oil pump installation

Hi,

while rebuilding a 345 engine, I put in a rebuilt oil pump.

Before installing the pump, I immersed it in oil and spun it by hand. It turned easily and sprayed oil.

When installing the pump, I used paper gaskets under both mount points:)

now the engine is in the Scout, and the oil pump seems difficult to turn and does not seem to turn freely. First, I was spinning it with an old distributor and a drill. My drill was working hard. Made plenty of oil pressure, but it felt like the oil pump was not turning smoothly. I thought the drill might be working due to the oil pressure, so I tried turning by hand and it the oil pump feels like it is binding.

The only thing I can think of is the bronze bushing in the front of the engine that supports the distributor shaft is binding.

Any ideas?



Thank you in advance,

ken
 
I think the mounting has flexed the casting enough to cause a slight rubbing condition. That is not all that uncommon... The pump by design is well oiled and a rub that you can pass using light hand force is not an issue in my opinion... The pump will clearance its self very quickly. The filter is after the pump so nothing will get past it to the bearings... You will be ok. Remember that this is not a soft bearing so things can be close and not cause a problem.

I personally thing the gaskets are a bad thing in this situation.. Metal to metal with a very light sealant is perfered. Moto seal or yamabond 4 is perfect for this application.
 
Hi Robert,

thanks again for sharing your experience.

I spun it for awhile with the drill, and it seems to be improving, so, as you suggest, I am going to leave it as is.
 
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