Windage Tray on 340 - Use the original or go with new Milodon windage tray with new larger Milodon oil pan? Is there a difference?

[Playtimefun]

Good day folks

I am going through the process of re-building a 340 for my 1973 Cuda. I have to rebuild it due to stupidity on my part. We put Hughes hydraulic roller lifters in, combined with Comp Cams Pro Magnum Shaft mounted roller rocker arms. Which when i called were not supposed to be oiling through the pushrods. So we also put in some comp cams 8311 6.8" 0.080 oil restriction push rods. Well guess what... put all the oil from the stock oil pan into the top of the motor (especially when i was driving it hard) and spun bearings.

So now i have gotten a Milodon 30936 (7 qt) oil pan to increase the oil capacity and custom push rods from smith bros. with a 0.02 restriction. This way there will be still some oil going through the roller tips with the majority of it going through the shaft but according to Smith Bros. it should be only about 15% of the flow that the other push rods had.

I also ordered the Mildon windage tray thinking that it has to be a better fit that the old windage tray was. But now that I look at them, it sure appears that the old stock windage tray is actually longer and looks to have better coverage (maybe not as may cuts in it) than the new windage tray. Any thoughts on whether Ma Mopar got it right to start with? Is the old one actually better than the new models? I will take and upload some pictures shortly. Now this is not a stroker motor, so crank clearances are not an issue.

Thoughts?

 

[Chryco Psycho]

The factory ones always worked for me !

 

[Mopar Mitch]

If I remember correctly, the Milodon windage tray for the SB requires their own main cap studs.

I recently built a SB stroker and had a major hassle (using H-Beam rods) fitting the Milodon windage tray (and the Milodon road race Touring pan with it).

 

[Playtimefun]

Yes, you are correct. I looks like the tray is moved to the 3rd and 4th mains instead of 2nd and 4th. I was going to re-use/swap the bolts and I do have a Milodon windage tray mounting kit coming from Summit. Asides from a few more cuts in the tray though, it looks like it's smaller and that has me wondering just how effective it is. Unfortunately, the pictures I took are too large to upload.

 

[Playtimefun]

Ok... worked this time lol.

 

[Chryco Psycho]

It looks like the factory tray covers more of the crank but the milodon has more positive raised scrapers , the factory tray could be modified .

 

[Playtimefun]

Uncovered the block to start getting it ready to paint and here is how they cover the crank. The factory tray sits about 0.5 inches higher than the Milodon tray. The milodon can be slid down but either way 2 sets of bearings are basically left exposed.

 

[Playtimefun]

The high volume clears either I think... I couldn't tell because after 5 months waiting on a Meilling HV pump from Summit, it came with a cracked neck. So pretty bummed out as I type this.

 

[Mopar Mitch]

The high volume clears either I think... I couldn't tell because after 5 months waiting on a Meilling HV pump from Summit, it came with a cracked neck. So pretty bummed out as I type this.

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Remember... the Milodon windage tray requires their own unique set of installation STUDS.. replacing four of the OE main cap bolts. The design of the Milodon windage tray does not allow the original OE main cap bolts to be used with their tray.

 

[Playtimefun]

Yep... they are coming sooner or later from Summit.

 

[Racer Dave]

While you are waiting for parts.... This is a good mod to complement the HV pump. Fluids don't like sharp turns and this softens the transition somewhat.

The "vents" in the Milodon pan appear to be intended to emulate a scraper and that makes it a better design, but the lack of coverage would make me choose the factory windage tray. I made a scraper to use in conjunction with the factory tray. The idea is that it scrapes oil off the crank and drops it onto the windage tray where it can drain back to the pan. It's almost free horsepower! Just some .030" (22 gauge) sheet metal and several hours fitting it within no more than 1/16" clearance to the crank, rods, and bolts. The tabs running along the main webs are intended to butt up against the main caps so it can't slip inward during assembly. Don't forget to drill a dipstick hole! I just RTV the block side and use a pan gasket like normal on the pan side.

 

[NixDad]

if your interested in selling off the original one let me know...

 

[Playtimefun]

I went with the milodon windage tray only because the factory one sits so low in a Milodon low pro oil pan that the windage tray almost sits on the oil pan ledge itself.

The milodon stud mounting kit turned out to be the BIGGEST CLUSTER F$$$ that you can ask for.

I got a flat bottom tap (there went $50 as I had a normal tap) as they said and taped the holes to the bottom. Well the threads don't go long enough on the studs. I tried using a die to cut threads and hot about 1.5 rotations working a little at a time until I snapped the die holder handle off.

I phoned milodon and they instantly said oh... you have a 340... you need stud kit 81154. I was like your website site says 81151. Well that's not the right part. Ok... do you have any in stock??? No. Phone Summit or Jegs. I looked on their sites immediately. Neither. Then phone Detroit Motor Supply (they said the part was discontinued according to their computer). Milodon says go take the studs to someone with a lathe. Ok... there went another $60 to get another 0.45" of thread length added. So now I can thread them all the way to the bottom of the hole. BUT... the studs are too long still and all four are hitting the oil pan.

So cut about 0.35-0.4" off each one.

Now I have it so that the studs have the end of threads against the block. If I would have just cut the studs shorter and extended the threads by the same amount then there was MORE than enough thread to not have to thread them deeper. Just needed the right length studs.

In the end adjusting the windage tray is easy enough but still very questionable if it is an improvement over the stock one. Its definitely easy to get way tighter to the crank. Cutting a few openings in the stock one would have made some improvements but modifying the height is what was really needed.

Flip side... tightened everything with the new studs and my thrust bearing tolerances improved by 0.002 lol.

 

[Playtimefun]

Approximately what you need to cut ooff and thread...

 

[Mopar Mitch]

I think Mopar Muscle magazine did a SB build a few years ago.. installing the Milodon windage tray with road race oil pan... and they mentioned they had to cut the length of the four new main cap studs (from Milodon) so to properly install the windage tray without further interference. Yep... I also found that out later when I was doing the same install... Too bad Milodon doesn't caution you about that requirement... or better yet... just supply the correct length four studs.... you're already paying a premium price for their studs.

 

[LS1K5]

I just went through that with my 340 stroker build, I used the ARP stud kit and two that the windage tray attaches to I actually removed some of the threads from the block #4 bearing location and bottom tapped the holes. It was a PITA, if I was just using stock main bolts I would have found a way to use the original windage tray or attach milodons tray to the stock bolts.

 

[gzig5]

This thread has me strongly considering the Kevco road race pan version over the Milodon for my current build. I've not heard a lot of positive comments on Milodon products over the years and this issue with the studs is unforgivable. Something so simple should neither cost this much or require any additional effort by the end user.

 

[autoxcuda]

The Milodon pan is a true road race pan with:

• 5 trap door gates
• heightened back wall
• 1/2” less than stock height
• 6 quart capacity

I don’t see a Kevco pan like this

 

[autoxcuda]

While you are waiting for parts.... This is a good mod to complement the HV pump. Fluids don't like sharp turns and this softens the transition somewhat.

View attachment 105934

One way to transfer the port from the main cap to the oil pump body.

 

[LS1K5]

The Milodon pan is a true road race pan with:

• 5 trap door gates
• heightened back wall
• 1/2” less than stock height
• 6 quart capacity

I don’t see a Kevco pan like this


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I had a dimple my pan in the same two spots, I was tempted to just cut the ends of the studs off like you did. I went the more difficult route, it's a hassle to install the milodon parts but well worth it in my opinion