Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines oil accummulators

Anyone had any experience with Moroso oil accummulators?
I have run in the autocross at the GoodGuys Nationals in Nashville for the last 3 years, and after every pass, my lifters (250 Chev) are Raising Cain! I had planned to take the pan off this winter (not a fun job) and widen the sump and add some hinged baffles before running it again.
Then I saw these things being advertized, and it sounds like just what I need. But the installation instructions show the connection should be made to an adaptor that fits behind the oil filter, and I don't think there is enough room.
Wounldn't it make sense to simply connect it to the oil pressure port in the block, being that this feeds directly to the lifter galley? I know the smart thing would be to ask Moroso directly, but they are also in the business of selling that adaptor also.
Any of you distinguished gentlemen got any ideas?
Thanks.

In theory, they should work pretty good as shown in their illustrations. Most road race stuff I have messed with, sorta' came at a time when the industry had already progressed to either dry sump or external wet sump pumps. You might also try to put a crank scraper in your pan to also keep oil from running up the side of the pan in deep turns, and as you already said, baffles and trap doors is a good idea also!

the oil filter is where your oiling starts from Fresh and clean.
as for the crank scrapers I had them made for the 250's and 292's
with an w/out the teflon.

The question is... what do they mean by accumulator? In the Navy our Diesel Engines had an Oil Accumulator that was just for spitting extra oil to the remote bearings on start-up. This was because the Engine was 20 feet long.

So if the Moroso Accumulator is just for start up... I dont know if it would help for quarter-mile runs or Dirt Track Racing.

Also if you are Re-routing the oil path you could be Stealing it from one place. I suggest studying the oil path and research oil weights and additives. I do like the idea of baffles and a bigger sump. Keep up the good work.

I have used the Moroso 'oil acumulator', it's intended purpose (primarily) is to supply oil to the bearings to prevent engine failure in case of an interuption in oil supply during high load (ie coming out of a hard corner, with a less than stellar oil control system in the engine).

I was satisfied with the performance of the unit I used. While it could be used for pre-start oiling, you would have to add a valve to the system to contain the oil, untill you wanted it (a simple 1/4 turn valve worked for me).

It is a cylinder (about as big around as the old oil cans and as long as 3 of them) with sealed ends and a free floating internal piston that is sealed to the bore of the cylinder. On one side is an air precharge (15psi IIRC) and the other is engine oil. If you don't use a valve (for startup oiling) you will have to wait somewhat longer for the oil pressure to stabilise (as the pump fills the unit).

The reason they want you to tap in immediately after the filter is 3 fold, In no particular order:

As Larry said it's nice clean oil at that point (or at least it's supposed to be )

Most engines are priority main oiling, so if you put the oil into the system where the factory did, the oil will go where the engineers figured was most important, first.

Lastly, the only time this unit is puting oil back into the system (excepting idle, shutdown or startup) is when the oil pump is pumping air or foam, so they use the oil filter as a check valve (oil filters flow terrible backwards, they are using that on purpose) so that the oil goes into the engine, instead of trying to reverse prime the oil pump.

As I hinted at earlier the large one holds approximately 3 quarts, when I asked, that is supposed to be sufficient for a road race or off road big block V8 (they were worried about loosing oil during a spinout on the road course, or so I was told).

I was using it in a road rade car, it should work on an autocross car, but there is a smaller (cheaper) one that holds 1.5-2 Qts (no piston though, so it has to be mounted vertical).

Another brand (I think it's a different brand) is called an 'accusump'.

I would prefer to

Okay, not sure what happened there, but I'm almost done.

FWIW I would prefer to baffle the pan first, then, if I thought I needed it, I would use an 'oil acumulator'.

You can make your own accumulator, either weld one up, or make it out of threaded pipe. Just make sure it's surgically clean inside (as it's after the oil filter) and put the oil in the bottom (I have thought about doing this with a 12" X 2" Iron pipe with a cap on the top and a reducer to 1/2" FIP to plumb to the engine, just make sure the hole is in the bottom and the pipe is stood on end). Presto cheapo, not pretty though. Oh, any of them without a piston aren't recommended for off road use IIRC.

pappy,
you are find out that the oil goes everywhere except where you want it.
i think you should first.
baffle the pan, simular to that done on a perf v8 pan, also adding the trap doors you mentioned.
install mesh to grab slung oil.

when running the course add 1 quart oil.
if installing the accumulator, some of our engines have a large plug further back on the engine oil galley, it is a 1/4" plug, not the little 1/8" oil sender. use that to add the accumulator. tom

What would be the impact of putting extra oil in the engine during the autocross and draining it out after the event? What does overfilling the pan do to the engine? If short term overfills won't damage the engine, you could put a canister that is filled by the oil pressure capillary tube and has a drain that allows it to be dumped into the pan just before the race start.

it would be slow to fill but if the engine isn't damaged by a couple extra quarts for a while???

Never tried it...just a thought.

Provided, the spinning rotating assembly doesn't come into contact with the standing oil in the pan. That situation is very destructive, and can cause severe engine damage and failure! I would first take a spare oil pan and fill it with the normal capacity of oil(water or solvent), make sure it is level, then check the relationship between the oil level vs. distance from the rotating assembly.That will also give you a reference as to where to install any baffles, just slightly above the fill line. If you can safely add some to that without the assembly "slapping" through the oil, you probably would be fine. Most race oil pans have windage trays and scapers and baffles that can be positioned into the bottom of the pan, just directly beneath the spinning assembly to prevent the sloshing, side to side and back to front of the oil and running up the sides of the pan, and keeping the oil where it needs to stay. Making sure the pick-up tube stays submersed in oil.

ok fellers, thanks for all the ideas.
it will take me a while to digest all this, but it looks like the pan is coming off for sure for a little customizing.
thanks again!

IIRC Mr gasket or Morroso sells a pan baffle kit (with kicouts as well as baffles).

Every pan I've ever had to baffle got the trap doors made out of screen door or piano hinge (replace the hinge pin with some wlelding rod, long enough to bend both ends for retention, so thd 'door' mooves as freely as possible).

Here is a nice accumulator and its easy to install. I am going to got one for my 250 engine soon. It hooks into the oil sensor hole with a T fittings. super simple in design also.

http://www.engineprelube.com/howitworks.html