Transparent oil pan reveals the nasty dirt that never leaves a Duramax diesel

Whenever you change the oil in your carsome old things are always left behind. The average lubricant technician does not flush all the oil passages before removing the drain plug, and there is no need to do so. But what’s not good is that dirt and debris remain forever inside the oil system, settling at the bottom of the pan after each shutdown. This only increases the likelihood that it will get into the engine and end up causing a bad, bad day. This oil pan clarity test shows that this is exactly what is happening on GM Duramax diesel engineand something tells me that he’s not the only one with this problem.

Banks Power conducted an experiment during research and development for new CoolRunner oil pan. That’s not the point of this blog, but what you should know about Banks is that these guys have more experience in developing diesel truck upgrades than almost anyone else. They particularly knowledgeable about Duramax platforms after decades of customizing GM oil burners, both for civil And military use. It’s true that some companies spend a lot of time and money developing solutions to problems that aren’t really problems, but I think you’ll agree that it has a purpose.

First, Banks did not intend to design a new Duramax oil pan solely to remove this excess gunk. That’s a plus, sure, but their main goal is to improve cooling by improving the design of key existing components rather than adding new parts. During prototyping and experimentation, they discovered that the factory design of the L5P oil pan left old oil contaminants at the bottom for several reasons.

“GM’s goal was not to retain oil in the intake tube for priming,” explains Banks Power. “The oil trapped in the suction tube is a by-product of the weld nut used to ensure the drain plug threads are properly engaged to avoid stripping the threads, but directed inward to avoid making the drain plug the bottom point of the pan. This causes a pool of oil to form at the bottom of the sump and thus the suction tube will retain additional contaminated oil.”

That weld nut they mention is the main culprit. Since it protrudes into the oil pan about an inch, there is plenty of room for sediment and metal debris to accumulate without coming out. Also, since the oil pickup tube is submerged in water, the sticky oil is never forced out by air unless you pull the pan out completely by varying the pressure.

Check out this demo that shows what happens during a routine oil change. Even after replacing the filter, pulling out the drain plug on the transparent oil pan, which exactly imitates the stock design, and pouring in new oil, it mixes with contaminants at startup. The old oil is forced out through the suction tube and almost immediately gives the fresh Amsoil synthetic a black tint.

Banks drained the remainder of the engine oil, and it contained almost a full quart. This means there’s quite a bit of metal debris and grime left around when you don’t want it to. The best course of action is to change the oil as soon as possible to prevent it from breaking down and becoming dirty, but this doesn’t always happen, especially if you’re not the first owner.

Banks’ host goes on to explain that their CoolRunner oil pan has the drain plug at the lowest point and also provides two quarts of extra oil capacity. This means the suction tube is no longer submerged in water, although Banks promises that the time it takes to get oil from the sump to the engine is negligible. Finally, the CoolRunner has precisely positioned fins to ensure complete drainage and, more importantly, cooling. I’ll let the video explain this in more detail, but it’s essentially the same approach Banks takes in his Ram-Air transmission pans for Allison five- and six-speed automatics. (it goes behind Trucks 2020+ model yeartoo much). They’re working hard, and the patent filings prove that Banks believes in what he’s doing to improve truck performance.

After all, the average truck driver might not care about such things. But I can guarantee that anyone considering replacing their engine oil and transmission pans with equipment that cools better wants to know what’s going on inside their truck. This transparent pan looks quite rare and amazing.

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