How much space should there be between the oil pump pickup and the bottom of the pan? I ask because I purchased a motor that required a change in the pan and oil pickup style. They ordered a milodon 30720 and what I think is the matching pickup. It appears that there is about 1/2 -3/4 inch space between the bottom of the pickup and the pan. I arrive at this value when I measure the depth of the pan vs the depth of the pickup. At this distance it seems like running out of oil would be a real possibility with several quarts still in the pan? Website says the 30720 works with the stock pickup! I realize you can't have the pickup to close to the pan but does the above value seem accurate/correct?
i thought i herd , that 1/2 clearence is fine not sure though , i wouldnt think more than a quart at the bottom
I got a Milodon 30925 pan of a blown motor I bought. It's an 8 QT deep sump pan. The guy that built it had used a stock depth pickup tube with it. There was ALOT of room between the pickup and the bottom the pan - making the pan pointless. I used the pan on another motor and replaced the pickup with a mildon pickup to match the pan. There is probably 1/4 - 1/2 and inch to the the actual screen. However Milodon installs small guards on the bottom of their pickups to prevent the pickup from laying flat against the bottom of the pan.
3/8 to a half inch is the desired clearance for most applications. I just had a giant oil pan discussion on another board. You wouldn't believe how something as simple as an oil pan can completely baffle (ha no pun intended) someone. 3/4" inch is starting to get a little big, but I doubt it would hurt anything. It's hard to get an exact number since you don't know how much the gasket is going to squish. The real question is are you going to use the stock dipstick and tube? If you don't start cutting the tube down or anything else like that then I wouldn't be worried at all about running out of oil. If you're trying to run on the ragged a$$ edge and lower the oil level in the pan to pick up another 2 or 3 hp, the I would suggest adjusting the pickup to get it down between 3/8" and 1/2" from the bottom of the pan.
Every oil pump or pan I have bought said .250" to .375" clearance. (1/4 to 3/8) If you use a 'high volume' pump, it will mount a little lower than a stock oil pump, therefore take up some of that extra clearance. HV pumps often lower the pickup .250". The gasket will lower the pan though, no matter how tight you squish it, which you do not want to do anyway. Never cut or modify your oil dipstick or tube! The oil level in relation to the timing cover/block is always constant no matter how deep you pan goes below that point. Dave
