port matched/smoothed out the transitions from the timing cover oil pump to the block. As well, my drain holes were opened up too and had the flashing removed. I did not do the oil line mod.
Kevin

[j10jim]

Milodon 8.5 quart. Never runs out of oil.

[sonoraed]

Find a different engine builder, the oil mod is a proven fix,before I built the AMC360 in my J10 12 years ago I looked for a good used engine to install and every used engine had the rear main bearing and #7&8 rod bearing wiped out, had a local machine shop do their magic and I assembled without the mod (didn't know about it at the time) pulled the oil pan 5 years later and the rear main had signs of oil stravation.this engine had regular 3000 mile oil changes and never ran out of oil or pressure,I made a living building engines in the 70's so fairly confident it was built correctly, so find someone who is willing learn or knows your brand of motor

[Stuka]

Like Ed said, the oiling mod is a must on AMC V8's. No reason to not do it.


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[will e]

I run the Milodon 8.5 quart pan on my 360. I like having it for peace of mind when we are in the sand dunes and I am climbing a hill pulling 4,500-4,800 rpms for extended periods of time. I also port matched/smoothed out the transitions from the timing cover oil pump to the block. As well, my drain holes were opened up too and had the flashing removed. I did not do the oil line mod.
Kevin

That's no in your sig. Part number?

[j10jim]

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/mil-30250

Milodon 8qt oil pan for AMC v8

[Tad]

$359
Wow!

[lil jeep mec]

for that i think ill just tig weld some more metal on my pan so it will hold more(just as that pan looks)

[will e]

What about an extended pickup? Where do we find that.

I can't weld so that isn't an option. I have to go with Kevin's thinking on this. A oil failure at high RPM is going to cost a lot more than that oil pan. When I pull the engine to get rid of all of the leaks I think I will go for it.

[lil jeep mec]

i respect that, and agree it is mch cheeer than the bottom end

[j10jim]

I bought my oil pan about 10 years ago. was much cheaper and I got the extended pickup as well. Best money you can spend to keep oil in these things. If your going to spend money on rebuilding a AMC V8 then spend a few more $$$ and get a good pan and pickup.