Road Race Oil Pan

[MJN]

Bernie

Thanks for the reccomendation on Armando. I am going to give the Canton pan one more shot putting in on without gaskets and the "right stuff" and if that doesn't work then I will be calling Armando.

Anyone else out there had any experience with Armando's pans?

[Satanpez]

They sell The Right Stuff at Pep Boys/R&S Strauss type places.

Someone told me that OEMs use it now. (Not in a Can of course) I bought a can because I couldn't get the gasket I needed for my engine. Found gasket before I could use the stuff. It's Thick.

-steve in nj-

[Slide]

Ihave a Milodon 351 road race pan. The back had to be clearanced against the engine plate and the front high centers on the front cover. However, with 4piece fel-pro and some rtv the leaks only occasionally reach the floor.

[Jack21]

Wouldn't recommend an OEM oil pan on a Cobra. Car corners, accelerates, and brakes too violently, and will uncover the oil pickup.

Wouldn't recommend a cast aluminum oil pan on a Cobra. Car sits too low. Only 4 - 5 inches of clearance. Cast aluminum doesn't dent like sheet steel, it cracks.

Have the Canton 9qt Road Race pan. Standard Fel Pro 4 pc gaskets with a bead of RTV on the corners. No leaks with 11K miles on the car. And, why installed in the first place, no oil pressure loss during acceleration, braking, or cornering.

That being said, the Road Race pan did not go in without hassle. Got a windage tray from Ford Performance Solutions that was made by Canton. The crank oil scraper on the pan pushed the windage tray into the connecting rod nuts. Had to remove about 1/3 of the crank scraper from the pan, and clearance the windage tray. Oil pickup hung up on oil baffle, and needed clearancing to get pan on/off. Good exercise for die grinder.

Nothing just "Bolts on" to these cars. Every seemingly 15 minute job takes 2 weeks. But if you don't do it right, you'll just have to do it over again.

[Mr.Fixit]

Canton's pans aren't the best out there, but are certainly as good as most "factory" pans. You will need to bend the crank scraper back if you run a stroker crank. You should also check the pan rails for flatness and straightness, on any oil pan. A diamond screen windage tray should be fitted on every performance engine with a wet sump. Baffling and trap doors in the sump are nice too (see milodon pans). Check the clearance of the pickup to the pan with a blob of clay (sandwiched between two pieces of aluminum foil) and make sure it's 1/4" to 3/8" of space. Clean all mating surfaces very good with thinner, go slowly, work your way around the oil pan as you tighten the pan bolts, it will take a few laps to get them all snug. Then snug them again later when you change the oil. This keeps most of the oil within the pan, unless you run synthetic, it can usually find a way out of there because synthetic just loves spotting up driveways. "The right stuff" is the greatest thing since sliced bread, thick, tacky, conforming, pricey, it sure beats regular silicone.

[acaskie]

I have had exactly the same experience as Jack 21, down to the fitment issue with the windage tray. It can be leak-free as he describes.

The four piece gasket is the only option, as the front and rear portions of the Canton pan mounting flange have a raised bead that is incompatible with the similar raised bead on the one-piece gaskets. Why Canton doesn't offer a beadless flange version I don't know.

If you continue to have leakage at the front, don't forget to check the dipstick tube. Mine had a hairline crack in the back that kept leaking, but was impossible to see. Finally found it only when the whole thing broke off. Good luck.

[Bud Man]

I have a 9 1/2 quart oil pan from Armando for my sideoiler, and the fit and workmanship are superb.

I recommend him highly.

Bud

[Andy Dunn]

I 've got a Canton 15680 and an Armando GT40 and consider them both very good pans.
http://www.cobralads.com/enginetools/MVC-739S.JPG.html

I've never had any sealing problems with the Canton. I did have the two piece gasket. I personally consider Canton racing products to be excellent. If you don't have their catalog, you might check out a copy since some of there stuff is really trick.
http://www.cantonracingproducts.com

The reason I ordered the Armando pan is because it was almost 2" shorter than the Canton. I think I only had 4" ground clearance before and this was scaring me. The new pan should be almost even with the frame rails.
http://www.cobralads.com/enginetools/MVC-741S.JPG.html

I've heard that Ford has selected Canton as the supplier of oil pans for their modular 4.6L engine.


Andy

[Mr.Fixit]

A high dollar oil pan is no substitute for carefull checking and assembly. It just guarantees that if something goes wrong, it will cost you more to replace it. Armando makes great pans, but they cost more than the cylinder heads on my hot rod.

[scottj]

Fixit-Sometimes a high dollar pan isn't a sure fix either. I had a aluminum drysump pan built by Billet Fabrication in Simi Valley. Holes wouldn't line up with the studs and the end seals had an 1/8" gap all the way around. Call Jeff Johnston, owner of Billet Fab and he says; its only aluminum, smack it with a rubber mallet til it fits and put it on with silicone. Doesn't leak thou.

[rdorman]

Can't say enough about the quality and value of Armondos pans. Did you all know he made Aviad pans for something like ten years? It was the lowest profile, best laid out, most reasonibly priced pan I could find. It fit perfect with NO leaks. It arrived on time at very short notice. It fit the car so well that I did not have to remove a single part to get it on. Unbolt the old one, install pickup, verify dipstick setting, bolt on new pan. Didn't even remove the starter. My oil pressure used to drop to zip under extreme circumstances, no more.

Tell him I said hello

Rick