Should I paint lifter galley?

[Shaggy]

I have stayed out of it just because I don't like to get into flame wars but Yes I did say I paint every motor I build have yet to have one come back because of paint blocking a pickup screen. Hell I have yet to see one that the paint has even started to peal on, that may not be a fair test as the motors I have gone back through are usually at most a season old before it gets stripped down and redone though I have seen a few that have had extended use such as my street car. Now what I have seen in actually several instances is in a "loose" wet sump motor with a high volume pump running for extended high RPM suck a oil pan dry, so while painting doesn't actually add any power the fact that I know my oil will be in the pan coming off a straight (most of my motors are in road race cars) give me allot more comfort plus if I pull a motor failure apart and it has been oil starved that is one less thing I have to worry about. Now as far as drag racing will a street motor ever run at high enough rpm long enough? probably not, but does it hurt to paint it? IMHO, no And I will even post the down side to try and be as fair and truthful to my knowledge, in any motor without a windage system( ie: tray/screen ) it would probably actually cost you power because you have more oil in the pan at any given point creating more actual windage as the crank swings by.

PS: on the ford oiling system, I agree with parts of both peoples statement, the actual passages and amounts through them is better on a Chevy (stock to stock) but the ford oil pump is 10 times better then the Chevy pump(have you ever noticed about 90% of the Chevy "race" pumps are actually the same gerator design as the stock ford?). Now I would take a small journal Windsor with restrictors in it any day over a Chevy block though.

[DemonGT]

thats about it........

[QuantumMotorsports]

Hey man, while you're at it, paint the underside of your valve covers, the top of your heads, the underside of your intake, the inside of your block. I wonder if it would help to paint your bearing surfaces too. Sorry if I'm a little cynical sometimes, but I honestly can't believe that painting the surfaces is going to make a bit of difference. Underdrive pulleys i can see making a small difference, maybe not a noticable one, but a small one. It makes sense, accesories cause drag on the motor. But there are thousands of racers that have all out drag motors that don't have painted surfaces and if they ever have problems with oiling the motor, it's usually because they put a high volume pump in, or some other problem unrelated to oil collecting in places other than the pan. I'm sorry if I sounded like I was thrashing you man, no harm intended. Just thought your time and money might be better spent elsewhere. And you guys talk about all of these articles where people recommend it. You are the kind of people who go out and buy oxyclean by the gallon from a 3:00 am infomercial. Just my opinion, take it for what it is. Hey man If you get it done and it works out for you, and your car hawls ***, shout out a post and I'll congradulate you.

[82 GT]

I think shaggy's last post sumed it all up. Let's leave it at that. Now enough of this lifter gally painting controversy. I going to paint the damn thing!!

[Mach 1]

Originally posted by 82 GT
I think shaggy's last post sumed it all up.

I dont. I think Quantum Motorsports post summed it all up. Lets leave it at that..

[DemonGT]

what ever you sayQuantumMotorsports seeing as your a profesional engine builder and build performence engine for a living..i guess your right....i better get the sander out and remove that paint...dang it...and it looked so nice

[Mach 1]

Aww, you guys are just a barrel of monkeys..........

[DemonGT]

[Jeff Chambers]

Can't stand to see this go on any longer without adding my two cents. First off, I can't believe that there's a professional engine builder out there that hasn't seen painting of the galleys, heads, valve covers or bottom of the intake. If there is, I've got to wonder what kind of engines that professional is building?

At any rate, painting of the galleys, heads, intake, etc is a long-standing engine builders' trick. I've got a 7-qt Canton Pro-Pan on my engine and I've sucked it dry BEFORE the end of the quarter mile with a high volume pump. Not hard to do when you're shifting gears at 7400rpm. That's why you try to promote good oil return. You can promote good return (and control) by doing some simple little tricks like contouring the oil return holes in both the galley and heads, deflashing & painting the oil return surfaces (galley, heads, etc), using baffles & screens, etc. Its just another small part of being in the middle of the crowd or at the front of the pack.

[WADS56]

I would also like to add my 2 cents I have had mine painted for 4 years now with the special orange paint that DemonGT has posted pics of. There is not one spec of paint that has flaked off or anything. I know for a FACT that it works, and I also recomend it. I have a Canton 7 quart pan with a H/V oil pump and I have never sucked it dry once. I fly down country roads here at 5500rpm for long periods of time and still no problems. There is not a single hint of oil buildup or sludge in the motor when I tare it down for the winters. That includes one year that I ran crappy Castrol GTX to break it in and still no buildup!
Use it if you want to it's your call, but I would. Next time I build a motor I am even going to paint the inside of the pan to keep it nice and clean

[Mach 1]

I think the most important thing to come out of all this is, if you do it, to do it correctly, so as not to have paint peeling problems. To do it correctly would be more trouble than its worth IMO for a street car. Make sure you get it clean with the brake cleaner if that works......

[QuantumMotorsports]

I never said that I build engines professionally. You guys make stuff up. What I'm saying is very straight forward. If you have the money and time to mess with things like that, do it. I don't have the time, or money to be shooting paint on every oiled surface in my engine. And even if I did, I wouldn't do it, because in my opinion it is not worth the effort. The oil is still going to get to the surfaces that need lubed unless you're running with like 1 quart of oil. If you've already painted the inside of your block, that's fine, if you are going to paint the inside of your block, that's fine. My point is, it's your money, do what makes you happy, but like someone already mentioned, if you were so set on painting it anyway, why ask? Just go do what you want to do and everyone else doesn't matter because once again, your money, your engine.

[DemonGT]

if your not a profesional engine builder....AND you have never done it to your engine before...how can you say the things you said then??

[82 GT]

Originally posted by DemonGT
if your not a profesional engine builder....AND you have never done it to your engine before...how can you say the things you said then??

That should hold him over for a while.......
Excellent point!!!!

It seems that all the people who had doubts about it at first are backpeddling now.
It wasn't such a stupid question after all....now was it....huh?

[ChunkFunky]

I cant believe this thread is still going, I find it kinda funny.. but I'll keep it alive...

quote:
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Originally posted by DemonGT
if your not a profesional engine builder....AND you have never done it to your engine before...how can you say the things you said then??
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I've never poured chocolate pudding into my engine (though I have used 70w oil and that's close) but I certainly wouldnt and I would advise people against it. I think this whole thread has turned into a cat fight and it's kinda funny... but when it's all said and done we've got a split disicion. Lots of poeple build thier own engines, but arent proffessional builders. Some people paint thier engines. Some Dont... that's really all we've accomplished. This obviously isnt a cut and dry question. The fact that there's many responses for yes and no just the same, means to me it's a matter of opionion or personal preference. If you wanna do it, do it.. if not, dont... ask yourself if it's worth the time or the money. It seems that it can be done without hurting anything if done correctly... so with that, you're safe to do your thing. Though it may not make a bit of difference.... so with all that said... cant we all just get along.

[DemonGT]

cause of some of the things QuantumMotorsports said..i felt he was saying thats its dumb to do...and anyone who dose it is dumb and wasting there time etc etc...so i felt the need to defend myself on the topic