Thread: General Info: Swap your steel oil pan for an aluminum one

The year after yours, GM used an aluminum pan in the aluminum frame. I have the aluminum frame and aluminum pan. It's a great combo.

Hey Kyle.... learn how to search sucker!

I've never looked them up. They are hefty bolts and you can give them a good amount.. Say 25 ft lbs

I honestly don't torque it.. I hit it pretty hard with a wrench and it's good.

I didn't leave there.. just can't be online there as much as I used to be.

And .. yes on the Regal. Currently I'm still driving it. Will be rolling 250k this afternoon.

Kinda the wrong thread for it..

But.. I first tossed a Gen V on and did the TB adapter. Now the car is running with an NA L26

Originally Posted by aligater

04 and older - steel oil pan
05 and newer - aluminum oil pan

03 and older - steel subframe
04 and newer - aluminum subframe

Each oil pan needs the matching pick up and motor mount brackets

Use either pan with either subframe, but only need to grind steel subframe to work with aluminum pan.

nope

03.5 and older steel pan
03-04.5 steel or alum pan, alum pan is not a good indicator of a SIII (PM rod) engine, both were used as parts inventory ran out of the old design. ive seen cast rod alum pan engines as well as PM rod engines with the steel pan
04.5+ alum pan

alum subframe is far more convoluted, 3 different designs, the best being the second, the third design modified to crumple easier for new crash standards. 01+ dep on model of car.

steel subframe was pretty much done by 02/03

the only time ive had to grind with an alum pan is when using the earlier Horseshoe motor mount bracket instead of the integral pan bracket. and thats in 2 small area's of the horseshoe where it runs next to the alum pan.

PS the alum pan sucks donkey dick, ****ty windage tray, no weight savings, brittle as ****.

Dorman single layer steel pans FTW

What in the heck are you doing to the pan that would make it brittle, oh wait.. you put a billion HP to these things. I could see where the steel horseshoe could be a better mount setup in higher HP cases.

James... I am interested in the windage differences, would you please explain them a bit further? Difference of the plascraptic vs aluminum with built in. Thanks

Originally Posted by BillBoost37

H body pan

while the alum pan and steel windage tray have some upsides (narrower louvers, steel windage tray, rigidity/NVH) it has quite the downside....

its mounted farther from the rotating assembly, and while cyl 4 is slightly better at stripping oil....the perimeter of the tray is open.

while far from ideal the steel/plastic setup is easier to mod into a good setup, the windage tray is opened up and knife edged, cyl 4 scraper welded to pan (the nicer single layer Dorman pans are far nicer than OEM)

the alum pan has a harder to modify windage tray. will crack instead of bend, plus the integral W body mount bracket makes getting to the mount bolts a real pita over the horseshoe.

on the Riv we tried the best of both worlds using the plastic tray with the alum pan...the gasket put the pan lower (moved oil level down away from crank) increased pickup clearance to nearly 1/2".

but then you lose the rigidity of the alum pan.... which is arguably the best reason to swap it in aside from slightly better oil cooling

So what's the verdict on this, good idea or bad idea? I need a new oil pan, so it's now or never...

For me it's a no brainer. Aluminum.

The con's that James mentions will never effect most of us. And on the mount/bracket. It's not an issue because you pop three bolts and it's in your hand

I may just have to swap it then, it's all of $20 for the oil pan at the JY.

Originally Posted by Booba5185

I may just have to swap it then, it's all of $20 for the oil pan at the JY.

Make sure you get the pick up tube as well. They are different