Club 80-90 Forums

Here is an answer I just got back from Small Car..
Its about their new full capacity sump made from ally with fins on too..

The oil pan is in stock $329 + $58.50 shipping to the UK.

Our oil pan will fit all Subaru 4 cylinder engine. Designed to gain Vanagon stock ground clearance and hold stock Subaru oil capacity. This is important for Syncro to be able to refit the skid plate.
Please note that our oil pan is designed around our engine mounting system. Make sure the engine mounting system you use provide enough clearance for the oil pan. You can check this by using the stock Subaru oil pan as an example. The stock Subaru oil pan mounting flange area is now part of our oil pan body. This makes our oil pan body wider than stock.

Sounds like just the job, why do they always talk about skid plates over there and not engine protection bars, are theirs different?

I was under the impression that it's volume was not a busting lot more than the previous 'shortened' sumps...

Yes I have heard now that its unlikely to be all its cracked up to be in terms of volume and that a chopped sump is a pretty good thing because it retains baffles..

Richard took the time to write to me in great detail all about the various options of which I will simply copy his conclusions here:

Non of the aftermarket sump options that I am aware of currently available hold as much oil as a standard sump when they are filled to the same level, which is obviously not ideal. However, the interesting part is that with an hour or so's fabricating (say £50's worth of work if you take your sump to someone else and have them do the job for you), you can hold more oil and have the same ground clearance than you would get with a $329 cast sump (currently around £320 with shipping, VAT, import duty, and the custome processing fee). The EJ20 / EJ22 sump may hold slightly less when modified this way than an EJ25 sump, but the difference will be minimal (I estimate 0.1 - 0.2 litres), as the main difference in shape is in the part you cut off and throw away.
The other sump options mentioned do hold more oil than a shortened standard sump when filled to the standard dip stick maximum mark. Whether you think this extra capacity justifies the extra cost, or running the risk of engine with a higher level than intended is up to you.

Its a tricky subject and I am guessing Richard has done the research in order to come up with the best solution.
So what is the current best solution? Getting it made with extra fabricated volume? I wonder why its not suggested to use an oil cooler or some other idea. Surely the quantity of oil is mainly to keep the temperature of it down.

Dry sump it!

Hmmmm. What have you done SyncroAndy? Any pics?

From what i remember at SyncroP - I think Andy is smallcar sump and smallcar engine mount

Yes Andy has the smallcar mount and sump..

Do you fill above dip-stick oil level then? How many litres can you get in? Any problems?

rollercoaster - did Richard give any ETA on his sumps? When I spoke to him in May he said later this year.....and i'm still holding off with my EJ25 conversion on the off chance they might be available this side of Christmas.

Rich

No mention of his sumps in a very long detailed email..
I would love to post it all on here but not sure if it is a polite thing to do..
Thought the conclusion was enough.

And another thing that is interesting is this:
http://subarugears.com/
Now we could use Subaru gearboxes in Syncros!
Expensive for now and I'm not pretending I understand the technical problems..
But it does open up a whole range of options..
What could the future hold?

subarugears is the fella in OZ who's cwp I hope to build into a 'box for the Microbru.
My plan is to have an AWD, road-going bus with all-Subaru drivetrain
i.e. low and fast
It'll the next best thing to a Carrera4bus, which I really can't afford to build or even think about

silverbullet wrote: i.e. low and fast

Now you're talking.

How do you make a two ton brick 'low'n'fast'?

Love to see it though! Did Subaru do a 3.3 manual?......

KarlT wrote:How do you make a two ton brick 'low'n'fast'?

Love to see it though! Did Subaru do a 3.3 manual?......

Well our Teutonic friends seem to do a good enough job I hope mine doesn't weigh 2 tons, even with screaming terrified passengers!
Subaru only built the SVX as an auto, but the manual trans is good for 300 ft.lb even with a standard gearset - did you know that the EG 33 can be safely overbored/relinered to 3.8 litres
You can't do that to the later H6 3.0, as the bore centres are closer together.