LS swaps present several obstacles during installation into the G-body. Choosing the correct aftermarket LS oil pan and motor mount combination for the LS engine is one such obstacle.
As stated in this website previously, I am using a Moroso LS oil pan ( part # 20140) with BRP G-body motor mounts and BRP ceramic coated headers (www.brphotrods.com ). I really like the Moroso oil pan because it has a 7 quart capacity, baffles and control doors for slosh control, and doesn’t hang below the engine cradle.
Unfortunately, the Moroso oil pan contacted the passenger side of the frame while using the BRP motor mounts. The oil pan was sent back to Moroso to have it customized. This modification was good for frame clearance, but was not checked for steering center-link & tie rod clearance at the time. (oops!)
This seems to be a very common place problem with many engine mounts and aftermarket oil pan combos. A very easy and cheap solution is to add spacers / shims to the motor mount. There are many ways to do this, but simply adding stainless steel washers will do the trick.
Simple S.S. washers from your local hardware store will work. I used 12MM washers because they are the approximate size of the mounting pads on the engine.
The washers were added to the engine side because they were the easiest to access, and easiest to be hidden. Seen in this photo the 12MM washer is about the same size as the mounting pad.
Adding the same number of washers to all four pads does not allow for the correct angle of the engine mount to line up to the frame side engine mount (simple geometry – working with 2 vectors). Tapered shims, or different stacks of washers are required. This build up uses 2 washers on the top 2 pads at a stack up size 0.190″, and 1 washer on the bottom 2 pads.
Seen here is the final result of the differential stack up. 2 each on the top and 1 each on the bottom pair. I also added washers to the motor mount through bolts, but is personal preference. This is a minimal amount of spacing, but will give the necessary clearance for the steering linkage.
This photo shows positive clearance between the Moroso oil pan and the GM tie rod / center-link.
Simple engineering allows for these great parts to work together. This car now has motor mounts that are designed to work with the headers, a 7 qt oil pan designed for aggressive driving that does not hang below the frame, and has a drive line angle at the tail of the transmission at 3 degrees.
Hope this small tech info will help you with your decisions on going for that LS swap, or help with your conversion in work.
-Matt.