I heard that the chroms oil pans don't dissipate heat very well. For anyone who has or has used a chrome oil pan... how much of a heat difference, if any, did you notice.

Also, I heard that the stock style chrome oil pans require a thicker front seal than other pans.... anyone know anything about this?


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1986 Trans AM
305 TPI
Well over 200,000+ miles (speedo/odometer non-funtional! Odometer reads 142,000)
4 Wheel Discs
9 bolt Borg Warner Rear (2.77's....oh joy) :P
Completely Stock
Current Project: upgrade to a 355 TPI, 6" rods, 9.7:1 Compression, Stock TPI ported, 24#/hr LTI injectors (cleaned and flowmatched), Hedman Shorty Headers, 3" cat back exhaust with flowmater, SBC 993 heads completely redone and modified for 1.6 RR, Comp Cams XE262-14 TPI Cam, Ed Wright Fast Chip, Holley AFPR, TPIS airfoil, MSD wires, MSD 6-AL Box, Hypertech hot coil!!

 

Chrome doesn't dissapate heat that well, but I'm not sure how much hotter the oil will be.

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"Rice burners are like tampons...Every pu$$y has to have one"
'86 IROC
T-TOPS, TINTED WINDOWS, BRAKE LIGHT BLACKOUTS
GM GOODWRENCH 350
EDELBROCK TES HEADERS
3" Hooker CatBack w/Aero Chamber muffler
EDELBROCK 600CFM CARB.
KN AIRFILTER
ACCEL HEI DISTRIBUTOR
160* Stat, just switched to 180* b/c of winter coming and going to college in the mts.
3:73 Posi
Rebuilt 700R4
B&M Megashifter, 5" Autometer Tach w/shift lite

 

No offense to you because at least you attempted to help me out but.... I already knew that chrome didn't dissipate heat very well... I'm lookin' to find out just how much hotter I can expect my engine to run... if it's only a small amount then I'm going chrome

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1986 Trans AM
305 TPI
Well over 200,000+ miles (speedo/odometer non-funtional! Odometer reads 142,000)
4 Wheel Discs
9 bolt Borg Warner Rear (2.77's....oh joy) :P
Completely Stock
Current Project: upgrade to a 355 TPI, 6" rods, 9.7:1 Compression, Stock TPI ported, 24#/hr LTI injectors (cleaned and flowmatched), Hedman Shorty Headers, 3" cat back exhaust with flowmater, SBC 993 heads completely redone and modified for 1.6 RR, Comp Cams XE262-14 TPI Cam, Ed Wright Fast Chip, Holley AFPR, TPIS airfoil, MSD wires, MSD 6-AL Box, Hypertech hot coil!!

 

Aw, thats "BS"! Being chrome plated "slightly," isnt going to effect the oil temp any more than being painted. How could it? The chrome is melted on to the pan in essence it is part of the pan. As far as the seal goes, chrome pans are crap and they always leak this is from the chroming process, so you would have to use a fair amount of silicone to keep it sealed.
SSC

 

In fact, due to the close routing of the exhaust under the oil pan from the driver's side cylinder bank, the chrome oil pan may reflect some heat. I don't think you'll notice a bit of difference in engine/oil temperatures. Were it my car, I would be more worried about the chrome flaking off over time and being left with a rusty speckly pan. If it bothers you thinking about it, just run synthetic oil and all is well.

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1990 IROC 350
Mods: Too busy trying to make it run right to mod it.
Airfoil, Dynomax cat-back, MSD coil, 180 t-stat, Bald Eagle tires,
Hypertech fan switch, Accel 23# injectors, Holley module, ported plenum,
Ported Daytona Yellow stock base, Moroso valve covers, other stuff,
Streetdampr, Ruger P95DC, hot wife, new oil filter, !cats, !TBC, !AIR.
18.0 @ 85MPH since I'm one big-a$$ MF
"It's better to have and not need than to need and not have."

 

Thanks for the advice guys. I think I'm just gonna go ahead and go with the non chrome oil pan and paint it to match my block. The main reason I was thinkin' about going chrome was because I can get one now.... but I think I'll wait the 3 days for the other one to get here. The non chrome is cheaper anyhow and I don't have to worry about it leaking.

 

Well not really. I was in checker a couple of days ago and saw a SBC "specture" one for $43.99 I almost bought it. But then I realised I never clean the one on my camaro so whats the point. Oh well glad to see you made up your mind.
SSC

 

I can get a chrome one for $38.95 through a local store here in Missouri or through Summit Racing for $36.95! But I can get a stock replacement non-chrome and paint it to match my block and that one is only $23.99

 

I had a 9-quart chromed pan on my '50 pickup, and the oil temperature gauge never got past 300° in very heavy operation (355, 11:1, beating down Corvettes, no external oil cooler). If you are concerned about oil temperature (do you have a gauge?) you can always intall a filter adapter and external cooler.

Are there any old wives here today?

As for the leakage problem, the finish of the pan really doesn't matter. The blanks are stamped in the same dies. some are nickel/chromed, and some are primed for painting. Aftermarket pans tend to be thinner and weaker anyway, so your chances of a leak are the same with both.

If you're really **** you could try to fit a Vortec cast oil pan to your "old" SBC and get cooling and everything. If you can put an LT1 intake on an L98, you can probably do the Vortec oil pan.

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Later,
Vader
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If you want to beat the World, it might reach up and pull you down...
Adobe Acrobat Reader

 

I understand what you're saying about the leakage but if that were the case then why does summit racing say that the chrome plated pan requires a thicker seal but the same pan not chrome plated says nothing about needing a thicker seal??

 

Summit may be sourcing the pans from two different manufactureres. Chrome/nickel/copper plating is not cheap, and not very environmentally friendly. Electroplaters in the US have been shying away from bright chrome for many years, and I would suspect the chromed pan is probably of asian origin. That pan could also be thinner than the stock steel pan and have sealing problem because of the weaker flanges. There is a lot of Chinese chrome in the US these days.

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Later,
Vader
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If you want to beat the World, it might reach up and pull you down...
Adobe Acrobat Reader

 

Well, if all else fails and I get a leaky problem I can't fix, there's the salvage yards. Better than paying GM $121 for their replacement pan.

 

I used the Trans-Dapt chrome plated Slam-Guard pan on mine. No noticeable change in temp.Didn't get it because it's chrome, though, but because it has a thick steel skid plate welded to the bottom of the sump.I highly recommend it for lowered 3rd gen owners planning on replacing their engine.
-Rich-

 

yeah, thanks, I just replaced the engine in my lowered camaro, that would have been nice to know 2 months ago........oh well

 

I got the Summit chrome pan, not a bad piece for the money...