oil filter plate 340

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72dustervs

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I have been told to drill 4 more holes in the oil filter plate for less restriction of oil flow , , is this something that most are doing on a rebuild ?
 
Just make them larger in a drill press using and end mill going straight down so to remove material toward the inside of the hole. That way you don't get into the filter o-ring surface when making them larger. Making more holes makes the plate lose to much tension holding the plate against the gasket on the outside at the block surface

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That was my thought, enlarge existing holes, and I'm glad somebody more knowledgeable chimed in.
 
I added another 4 holes to mine. The plate was leaking and I needed to pull it off anyway to fix. I'd read the restrictive 4 hole design didn't help with leaks due to the high pressure it created in that area. The aftermarket/later plates also had more holes for improved flow.
The plate no longer leaks (I run a thin smear of rtv around the outside to be sure),.oil pressure is unchanged, no negatives that I can report from having the extra holes.
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When you do this, you also need to examine the retaining bolt/adapter, to make sure it has a matching cross-section, else it's a waste of time.
as @Oldmanmopar states, the plate will lose tension, and mine would no longer support 10W40 when cold.
My solution was to install a second plate, similarly drilled and indexed together. Do not use the retaining "bolt" with the internal 3/8ths drive; it is too small. Use the one shown in Post #2, with the external hex-drive.
If you intend to spin over 6000, you need to do the additional oiling mods detailed in the How-To section, to protect your rodbearings; and you should really include a larger capacity oilpan, with a larger-diameter pick-up tube.
if you intend to spin over 7000, you need to connect the lifter galleys as described in the article. A deep pan should be mandatory, and your oiling system should include porting work.
And most importantly, you gotta keep the pan full of oil. At three quarts in the stock pan, I have lost stock 340 cranks at modest rpms . In my street-only car, I now run 10W30 in a Seven quart Milodon Roadrace pan, but with just Six quarts in it, to keep the windage off the crank. It seems to be working as the engine now has over 100,000 miles on it, with no issues..
 
One other thing to look out for is to check the centre of the plate is not bottoming out on the block before you tighten the centre nut. Sometimes (probably due to overtightening) the plate is too "flat" so the centre the nut can't apply tension to seal the outside of the plate. If you turn the plate over you can gently tap the centre out slightly and trial fit it to see if the outside surface of the plate is pushing on the gasket but the centre is off the block slightly.
I don't think drilling the extra holes causes a loss of integrity in the plate, it's quite thick and is not torqued that much anyway, I've read between 30 and 50 lbs/ft. I think I did mine to 40.
 
Small round file for the holes. Do you think the center adapter fitting does all the work sealing the OD of the plate against the block? Think about what happens when you screw the filter down on it.
 
Small round file for the holes. Do you think the center adapter fitting does all the work sealing the OD of the plate against the block? Think about what happens when you screw the filter down on it.
No I don't. Mine leaked less when I tightened the oil filter a bit more...but it still leaked, and the oil filter was over tightened compared to what I normally do.
I'm just passing on information I've gathered here and on B bodies, coupled with my own experience. Hopefully so others don't have to spend a few hours under their car fixing theirs.
 
The O ring seal on the alloy ones seals a lot better. I turn up my own.
 
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