so I wasn't overly thrilled with the OE Dakota (and Durango) oil pan - instead of having a nice big deep sump to contain all the oil they instead have a smallish sump combined with a 'deep' middle section, which combined 'contain' the 5 quarts of oil. Strange concept but I guess it works if the engine is 'flat n level'.....but of course for me and everyone else that take their magnum engines off-road and experience fairly steep downhill angles...well that's no bueno. On any sort of downhill descent the majority of the oil would rush right towards the front, leaving the pickup tube nearly exposed almost immediately - not awesome. I don't remember it being a problem when I wheeled the truck before the buildup and others have not indicated there being a problem either, but, still, as I was pondering this 'issue' I naturally started checking around for an 'off-road' magnum 360 oil pan, and discovered something interesting.

First off, turns out the oil pans for the magnum 318 and 360 share the same 'fitment' and bolt pattern - meaning the bolt pattern up to the block(s) and the front/rear timing chain cover(s) and rear main(s) are all the same 'size' - essentially using the same oil pan from the 318 to the 360, which is not true for the LA-series engines (360 is its own animal). I also discovered that...while the Dakotas and Durangos (with a mag 318/360) share the same oil pan...the Rams and Jeeps with the 318/360 mags use a different oil pan...with a way better sump. Huh, that's cool- wait!

See, lately I've been looking for a running magnum 318 for eventual awesomeness under the hood of our 71 Demon, and I recently found/procured one still inside a derelict but complete 94 Grand Cherokee parts Jeep for the wife's own 94 GC off-road toy. When I discovered the Jeep pans were the same as the Ram pans with their nice big deep oil sump I quickly ran out to peek under the Jeep and hot diggity damn - there it is! (insert happy dance!).

Since the Jeep is going to get a car pan (LA 360) I rapidly unbolted the Jeep's pan, hit it with some cleaner and the pressure washer, and brought it into the shop for 'comparison and analysis'. This is what I found -

This pretty well sums up the differences between the Dakota/Durango vs Ram/Jeep Magnum v8 oil pans - note the 'depth' of the Dakota pan vs the Ram pan - this additional depth is 'part' of the overall oil sump -









Pulling it out of the Jeep - nose-to-nose with it's bigger and much more intimidating brother -



With the pans side-by-side, I wanted to 'see' where 5 quarts (of water) came up to in both pans -



Dakota pan, with the oil level marked on the outside (strange design) -





Ram/Jeep pan -



In order to use the other pan the respective pick up tube must also be used, but the Dakota/Durango dipstick can be re-used - just have to re-mark where 'full' is -