LA engine oiling questions

[Duodec]

In the before time ('80s!) the MoPar performance books and engine guides often called for a modification on LA engine blocks where you connected the left and right oil galleys together and blocked the passenger side galley before it fed the #1 main bearing.  I think this was in the Direct Connection engine guide; it was certainly in more than one of the small block building books back then.  No need on my little 318 which is certainly not going to to rev high enough to need any such thing, but maybe the future 360 could benefit.  It was too protect the #3 and #4 mains from oil starvation at high RPMs.

Is this still a recommended thing for an engine of sufficient performance expectations?

The 360 will also get a windage tray and better than stock oil pan, but the 318 is keeping its stock pan.  Is a windage tray worth it on a slightly beefed up 318?  Any benefit at the lower revs that engine is going to see?

[MoparLeo]

Windage trays are always a good thing as the oil splashed and gets whipped up even at "lower RPMs".
A high pressure oil pump is all you will need for a street car.
If you can it would be wise to get a 5.9 Magnum block for a future build. They use roller lifters in stock form, a stronger block and other LA engine block upgrades.
Remember that all of the big inch Mopar engine except the Hemi were originally built for trucks.
The 413, 440, 360, 5.9 even the 5.7 Gen III Hemi was installed in the trucks before the cars and as such were built for lower RPM torque.

[MOPAR MITCH]

Besides adding a windage tray (for hi-rpm oil control), I highly recommend having baffles within your oil pan to help keep oil in the sump during acceleration, deceleration and cornering.  Too bad MaMopar didn't make the SB oil pans that way (at least BB 440-6 and Hemi oil pans have front and rear factory baffles in the pan)... its the single best modification you can make to help your bearings live a long life (and your hyd lifters will be happier, too!)....   You can have simple ~1"-2" plates welded above the sump (with a small opening for the pick-up tube)... and it'll make a huge difference for oil pressure control in any hi-performance driving situation.  Or else, you can get the Milodon Pro-Touring oil pan and be proud of it (some minor fitting of the K-frame may be needed).

[Duodec]

OK, who has a decent windage tray for a stock 318 these days.  Not hi-po, not going to be high revving.  I'd need the special main cap bolts also so a kit would be nice.

So the crossover plumbing tying the driver and passenger side oil galleys together is no longer a recommended procedure (again, on a high output high revving motor, not my 318)?  I saw one video on youtube where a guy did his engine that way but for something I remember being commonly documented back then, there seems to be very little info now.

Thanks

[RUNCHARGER]

Mancini Racing used to list those windage tray kits including the special main bolts. My son put together a W-2 360 with a solid roller and he's run it in his off road race truck for several seasons with the chip set to 7,000RPM with no ill effects. He didn't do the oil galley mod so I think you can get away without it these days as long as you have not to big of bearing clearances and enough oil pan capacity. His engine will hold full pin at 7,000 for what seems like several minutes.

[Duodec]

Thanks for that reference.  I haven't shopped Mancini in a while and while looking found they have the fuel pump eccentric I need for half the price of everywhere else I'd found it.  The original one is a bit worn.

They have the windage tray but unfortunately not with the attaching kit.  The only attaching kit they have (and that I found at several other sites) is a Milodon stud kit... and its well over half the price of a complete ARP main cap stud kit that also supports the windage tray.  Kind of makes me not want to pay that much for a partial stud kit, but the 318 certainly doesn't need ARP studs.

Decisions decisions.

I've sadly never had an engine with a windage tray so haven't seen one in person.  Were factory small block windage trays installed using main studs instead of bolts?  I thought they still used bolts with bolt heads that were drilled and tapped to accept the smaller bolts holding the tray on.

[Chryco Psycho]

Factory tray is great , the main bolts were tapped to hold the tray & are different for the 318 so you need tray + bolts

[Duodec]

I looked for a factory setup with the special bolts but no luck.  I've never seen one.  Mancini doesn't have a kit with tray and mounting parts, just the tray alone, but does carry a Milodon install kit that replaces two sets of main bolts with stepped studs for the tray mount, or you can get the ARP stud kit that has the same  provisions (all studs with two pairs stepped down and extended).  Around $80 for the Milodon kit with its four studs, about $115 for the ARP kit that replaces all the bolts with studs.  I hadn't planned on switching from bolts to studs but for the not so large difference in price, I kind of prefer having all the main caps attached the same way.

But talk about overkill for a mildly built 318...

[Duodec]

Perusing my old DC engine manual and also searching for the factorywindage tray main bolts has brought up new questions.

The small block bolts aren't out there; apparently MP discontinued their kit and so far I haven't found them available anywhere.  The places like Mancini that sell the trays now sell the Mildon stud kits for attachment; four studs with washers and nuts.  That costs most of the price of an ARP full stud kit that also supports the windage tray.  I haven't found an available bolt kit that supports the windage tray.

Per the DC engine book, if you change from main bolts to studs you have to have the block checked and align honed.  I haven't found that same 'requirement' if you only replace the four cap bolts with the Milodon stud kit.

So if I can't find the factory type bolts and have to go with either the four Milodon studs or the full ARP stud kit to install a windage tray, does that automatically make block align hone a requirement?

This is a 318, fairly stock rebuild with only minor upgrades (better heads, cam, etc). IT doesn't need main studs for any other reason than the windage tray.

Thanks

[Chryco Psycho]

To be perfect yes align hone it .
for a mild 318 the caps simply cannot move that much & you may polish the brg surface a little if things are off but the odds of doing real damage & spinning a brg are highly unlikely .

[Duodec]

Thanks for replying.  Yay, more machine work! 

[Chryco Psycho]

To be clear I wouldn't do it for the build you are doing .