Oil sump casing

[RAY]

I have seen a couple of Pagodas with approx 1 inch wide "ribs" along the length of the oil sump and some were it is all smooth.

Are the ribbed ones on a certain model or a certain year period or maybe the ribbed ones are repro ?

Perhaps someone might know or could all you good folks take a quick look at your sumps ?

Now there's an interesting thing to do !

Ray

[Cees Klumper]

I'll check tomorrow, I have a couple laying around...

[badali]

My 1961 220Sb has ribs on the oil pan but my 1966 230SL has the smooth pan.  I think the smooth pan is for access to the oil pump without pulling the engine.  I would think most MBs after 1962 or 1963 have the smooth pan.  That would be a good question for Joe or Dan since they know more about these cars than most of us.

[rwmastel]

Ray,

https://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=7962.msg50926#msg50926

A great thread on the topic, found via search in under 60 seconds.   

[Benz Dr.]

The ribbed steel sub pan was introduced late in 280SL production. This pan holds more oil than the regular flat bottomed type and is what I used on my own car. Most of the main oil  pans that have ribbed sub pans also have flutes which help pull oil away from the spinning crankshaft.
The ribbed sub pan is stronger and won't dent as easily and due to the larger surface are of the bottom of the pan will give you a bit more oil cooling.

[RAY]

Thanks for all the answers.

I did put in the search bar 'oil pans' but did not get the same come pages up, a lot came up re 'floor pans'  !

One question that did come up in that search and did not get answered was re automatic cars, wether they have the same pans ?

It always amazes me how swapping what you may think is aesthetic and doesn't realy matter but it actually isn't and does matter a lot and can have dire consequences.

Cheers one and all.

[rwmastel]

Ray,

I don't remember my search words, but it was probably "oil pan ribs" based on your original post verbiage.  Searching does become a bit of a art over time.  And, some people just prefer the social conversational aspect of asking whatever comes to mind.

I can't imagine why the transmission type would affect the engine oil pan style.  And, in that long thread, it is stated that the ribbed pan was released after W113 production was complete (or maybe as Dan says here right near the end of production), and it is the replacement pan now from M-B.  So, I guess if you see one on a W113 you'd have to ask why a replacement was needed.

[afibbe]

I think the smooth ones are different shape from the ribbed pans. I think the 230s have a smooth and the 250 and the 280 have ribbed.

I base this on the fact that I have a 250 block with a 230 oil pan.  The 250 oil pump intake screen would not fit so they inverted they inverted the screen.

The attached picture does not show the screen inside the pickup bell.

[rwmastel]

I think the smooth ones are different shape from the ribbed pans. I think the 230s have a smooth and the 250 and the 280 have ribbed.

I base this on the fact that I have a 250 block with a 230 oil pan.  The 250 oil pump intake screen would not fit so they inverted they inverted the screen.

The attached picture does not show the screen inside the pickup bell.

Read the entire thread I linked above. Lots of good  info.

[Charles 230SL]

When I shipped my early 230 (#003227) longblock to Metric it had a smooth bottom pan and a 14mm allen style drain plug. When I got it back it had a
ribbed bottom pan and a 13mm hex drain plug. So it looks like Metric Motors replaced the upper aluminum pan too.