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Preventing Oil Starvation for V6s

41K views 110 replies 35 participants last post by  91mzvvti 
#1 · (Edited)
Preventing oil starvation is important because several (atleast 5) people have blown their motor as a result of the oil sloshing around the oil pan mid turn and eventually the oil pickup recieves air instead of oil and the motor goes boom. I am not an expert but through my research here is what I've learned so I'm posting it one place for others to get ideas. In my view, this is important to do only if you auto-x or go on a track, as all of the times V6s have starved of oil have been in high G force turns on a track. Personally, I've run a whole season of auto-x without having a problem but better safe than sorry.

Possible Solutions:

1.) Accusump

Benefits:
Alex W said:
it basically buffers the engines oil supply. If the oil pump sucks up a big air bubble and doesn't pump any oil for a few seconds the accusumps reserve of pressurized oil is used instead. Also, depending on how it is plumbed, has the added benefit of preventing startup wear by pressurizing the engine before it is cranked.
Personally, this option was a little high on the cost end for me and you'd have to mount the tank somewhere, MR2hybrid put his behind the passenger seat and drilled a hole through his firewall for it to reach the oil pan.

MR2hybrid's accusump setup:
http://www.mr2oc.com/showpost.php?p=3403443&postcount=10

Details about accusump:
http://www.accusump.com/accusump_tech.html#whatis

Cost: ~$700-800

2.) Modified Oil Pickup (lower in the oilpan)

Lower the oil pickup location down to .25" to .375" above the pan's bottom surface, also moving it from the shallow point of the pan into the deeper portion would be beneficial. Here is what MRdosedriver717 did on his 1mz:

Stock 1mz:


Modified as I described above:


Notice how the the location of the pickup moved and how it is made longer


Now the reason I think Toyota didn't make this stock is that with a lower pickup point, you are in more danger if your oil pan gets dented and it can block or damage the oil pickup.

The original thread:
http://www.mr2oc.com/showthread.php?t=225997

Cost: Need a welder, very few materials, pretty cheap.

3.) Baffling

Baffling acts a barrier to slow down oil from sloshing around the pan so much. JimKing's modded his oil pan with baffles. (The green cap represents where the oil pickup line is).

JimKing said:
The doors in my baffle plate only swing inward (toward the pickup). The idea is to prevent the oil from sloshing into the front half of the pan under heavy braking. I also put small baffle towards the top of the pan on the LH side to reduce sloshing in that direction during right handers. One important point is that I positioned the baffle plate so that oil pump by-pass return empties back into the side with the pick-up
JimKing's 1mz oil pan baffles:




Original Thread:
http://www.mr2oc.com/showthread.php?t=359127
Cost: Need a welder, thin steel sheet, some flaps, pretty cheap

4.) Oil Pressure Gauge

There are lots of topics about oil pressure gauges, an important thing is to have a warning of some kind whether it be a beep or a light would be beneficial, as very few ppl can look at their oil pressure mid turn. One problem is that by the time your oil pressure reaches the critical level it is probably to late to save your engine.

5.) Overfilling

Even if you have all of the above to prevent oil starvation, if your going to the track or auto-x I would overfill by about 1/2 a quart, just to be extra safe. Everyone should be following this. I believe the 3vz takes 4 quarts normally, so 4.5 would be ideal at the track. Also constantly checking your oil level before you race (while the car is cold) and after/in-between.

I hope this information helps people prevent oil starvation and saves motors, the time/money to make a DIY Baffle/relocated oil pickup is very little compared to having to drop your motor and rebuild/replace it. If you have suggestions/corrections/ideas, please post them.
 
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#54 ·
I had bearing failure in high speed cornering with my 3VZ. It was a long fast right-hander and the level was mid-way between high & low level. All Tols were inspected some 3k miles previous and were fine, no sign of bearing wear. It was con-rod #2 that failed. To which end i have welded in a permanent baffle to keep the oil more where it should be.




It has cut outs in the corner to allow the oil to drain back to where it needs to be. But my aim was to keep the majority of oil where i wanted it. The AN fitting you can see is for the return from my TRD/Vortech Supercharger.

Powdercoated & Fitted it looks rather nice! (had all my bolts re-zinc'd and passivated)
 
#55 ·
I did the same thing. Built the baffles. Little trap doors. I made it about 1-2 inches deeper. Made the pickup longer. Held almost 7 quarts. It still blew up in a long right hand turn. I put the accusump and have not had a problem since. I can not speak high enough for it and it cost less than $250.
 
