FUNFER2 Kevin here is my thinking, the road in my state SUCK!!! The higher I can have the
oil pan, the less chance of damage or hitting a pothole and denting the pan. T pan also carries almost the same amount of
oil asd a deep pan. I have been running a Canton for 14 years, no problems with leaks. I only problem I had was with the canton diamond scraper and it hitting rod bolts. I cut the straps and added 1" to clear the rotating assembly. No other problems. I also over fill the
oil pan by 1.5 quarts of oil. This is because of autocross and roadracing. With the 3 quart accusump I could get away with not over filling the motor. NO damage has been done , SO I don't mess with it. The rule about leaving a sleeping dog alone works for me. No oil to that motor running will kill it faster than any other problems.
As far as sludge buildup in motors, Yes I have seen many cases in the dealership. Diesels are the worst. The oil is being burnt or cooked inside. Not changing oil, even Mobil 1 will sludge if oil changes are done every 7-8000 miles. We have a saleman that runs the car directly to the oil life in the car. The car comes in 2 quarts of oil low and it is cooked. He is looking for a free motor. This one is knocking. car has 92,000 miles on it. 100,000 mile warrantty on the car and he has the dealership in a bind because of the conflict between owners manual and dealership reccomendations of every 3 k miles for an oil change. Too early to tell who is going to win this one.
Oil pan, biggest you can fit and still have max ground clearance. Rick L.