Windage Tray (oil baffle) Needed or No

[Moyock13]

Tore down a GE coded type 4 and found it did not have a windage tray. I guess for a van you might really not need one.

So, what are your thoughts? Windage tray (oil baffle) or no windage tray?

My guess is no windage tray, as there aren't any aftermarket trays available that I can find.

['77 Westy]

I thought it was only the Porsche Type 4 that had a windage tray. I’ve never seen them in a bus engine and a GE wouldn’t have had them.

[Bruce.m]

Are you likely to be cornering hard?
I suspect that’s why the Porsche version got the windage tray. Back in the 70’s they did handling development on a circular track (concentric circles) to fine tune sway bars etc. in that situation, the T4 engine tends to loose oil pressure.

FAT performance came up with a windage modification that somewhat helps and is probably good enough for non-track use.

[Moyock13]

Looks like FAT Performance closed it's doors. Thanks for the response. GE coded type 4 going in a 64 Bug. Probably no hard cornering.

[raygreenwood]

The vat majority of 411 and 412's had them as well. At least the four doors adn two door sedans. My 1972 411 four door had one from teh factory and all of my two doorcoupes had them. Ray

[Piledriver]

Add an extra quart of oil, the block layout acts more or less like a windage tray by itself.
Common "mod" for 914s hitting AX or planning a "spirited" day of driving....even if you have a factory windage tray.

Search on Rays threads/posts on crankcase breathing, many of those threads were in the "stickies"
Suggests: Vent 1/2 rocker box with a check valve flowing INTO the head from an air cleaner, I picked up an adjustable vacuum break running off manifold vacuum via a catch tank. You don't want too much crankcase vacuum.

Suck on 3/4 rocker box and central breather via another check valve, AIR valves from GM cars work OK and are "free" at junkyards.... Or at least just make sure its NOT vented at ALL.
A T1 gen stand or T4 breather tower can hold several woven pot scrubbers that make for air/oil seperators, and heated ones at that, so it stays clean and vaseline-free.

The 1/2 rocker box literally fills up with oil, the slightest purge pressure, even just exhaust valve stem leak by is all it takes to return it to the sump. If you "vent" it, it will fill up at cruise RPM just tooling down the highway.

Note this is MORE vital to do on T1s, as normally you only have 2.5 quarts of oil, storing a quart to the 1/2 rocker box at cruise does not help matters, it also tends to stay there and cook rather than circulating. Just as vital on T4s.