#58 ·
Troymx576 said:
I did the same thing. Built the baffles. Little trap doors. I made it about 1-2 inches deeper. Made the pickup longer. Held almost 7 quarts. It still blew up in a long right hand turn. I put the accusump and have not had a problem since. I can not speak high enough for it and it cost less than $250.
As it happens Troy, I've ordered a Canton reservoir setup too. :)
 
#59 · (Edited)
great information here im going to be lowering the oil pickup, baffling the oil pan, and going with a accusump setup. I will also be getting Teflon crank scrappers which should help keep the oil where it needs to be. :) Back when I had my 92 camry I had the same issue as many others and blew a rod bearing, I have learned my lesson :thumbup
 
#62 ·
For you guys running sandwich adapters, which are you using? I ordered Earl's (510ERL.) I was planning on blocking one port and using the other. I

It occurred to me that it will severely impede flow in this configuration.



This the engine block side of the adapter. The out port is on the right. This would certainly work to fill the accusump, but to get oil to the filter, it would have to push through that little ball and spring pressure overflow port.

If there was a circuit - oil cooler for example, this would work fine.



This is one of the ebay specials. The ports are all smaller than the 1/2NPT / -10 AN that I want to use on the accusump, but you can see that they are an open design that allows bypass of the ports.



This is the Canton part that is made for this purpose, which I went back and ordered. 22-565

Just wanted to see what others are doing and caution others of the irony of starving your engine of oil by installing an accusump with the wrong adapter. :thumbup
 
#64 ·
I used a Canton and then modified it for more oil flow on the mill to make it more open to not restrict flow. Mine came with two drilled and tapped holes so I put a fitting for oil pressure in it and then drilled the side for a little 1/8 oil temp, yet have not used them. I would think any of them can work.
 
#66 ·
edeguarda said:
I think it'd be helpful so see more pics of setups. I've seen the setup for Hybrid93, but how about the rest of you V6 guys? I just got the accusump in the mail and debating how to set it up.
Just got this going today. Hitting Atlanta Motorsports Park tomorrow for a track day for testing.

Engine bay shot:


Closer up:
The top two mounts go through the fenderwell, so rust protection, short bolts and fender washers are in order. The -4 AN hose near the gauge is for my oil pressure gauge and low oil pressure warning switch @19psi.


Oil filter sandwich view:


Parts list from the accusump to the block:
Canton 2qt Accusump
Canton Accusump mount kit
1/2 NPT m-f elbow
2" 1/2 NPT all-thread extension
Canton ball valve
1/2 NPT m to -10 AN adapter
1/2 NPT hose end
~20" -10 braided hose (started with 3' section)
rubber coated hose clamp with 10mm nut to heat shield stud
~20" high temp 1" heat shrink (braided will saw through anything)
-10 AN swivel 90' hose end
-10 AN to 1/2 NPT m adapter
Canton oil filter sandwich part # 22-565 (Toyota oil filter thread pitch is 3/4 -16, oil filter land is 2 5/8")
 
#69 ·
JimKing said:
Rear bin mount:

http://www.mr2oc.com/showthread.php?t=453275

Working great. Heating of the cabin has not been a problem.

I love your setup Jim, and that's the direction I started to go in. I actually have my rear bin taken apart now. In the end, I decided to go the simpler route. I had a finite amount of time to prepare the car for track duty, and several other projects that had to be done too.

If this were a race car, I would have mounted it on the passenger side floor, right next to the fire bottle. :thumbup
 
#70 ·
Tyler H said:
I had a finite amount of time to prepare the car for track duty, and several other projects that had to be done too.
From long experience I find you're usually disappointed if you rush an install / mod on your car for a specific event. But yours looks to have turned out great. Did you do that side vent mount with the engine in the car?
 
#72 ·
edeguarda said:
Tyler, did you ever get your setup completed?
Yeah, drove it 3 hours each way to AMP on 7/19. Blasted through 2/3 a set of Porterfield R4-S (do not recommend for track work,) and a full tank of gas on track in 95 degree heat.

The Accusump was definitely working hard on right hand turns, as the oil pressure was holding constant at 45-55psi through the turn and down the next straight. It would normally be 60-70psi in a straight or left and vary with RPM. The accusump had a steady discharge and recharge and kept oil pressure going.

I have no doubt that I would have spun a rod bearing without it.

Car ran strong, cool (188.5 degrees) and quiet all day. No oil consumption.

( BTW, this is on an unopened 235k mile Avalon engine. )

Here is some video--may be able to see the oil pressure gauge.

V6 MR2 at Atlanta Motorsports Park 7-19-13
 
#75 ·
Anyone have any pics of auxiliary oil drains on the 1MZ? We are doing a 1MZ swap on our Mk1 lemons racer. I think we are going to do an extended sump, baffling, external drains and then build a DIY accusump out of an old fire extinguisher. We did a deep sump, baffling and external drains on our old 4AGE and it seemed to work well.
 
#76 ·
I think I'm the only one who is doing the external oil drain backs. Removed the freeze plug out of the front head on driver side, tapped it for npt fitting the going to use npt to AN adapter. And it is goibg to drain into the upper pan. The front head's oil drain is on the passenger side so on hard right turns it pools up on the top head and gets trapped on the driver side of the front head. I don't think the rear head needs an extra drainback since it is angled so much.
 
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