Where have you guys put your inlet for your vacuum pumps? I got an Aerospace pump for my big block and they recommend the front of the valve cover with no baffle, but I was thinking of installing it mid valve cover on the intake side. Any suggestions and pic's of your set ups would be great, thanks!

I tried several things till I found the right spot ..

Middle of V/C ..intake side , I no longer have pics but, did a little fancy gizmo to make it look neat ..

Not what works for one will work for another, your lost without a gauge, took lots of trial and error

On dyno worked great if front of v/c .. at track it did not

I put mine at the front of the passenger side valve cover as far forward and on top of the cover with the bypass valve beside it per the instructions from the manufacturer.
I did make and have a flat aluminum baffle welded under them, but the welds broke, and the motor didn't seem to suck any more oil into the vent tank after removing the baffle and racing it without the baffle

Mine is in the upper corner of the front surface of the right valve cover. No baffles. 25 passes before maybe 5 oz of oil. .Doug

Vacuum at the valve cover interferes with oil drain from the head.
Ideally, it should be in the air space above the oil in the pan.

Lot cheaper option...
https://www.moroso.com/crankcase-evacuation-system25900/

In my opinion not near as effective.

What will those pull a couple of inches of vacuum as opposed as much as you want with a good pump setup.

Also for what its worth I pull from the top front of the driver's side valve cover, no baffle and little oil in the tank.

IMO it depends on the heads being used. We have them in the front of the cover, top of the cover, intake side of the cover, depending on cylinder head being used. Our current engines have two in the front of the cover with no baffle and one in the top oft he cover. None of them pull any oil really usually just some condensation and maybe a drop or two of oil. But we don't have any external leaks either.

Thanks for the replies. I am ditching the existing Moroso pan evac set up for the vacuum pump. This engine is a 499 lo deck with -1 heads and Harland Sharp rockers. My 582 BBC that was in my dragster had a breather style inlet on top of the valve cover and it provided almost no oil to the pump at all. My routine with that one was to squirt some oil in it every race day. I guess no matter where it goes, if I have too much oil going to the puke tank I will baffle it. Thanks!

With a =1 head and Indy oiling, which I assume you have it will make little difference where it is. We have run that combo a few different times with just a fitting in the cover with no issues at all.

This was a -1 headed 446 with the fitting in the top of the cover at 11" of vacuum never any oil in the tank.

I did notice that the oil now stays a lot cleaner a lot longer than before using a vacuum pump

Switched mine from valve cover to lifter valley, and it filled the catch can every time I stood on it lol. Switched it back to valve cover.

Not being a ass but i have a older aerospace pump i find them to be junk i would sell it and get a moroso or star , not sure if the new ones are any better though, mine was plumbed into top of valve cover and tried in the valley plate too .

FWIW I have NEVER seen the valley plate to be a good location. Alot of oil flying around in there at RPM and if you are pulling any real amount of vacuum its gonna make a mess in short order.

Agree 100%

Can the valley plate area be used for the relief?

Why not?

IMO no reson to regulate it unless you are the paranoid type. Especially with a 3 vane pump, in that case there is ZERO reason to run a regulator

that kind of example would be the breather/oil fill tube on chevy engines over many years. i have even seen PVC valves plumbed into oil fill tubes [with no breather] on certain POBC engines over the years.