The goal was to keep oil around the oil pickup itself. Our theory is that it was sloshing away from the pickup and sucking air into the oil pump (which we also experimented with at length to eliminate it from the equation). The pics are deceiving, and sadly I don't have any better ones, bit the baffles are staggered about half way up the walls of the pan.
Not illegal, per se, but we are limited to a total budget of $500, excluding safety gear (cage, wheels, tires, brakes, seat, belts, driver comfort aids, etc). Everything else needs to fit under the $500 cap. This was the easiest, cheapest thing we could come up with, and it seems to be working.
Thanks! Here's another great video of the Jeep hauling ass, competing with a 1700 lbs VW running about the same HP as we are. And we weigh 3100 lbs, wet. Also, note the RADesigns R/T Shifter prototype that we've finally gotten dialed in and working great.
Yeah, we were trying to get it all buttoned up for a race, and it's hard to use a Nikon when your hands are covered in oil. On our next rebuild I'll pull the pan and take some better pics. It really isn't rocket surgery, though. We just sorta winged it and used the drain hole as an inspection port to make sure everything cleared:
There's room, but that sounds like a lot of work.
We actually had very poor luck with over filling. It would just pour out of the valve cover, dip stick tube, etc. We tried a variety of ways to vent it while keeping the extra oil in there, but it always ended in blue clouds of smoke as oil would pour out onto the header. We just run a small catch can off the top of the valve cover (a qt oil can ziptied in place) that has been working like a champ.
We already have a huge trans cooler and a power steering cooler up front, not a lot of room left. And it seems like we have the oil temps in check.
We're good to go now with engine coolant temps. We just got the big boy Griffin Radiator for it and it was running 180-190 degrees in 100 degree ambient temps at race pace. We actually removed the mechanical fan because the radiator was so thick, it was a little close for comfort. We can't use the Evans stuff; water only in case it leaks onto the track. We could do anything we want with the front bumper, but I don't think it would gain us much.
Done and done.
I didn't mention the part about the Griffin because it cost more than I paid for the Jeep originally (wink, nudge). Luckily, it was heavily sponsored.
Is an oil cooler allowed/in the budget? If so I HIGHLY reccomend one. Valve springs create massive amounts of heat especially in a constant high RPM enviroment. In our experience oil cooling on a RR motor is just as important as a good cooling system. The 4.0L is a huge Iron heat-sink. Just think of all the wasted surface area inside the engine that the oil comes in contact with and it's easy to see how one would help.
