oil pump

ZOOMBUGGY3

Registered User
have anyone of you guys replaced their oil pump on their sc's. my oil pressure is low and i think its time to change the oil pump the gauge stays right around the n on norm sotimes a little lower.i remember when i bought the car in 97 that it was around the m on norm.
im a mechanic but i never did a oil pump before:confused: i was woundering if someone could walk me throw the process. maybe show some pics of what it looks like inside.
i called around allready and i am able to get a new oil pump for around $90. or i can get a repair kit which includes the gears and spring for $25. which one do you think i should get.
 
the oil guage is not really guage it just lets you know you have pressure... buy a real guage and then you can see your pressure ;)
 
I would check the pressure with a mechanical test gauge to find out what the pressure really is. If the pressure is actually low I doubt its the oil pump. How many miles are on the engine?
 
Put a mechanical test gauge on and see if the pressure drops to a psi lower than whats acceptable, if it does then the rod bearings and main bearings have worn and have too much clearance.
I helped a fellow with this not long ago. When he first started his rebuilt engine the oil pressure was fine but once the motor warmed up to oporating temp the pressure at idle was way too low. He did'nt think anything was wrong inside the engine(since he just rebuilt it) but he pulled it back out and checked the clearance, sure enough he had .009 too much clearance on the bearings. He put std size bearings on a crank that had been turned down .010. He didnt know the crank had been turned.
Anyway the same thing happens when the bearings wear out.
Every SC engine I've torn apart the main bearings are worn into the copper shell. The lowest mileage engine I've torn down had 128,000 on it and it was in best shape of all of them however the main bearings were still worn into the copper.
Check it with the test gauge before you do anything else, dont trust that junk gauge thats in the dash its really only good for target practice.:rolleyes:
 
thanks mike 38sc ill check with a real gauge at work. i know its sapposed to be 40-60psi @2500rpm with the engine fully warm.
 
40-60@2000 RPM, but check it at idle after the engine is fully up to temp. The fella I was helping could rev the engine and the pressure would be alittle above 40 psi but at idle it was below 18 psi if I remember correctly and thats too low.
Its normal for the oil pressure to drop some after an engine warms but it should'nt drop alot, so start the engine in a COLD state and watch the pressure gauge until it is good and warm to see what the pressure does.

I take it you are going by the stock gauge and any fluctation in oil pressure by that gauge is more indicitive of a poor wire connection at the sender unit than anything, so check that first to make sure the connection is clean and tight.
The gauge despite what it looks like does not measure actual oil pressure, by the time that gauge indicated a problem it would be too late.
 
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