oil pan bottoming out?

[rubbinsracin]

We ran this weekend and think we bottomed out the oil pan while setting the car for the corner. Steelhead motor with 1" spacers under the motor mounts already. Anyone got any ideas? Front of the oil pan was packed solid with mud. Standard 8qt pan. Should I just raise my front ride heights?

[twisterf5]

We ran this weekend and think we bottomed out the oil pan while setting the car for the corner. Steelhead motor with 1" spacers under the motor mounts already. Anyone got any ideas? Front of the oil pan was packed solid with mud. Standard 8qt pan. Should I just raise my front ride heights?

is the pan lower than the rack. and what chassis.if it was a brand name chassis then i would think your ride heights are way off or you have way to soft of front springs.

[bigc]

get some 3/16" thick aluminum plate and make a skid plate that extends from above and in front of your rack (usually ties into the bottom radiator mount) down under the rack and extend it past that gap between the rack and the front of the bottom of the oil pan. it can even rest up against the oil pan on the bottom. this will keep the mud out of that area. you may need to weld tabs to bolt it up. but you should still figure out why you are collapsing the front end so much. id say spring rates are part of the issue but track conditions could also influence it.

[rubbinsracin]

i will have to take a look tonight to see if our oil pan is lower than the rack. i would have a hard time imagining it is, but i will check to make sure. its a 08 shaw, ride heights are correct and spring rates are 375 RF and 500 LF. Track was crazy tacky. i have a ton of travel on the RF shock and do not bottom out the shock.

something thing my dad brought up that it could be is on entering the corner, i feel the jerk, i think its the pan bottoming out, he thinks it could be the cable that we have limiting the rear end making me feel the sensation of bottoming out. we just got the car this year and have never had an over rail that required a limiter, in the past we had underrail cars that we just used the tube to limit the drop.

can someone tell me what they feel when they limit out their rearend?

[hucktyson]

Highly doubt your feeling the limiter , I would almost guarantee you were bottoming out the frame rails or the oil pan , which ever is lower

[rubbinsracin]

lets assume it is the pan bottoming out...what can i do?

put more spacers under the mounts to raise the motor?
Put a skid plate on? (still bottoming out)
put a stiffer spring on the RF? (Maybe like a 425)

[JustAddDirt]

put a bump-stop on it

[andy16]

set your front end travel indicators before race, record travel, go home remove front springs from shocks with jacks under both sides let chassis down to indicated travel, see how much clearance u have between ground. i have a black front end rocket and my oilpan is lower than rack i have a skid plate and rarely hit it but on a junk track it does happen ive seen it end peoples night before...

[Egoracing]

I saw the track kill the pan on a crate motor at Talladega.

[rubbinsracin]

checked last night. oil pan is below the sight line of the rack. not by much but enough that i could see it bottoming out. we went to a stiffer right front spring to see what that does. we needed to loosen entry some anyway so im hoping that this will kill two birds with one stone.

and if it doesnt work, ill probably put some additional spacers under the motor and put on some kind of skid pan, though im reluctant to do so because i feel that is a bandaid fix that doesnt keep from bottoming out.

also wanted to thank everyone for their help. this place is a valuable resource.

[hucktyson]

You need to keep the soft spring and run a bump stop to prevent the bottoming

[rubbinsracin]

You need to keep the soft spring and run a bump stop to prevent the bottoming

What kind of bump stop do you recommend? Just stacking the black pucks or getting a cone with bucket?

[StuckInReverse]

If you are truly bottoming out the oil pan, it will be obvious. The sump will be crumpled and covered in mud. If it's not, look at something else. Perhaps the RF lower control arm is hitting the frame rail?

[rubbinsracin]

If you are truly bottoming out the oil pan, it will be obvious. The sump will be crumpled and covered in mud. If it's not, look at something else. Perhaps the RF lower control arm is hitting the frame rail?

no its definetly the oil pan. the front of the pan now has a slight concave to it and was completly packed with mud. we are going to run the stiffer spring for now and get a few bump stop hockey pucks for next week i think.