1/4” backlash is a lot. Hopefully you got the decimal point in the wrong place. Even still —before the internet convinced us backlash was the enemy of production, the old timers were turning out marvelous, accurate parts on machines with dished ways and 1 1/2 turns worth of backlash.
As far as oil holding, my machines are like a Land Rover — if it ain’t leakin’ It’s empty!!