Oil Accumulator Mounting

[Dat73z]

I'm thinking of mounting an oil accumulator in the circled teal area and teeing into the oil return line from the cooler. After some measuring It seems a 2qt canton accusump will fit well there. 

 

Is anyone currently running an oil accumulator and how do you have it installed? 

 

I'd like to keep it out of the cabin but I think the only other places it may fit without having super long line length would be the fenderwell and maybe the tunnel. In front of the rad support is too packed on my car. 

[AydinZ71]

Why you gotta be copying me and s***?

Kidding, smart minds, great minds and all that baloney. I mocked up my 3qt accusump in this location w/ mounts and welded nuts, ready for install. Using a remote cable on my gauge cluster. This way, everything looks neat now that paint is back on. 
 

keep in mind, I called accusump and the cable they supply is not intended to be cut. Plan accordingly. Ideally the nozzle-end is pointed-up like mine to allow air bubbles to escape. 
 

don’t forget, you need room on the back for the air-fill port for pre-charge, and a gauge ideally. I used 1/8” plumbing hardware to make it work for me. AL fittings are naturally lighter, but I had brass on hand. 

[AydinZ71]

PS: my battery is downsized and relocated behind the passenger seat. My coolant overflow is below where your inspection light is, and my oil knock-out resevoire from the breathers is directly across from the block breather outlet. This is an NA race car, so I don’t have the turbo charge pipe to worry about. 

[Dat73z]

Thanks @AydinZ71. I really like how you mounted that. Really clean install. Good point on angling it I hadn't considered air would be an issue. 

 

Are you running a baffled oil pan as well? 

 

Any tips on the cable install? Did you just loop it for the extra length? 

 

Doing some more research I'm not sure if it's overly redundant on the L series to do both the accumulator and a baffled extended capacity pan (am running an AZC modified for drainback). I'm also at like 10 or 11 quarts of oil already. I do like the idea of pre-oiling as I cycle through vehicles so my cars/bikes can sit for a while between starts. 

[AydinZ71]

Yeah that’s what I had in mind. Running the accusump only (for now) since the oil pan options are quite expensive. Pre-oiling was a big plus. I got mine used for $100 and sent it to accusump for reconditioning ($60). 
 

Now that I can mig weld, I thought about just getting another oil pan and modifying it myself. They don’t weigh all that much to begin with, so not quite sure $700 for an all AL one is worth-it. 
 

My cable is installed in such a way that it goes through the fire wall, heads towards the drivers chassis air vent, then loops back to my gauge cluster at the center console. I’m still painting the rest of the interior so everything is disassembled. Here is my gauge cluster made from 0.08 5052 AL (because it bends without annealing). I got it down to 1.2lbs without the gauges and hardware. 

At the bottom of the panel there are two holes. One is for the fire suppression system, the other is for the accusump. Both a pull-cords with handles. 

Edited July 12, 2022 by AydinZ71

[tube80z]

On 7/11/2022 at 4:41 PM, AydinZ71 said:

 

 

 

 

A couple of thoughts.  The cable is a push-pull morse type and you can get those in almost any length and perhaps cheaper than accusumps' versions.  Don't worry about length as you can find just about anything you want these days.  I really don't understand their bracket at all.  Why wouldn't it by attached to the accumulator body.  For the air you might think about using some AN hose or the cool plastic air bag/brake hose to more conveniently mount where the gauge and the charge port is.  As it is pictured above you have a gauge on the end of some fittings and that can vibrate and potentially fail, although that's not guaranteed.    

 

Cary

[AydinZ71]

1 hour ago, tube80z said:

 

A couple of thoughts.  The cable is a push-pull morse type and you can get those in almost any length and perhaps cheaper than accusumps' versions.  Don't worry about length as you can find just about anything you want these days.  I really don't understand their bracket at all.  Why wouldn't it by attached to the accumulator body.  For the air you might think about using some AN hose or the cool plastic air bag/brake hose to more conveniently mount where the gauge and the charge port is.  As it is pictured above you have a gauge on the end of some fittings and that can vibrate and potentially fail, although that's not guaranteed.    

 

Cary

 

Cary,

 

Agree with everything you said!

 

The AL bracket was designed to go-over the unit (hence the bridge-like design, would have looked like it belonged), but given the geometry I had during fit-up it didn't work for me. Too sharp of an angle for the cord to penetrate the firewall perpendicular. It looks silly mounted to the side like that, but I have the room unutilized and their mount is very light. 

 

I can reconfigure the air-in/gauge nozzles since it's all disassembled anyways. Photo's were taken before I sent the unit to Accusump for reconditioning. The brass 1/4" nipple and ball valve are pretty darn heavy (over a pound).

 

Agree all of the components could be fabricated separately for a more elegant fitment. Shortening the cord shouldn't be all that hard either. My reluctance is time. 

 

Time has been the most watched variable in this build. Since the whole chassis was restored from the ground-up including almost a year of rust repair and chassis stiffening, I'm doing everything I can now to leverage non-fabricated components. The kit was about $110, and when I compared that to the time I would spend it was a no-brainer. Two-years into the project, and I am only now finishing interior paint from bare metal (spraying this weekend). 

 

I see a future where I may re-visit many of these considerations once I get the darn thing on the track.

 

-Aydin