High volume oil pump? HELP!

[Art Jett]

I took allt the engine parts to the builder the other day and last night I read an article in the NCOA newsletter that said a high volume oil pump will cause oil consumption in a daily driver! Is this correct? If so I need to switch before he gets to the piont of installing the one I gave him. This is a 9.8:1 compression fuel injected 383 w/ Edelbrock performer RPM heads.

 

[vette-dude]

I took allt the engine parts to the builder the other day and last night I read an article in the NCOA newsletter that said a high volume oil pump will cause oil consumption in a daily driver! Is this correct? If so I need to switch before he gets to the piont of installing the one I gave him. This is a 9.8:1 compression fuel injected 383 w/ Edelbrock performer RPM heads.

Never heard of this and have used HV pumps in Chevy's for years with no problem. (Use the steel drive shaft if you go this way.) Of course some people believe that there really is a Santa Claus too so there you go!!

Randy

 

[Art Jett]

Thanks. The reply was in the Q&A section in the National Corvette Owners Newsletter, so I thought the person answering the question might actually know something. What a concept! The guy who wrote in said he was loosing a quart every 1000 miles with no smoke. Sounds kind of odd to loose that much oil and not have any visible sign of where it is going. And what do you mean there's no Santa Claus? :confused

 

[vette-dude]

Thanks. The reply was in the Q&A section in the National Corvette Owners Newsletter, so I thought the person answering the question might actually know something. What a concept! The guy who wrote in said he was loosing a quart every 1000 miles with no smoke. Sounds kind of odd to loose that much oil and not have any visible sign of where it is going. And what do you mean there's no Santa Claus? :confused

This guy might have put a HV pump in a non-rebuilt engine cause he had no oil pressure and thought this would fix it. I have seen this alot from Bubbas who will stick them in to up the oil pressure then they start using oil or it starts leaking everywhere especially the rear seal. Of course they blame the HV pump!! You might also want to consider offsetting the rear seal from the cap and block parting line if this is a two piece type arrangement. Just added insurance. I also either braze the pick up to the pump or order the one from Summit Racing (or Others) that comes with the pick up already brazed on the housing. If you braze it yourself, remove the relief valve and spring assembly first as it can be damaged by the heat during the process. Re-install after it cools down.

Sorry to inform you but Santa Claus is no longer in business. He sold the franchise to the Chinese last January as the price of Reindeer feed had risen to an all time high of $78 a bag. Unfortunately, he could not afford to continue the business and as a result he laid off all his elfs and sold the herd to a collector in Rattlesnake, Wyoming. Please don't expect anything this year for Christmas as the Chinese have elected to only provide the US with the gift of illegal aliens this year!!

Randy

 

[Art Jett]

According to the newsletter it was a new build on the engine, but we'll never know the quality of the build. My pump and pickup are from Summit and are matched to the Moroso oil pan I also got from them. It came already brazed on. I'm heartbroken about Santa! Being from Texas, I guess I've already got my lifetime's supply of illegal aliens. No more presents for me! Oh well, maybe my wife will get me more beer instead.

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

There's absolutely no need or benefit to putting a high volume or high pressure pump in a street engine. Don't waste your money.

 

[vette-dude]

There's absolutely no need or benefit to putting a high volume or high pressure pump in a street engine. Don't waste your money.

And what do you base this statement on?? And how do you know this is a street engine only?? I have heard all the arguments about this before and you are correct if this is a street only stock engine which will never see any use in a performance mode. However, a FI 383 with a racing oil pan and Edelbrock heads indicates to me there may be another use in mind other than going to car shows. As for wasting your money, I don't see any BIG $$ difference in purchase of a HV pump versus a stock one. Each to their own way of doing things but all SB Chevy and SB Ford PERFORMANCE motors I have ever built get the HV pumps and I have never had a bearing failure or problems with any of the lube systems. I can't say the same for others motors that were built with std. pumps. My thoughts are that you should build a engine as bullet proof as you can and to me HV pumps are cheap insurance on a blueprinted engine with tighter than normal tolerances. Just my $.02.

Randy

PS: I never use a high pressure pump. Just High Volume. There is a difference and they should not be confused.

 

[Art Jett]

There's absolutely no need or benefit to putting a high volume or high pressure pump in a street engine. Don't waste your money.

The pump and pickup are already paid for and it was only $30.00 more than the stock volume one. With the $7000.00 I have already spent on this engine I have no problem with that. I was only concerned about the reply about oil consumption in the NCOA article.

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

And what do you base this statement on?? And how do you know this is a street engine only??
Randy

The fact that the stock oil pump will carry any SBC engine through a complete engine overhaul period. There's tens of millions of SBCs (including almost a million Corvettes, many with SHP engines), that have done it.

When the engine does come in for overhaul there's little or no wear that would have been avoided by using a high volume or high pressure pump.

The engine build (as described in the first post) is far from a radical build that would justify an aftermarket pump.

 

[Sensei]

My rebuild kit from Summit came with a HV pump at no extra charge. Never uses oil, runs great with no problems (driven every day) and always plenty of oil pressure. Whats not to love! My two cents. God bless, Sensei

 

[JohnZ]

I've been building SBC's for over 40 years, for all manner of applications, and have never used anything but the stock oil pump; the Chevy oiling system is extremely reliable and well-developed, and all the HP and HV pumps do is dump excess oil back into the pan and increase the wear on the distributor drive gear. If the HV pump makes you feel better, go ahead, but it isn't necessary.