I had not heard another response on this originally in the Insight to FE Dove post...so along with not sleeping at night I thought it best to toss it up here again all fresh like.
Quote: The pick-up should be located in the deepest part of the pan. On the standard issue FE, that is up front. If your pick-up rests too close to the bottom of the oil pan, you could be restricting oil flow and have low pressure. I had to go with double pan gaskets for clearance issues with my ARP bolts so that drops the pan out a little for extra clearance and oil

--Mike

Can someone else confirm this ? The pickup in the truck matched the one from CarQuest "it does not sit in the low end of the pan" it's about midway up the ramp part of the pan over the ibeams.. Possible reason for fluctuating pressure ? With a brand new pickup and pump it's still never over 32 PSI according to the dial indicator in the dash and at times seems to drop to nearly 15 while braking or after shutting it off for 5 min and restarting it (like a parts store run)..takes a few min to get back up to 30+ after that..Maybe she just needs a good drive with the fresh oil to get the old gunk to move ??

 

I spoke with the guys at Milidon and was told the pick-up should be positioned about 3/8 to 1/2" from the bottom of the pan. As for flow.l if the pick-up "tube" is 1/2" then I would think 1/2" from the bottom of the pan would not restrict flows. Someone else here probably knows a lot more then me so please chime in.

 

The pickup should be as stated. Some actually use clay or play-doh to measure how far off the bottom of the pan the pickup resides. Put a hunk of clay in the pan, and push it up against the bottom of the block(including gasket). The pickup *should* be within about 1/4" of the bottom of the pan. (I just made that number up, but it should be real close to the bottom).
If yours is halfway down the slope to the deep end, I think you may have the wrong pickup, but don't bet your paycheck.
tom

 

Mike,

Can you take a picture of what you have and post it? I'm having trouble understanding this one. Something isn't right if the pickup is not at the bottom of the pan. I can't think of any combination of standard FE parts that would put the pickup halfway up the ramp part of the pan. It sounds like you're describing the standard front sump oil pan. Correct? If so, the front sump pickup should wind up at the bottom of the pan. I don't think it's possible to put a rear sump pickup on a front sump pan...If you could do that I believe that would put the pickup all the way to the back...a lot further back than halfway up the ramp as you describe. At any rate, pictures might help us figure this out.

Tracy

 

I agree, with standard FE parts it can't end up half way up the ramp, How did you determine this??? how did you messure and were did you messure from?? yuo need to connect a mechanical oil pressure gauge directly to the engine to determine the correct oil pressure, your sending unit or gauge or both could be bad...or a high milage engine may be the problem

 

Well i hope this works first time to upload a pict in the posts..This is rough but pretty good likeness of the state of the present setup..Mind you this is exactly what came out of the setup when I dropped thepan to do the work..the deep side of the pan is the front of the engine...Thanks, Redmanbob

 

YIKES!!!!!!!!!!! what the hell ???? something is not right..great picture, you get an A+

 

I may be imagining this but I dont think so.. I was a little odded out by the placement as the pan would not drop without lifting the engine out of the mount brackets. The pan was hanging on the pickup. To get the pan back up I had to leave the lower bolt out of the pickup until the pam was in position then reach in and put the bolt in. finish the tightning and bolt up the pan..drop the motor back down..

 

yikes, you are using a rear sump pickup in a front sump pan.

 

I'm a graphic artist for a living Pre Press manager silkscreen printing "Worlds of Fun LOL"

 

LOL. Ain't that a fact! I'd still like to see actual photos. That does describe the standard front sump oil pan. Go to Summit Racing and look up part # MEL-57-S2. This is a standard front sump pickup tube. When installed properly it will be at the bottom of the front sump pan.

 

this is the one you need

 

hmmmm....just read your reply. The front sump pickup does end up under the rear baffle and the pan does have to be slide backwards to drop completely off the engine.

 

I don't know how that could be a rear pickup, wouldn't it curve down the deep part of the pan in the rear, and there would be no way to bolt up the pan with the shallow part in the rear???

 

that parts looks like it but the angle of the shot throughs me off. I guess I could drain the oil and look in the whole with a light..