Dry Sump on Zetec. Any issues?

[das76]

Thanks for the help on the ITB question earlier. I'm hoping this one is a bit simpler but also looking for guidance.

 

Car will be ~  75% road / 25% track laps (not racing at this point) and AutoX.

I'm pretty sure it doesn't NEED it. However it would help it sit a bit lower and I'm not a fan of how far the current pan sits below. And I like projects  

 

The engine bay is pretty tight and I think the only spot is here shown in green as in the current setup. Looks like some harness/wire migration/moving might need to happen, as well it looks like there is some kind of aluminum "shelf" there. I'm not at the car but will be later this week and will look in more detail.

 

 

[CarlB]

You will gain ground clearance in comparison to a lot of wet sump pans, but not all. To lower the engine, you will need to make new motor mounts. You will also want to consider the drive shaft angle change. The engine transmission is mounted at an angle and the differential is mounted at the opposite angle. This is done to make the universal joints work. You might want to look at how low your flywheel is in relation to the oil pan. That might determine how low you can go. Dry sump systems use an external pump with a belt. this can be a reliability issue. If the car sits for a period of time all the oil can drain out of the tank and into the oil pan. 

The best thing and primary reason to use a dry sump is not losing oil pressure when the oil sloshes away from the pickup tube when you are cornering hard. 

[linenoise]

5 hours ago, CarlB said:

You will gain ground clearance in comparison to a lot of wet sump pans, but not all. To lower the engine, you will need to make new motor mounts. You will also want to consider the drive shaft angle change. The engine transmission is mounted at an angle and the differential is mounted at the opposite angle. This is done to make the universal joints work. You might want to look at how low your flywheel is in relation to the oil pan. That might determine how low you can go. Dry sump systems use an external pump with a belt. this can be a reliability issue. If the car sits for a period of time all the oil can drain out of the tank and into the oil pan. 

The best thing and primary reason to use a dry sump is not losing oil pressure when the oil sloshes away from the pickup tube when you are cornering hard. 

 

FWIW I believe he is considering lowering the overall vehicle stance, not the motor. 

[IamScotticus]

Make sure the piston walls will get adequately oiled in lieu of the normal pan splash. 

A DS pan may have a shallow pooling baffle under the conrods to provide enough oil for splash, while allowing the excess to drain to the sump.

 

Ensure there is conrod bolt head clearance in the pan early in the project, possibly even before removing the engine.   Bolt up the DS pan and hand turn the crank to check. 

Edited February 14, 2023 by IamScotticus

[Pokey]

An alternative to a dry sump that seems to fit the need is Raceline's low profile wet sump:  https://www.raceline.co.uk/products/part_section.asp?SectionID=40&CategoryID=2.