Hunh? Is my engine dry sumped?

[twobone]

So I'm looking over the car at the dealership and searching everwhere for the dip stick on my Ford crossflow 1700. I was also looking at the sump on the hoist and noticed that it does not have a deep sump.

 

Is that large aluminium tank an oil tank? My first impression was that it was the radiator overflow.

 

If its for the radiator, then where the heck is the dip stick? (OK, no jokes about looking in the mirror!)

[twobone]

OK, found pics on the internet....YES I'm dry sumped. Very cool. Now what. How do I manage my oil level to make sure I have enough dead dinosaurs to keep the hard parts from sticking together?

 

Is there a level in the tank to monitor?

[Kitcat]

Hijack:

 

Looking at your photos, does your gas accelerator cable pull or push the accelerator lever on the carbs? On LHD cars, like mine, it pushes on it, wh/always seemed backwards-maybe it is?

 

BTW, your dry sumping system is pretty cool.

 

Mike

[11Budlite]

OK, found pics on the internet....YES I'm dry sumped. Very cool. Now what. How do I manage my oil level to make sure I have enough dead dinosaurs to keep the hard parts from sticking together?

 

Is there a level in the tank to monitor?

 

There's quite a few threads on Blatchat concerning dry sump oil level. Here's a quick one: http://www.blatchat.com/t.asp?id=188565

[bsimon]

The two thirds tank volume mentioned in the Blatchat thread is a good starting place. Make sure the engine is running when you check. The oil in the tank will tend to drain back into the engine sump when not running.

 

Oil level in a dry sump system is not critical like it is in a wet sump. As long as there is enough oil in the tank to feed the pressure section of the pump at all engine speeds, you are good.

 

Extra oil will help engine cooling a bit. If you want to maximize the oil capacity, start increasing the oil volume in tiny quantities. Go out and thrash the car a bit. Watch for returns in the catch can. Once the engine pisses oil in the catch can, you have too much in the system. Back off a half pint and call it good.

 

When you've established the max capacity, make a mental note or mark a bit of doweling/coathanger to stick the tank with.

 

Hope this helps.