Looking at getting a Derale deep sump oil pan for my TH400. Its 4" deep and adds 3qts ontop of stock quantity. My driveline is out of my 1984 Regal at the moment so I cant assess the situation for clearance. Is anyone running this deep of a pan on the street? Any clearance issues?
I tried a deep aluminum pan on my '70 GS (which sits a little low), and pulled it right back off and installed a stock depth aluminum pan. I don't think it would have made it out of the shop! It may work OK on a car that is stock height or sits up a little.
Thanks Alan; My deep sump motor oil pan sits about 1inch lower than the trans pan, and it has no clearance issues. So a deep sump will work, but I was unsure about the 4". The 4" deep sump is a big mother. The run of the mill deep sumps are usually 2 to 2-3/4" in depth.
I run a steel deep pan off a motor home that had a 400 trans. No issues I think it takes 3 or 4 quarts more than the shallow stock pan.
I have used the Derale deep pan with the cooling tubes on my TH400 in my '69 Nova SS and it was no lower than the collectors on my Hooker headers...dunno if that does you any good though being that our cars probably sit a bit differently. I don't recall ever bottoming it out even though I have my car a little lower than stock and carry the weight of a big block Chevy with aluminum heads. The stiff Hotchkis springs may be to thank for that. Good luck with your project.
Thanks for all the input. I have decided to go with a slightly shallower Aluminum version. (B&M) It looks a bit more ribbed and stronger than the TCI version. Also the Derale 4" is offered in a 3ish inch deep with the cooling fins, but Im not liking the idea of a steel pan over an aluminum. The Aluminum will be easier to drill and tap for a temperature sender also.
What is it the man with deepest trans pan wins:laugh: All I have ever used is the deep GM pan with a Allison screen/filter for better flow. I can't remember how deep it is but it holds an extra 2 Qrts.....
No problem for me. I have an aluminum pan, my exhaust hangs lower and would drag first, if dragging was a problem.
All the pans I saw had filter extensions included if you buy new, they ARE needed. Need to run a deeper pan because even with a trans cooler, I burned up 2-3 clutch pack in the TH400 with very few miles and stock pan, thanks to the 3500 stall. The trans didnt slip at all, but it was gone through anyway, and those items needed to be replaced. When I upgrade, I usually dont end up skimping.
