I know it's supposed to help so that the crank doesn't sling the oil around but isn't the crank supposed to sling a little oil to be able to splash on the cam?? Also it would seem that by having a windage tray in that it would cause the oil to not get back to the bottom of the pan fast enough?? I know Im just confused so what's the deal with it?

Also do they just not fit with longer stroke cranks or what? Cause when I assembled my motor I tried using those ARP Main studs and my STOCK tray wouldn't fit. Like the studs were too short or something?? So is it just the STOCK tray or will the aftermarket ones work then??

 

There will still be plenty of oil slinging from the crank shaft and rods to get on the cam.

The main purpose of the windage tray would be to keep the oil that is in the bottom of the pan from getting on the crank, rods, etc. The oil will actually be drawn to the crank on the ends and it will try to wrap itself around the crank and weight it down and keep this oil from staying in the pan where the oil pump can pick it up.

The wind from the crank shaft can also cause the oil to wanna uncover the oil pump pick up as it forces the oil to stay in the sides of the pan and shallow in the middle. This can also cause the oil to aerate and aerated oil is not to cool on the bearings.

You are definitely better off with a windage tray and you will have less of a lubricationg problem with one.

Hope this helps. SStroker or OldSStroker can probably shed some more light on it for you.

Lloyd

NightTrain66

 

OK that makes sense then. This has definately gotta be causing my oil drop spike when I get on it. But what Im trippin on is if the crank can pick up the oil with the ends on the crank, then how does the windage tray keep it from doing that? Cause the crank would hit the tray then wouldn't it? Or is it that there is just a little bit of oil that sits above the tray so this doesn't cause as big a problem??

 

A windage tray isolates the oil in the pan, from the turbulence (windage) caused by the spinning crank, keeping it as stable as possible.

The oil returning to the pan, from the top end, is of major concern. This is the oil that gets in the way of the crank. This is why keeping excess oil out of the heads, is an issue worth addressing. (Excess oil from HV pumps, anyone?) This returning oil, with the influence from the turbulent 'wind' caused by the spinning crank, takes on the apearance of a rope winding around the crank. An effective windage tray (or screen) will actually absorb this oil that is thrown off the crank, in lieu of being deflected off the tray, and back at the crank, thus aiding it's return to the pan.

It has been debated for decades, as to the superiority of a flat tray over a curved (one that follows the curature of the rotating crank) tray, or visa versa. Crank 'scrapers' help strip off oil from the counter weights as well.