Oil Pump and, possibly, Rear Main Seal Inspection and Replacement

[Bob Chadwick]

When you check for pickup clearance ... Don't forget to use a gasket like what's gonna be on it ... Or factor its thickness in.
JACK:gap

Of course I can't find the spacing reference now that I need it. I recall 1/4 - 1/2 inch. Is that correct?

 

[Bob Chadwick]

The pickup has 1/4 inch spacing when the pan is pressed against the block with the gasket in place.

I'm getting different pieces of information on priming the pump before putting it in the car. Some sources say to pack it with vaseline. Others says place the pickup in clean oil and spin the gears by hand and other sources don't even mention it.

I have the tool to spin it once it's in place in the car. It seems to me that if you are going to spin the gears in new oil before putting in in place that all of the oil that you would put in would drain out before you got to it and would really have no affect. At least no better affect than slowly spinning the pump with the drill tool once it's in place.

I'm off to paint the oil pan.

 

[curtis]

The pump in your picture looks to have the pickup already fixed in place with a bolt and bracket and doesn't look adjustable. If the pan it goes with is the same depth as yours , then the 1/4 inch you have should be correct. We use 1/4 to 3/8 when we weld the pickups on our motors. Never have primed the pump or put any antiseptic in it. Just fill your filter with oil before installing it, top off the engine with correct amount of oil and run your primer till you get good pressure for about 5 seconds. Lots of times the oil pan has dents in the sump area. It is easy to pound them out. Put the pan on the concrete floor and use a piece of lumber and hammer to tap the bottom straight. Paint it and put it on.

 

[Jack]

Bob:
1/4" - 3/8" is good. If you have the primer tool that emulates a distributor (has the bosses just above the bottom gear that bridges the right & left cam oil galleys) it will prime the motor just fine ... no grease needed. I would spin it on bench in some oil simply to verify nothing's binding up before you install it ...it'll probably be just fine. Even without the bosses, since in your situation you haven't disassembled the motor ... there's oil on the bearings, cam, lifters, rockers anyway. You need the bosses on primer to pressurize top end when the whole motor's been reassembled. Looking down onto op or primer or distributor ... it turns CLOCKWISE. I'm off to check my "new" roadster for bad condensor/points. G'luck to you.
JACK:gap

 

[Bob Chadwick]

Thanks guys. I'm letting the putty dry so I can vacuum it out of the mesh in the sump and will then put the oil pump back in after running some oil through it.

I was fortunate that my pan was relatively dent free. At least the dents were small enough that I would have simply rearranged them rather than making them go away.

The pan will get one more coat and if I get some time this afternoon I'll see what I can get back together.

What is the torque of the nut that holds the pump in place. Most of the sources say 65 foot pounds but some say that is too much and that it should be only 35 foot pounds.

Good luck with your little project as well Jack.

 

[bill81vette]

bob,corvette shop manual says 65 ft-lbs for oil pump...80 inch lbs for pan bolts

bill

good luck!!!

 

[Bob Chadwick]

Thanks Bill. I have it in and now just need to go down and apply the proper torque.

Let the pan dry overnight and I'll have the bottom end back together tomorrow or Wednesday.

 

[GerryLP]

...The pan will get one more coat and if I get some time this afternoon I'll see what I can get back together....

Bob,

Just to let you know, that one piece Felpro oil pan gasket is great. It's light blue and has a metal inside the rubber. Its $25 bucks, but it's worth it.

I wish I could succinctly explain how to notch the flange on the timing cover, so that later on you can remove the timing chain cover without messing too much with the oil pan. A picture here would help greatly, but I don't have one. Maybe someone has one and share it with you.

On the other hand, if you think that you'll never mess with the engine through its life cycle, then don't worry about it. It will be fine.

GerryLP:cool

 

[Bob Chadwick]

Gerry, I'm sure the timing gear will have to be attacked at one point. Right now I'm just trying to limit my repairs to those things that are broken.

Oil pump is back in at 65 foot pounds. Drive shaft lines up pretty easily without having to take out the distributor though it will eventually have to come out for the oil primer.

Gasket material in the four corners and the gasket is in place. The pan is on with all bolts in place. The four larger corner bolts are torqued to 18 foot pounds as the directions state.

The other 14 or so side bolts are hand tight. They need to be torqued to 8 foot pounds according to the instructions. (Bill does 8 foot pounds equals 80 inch pounds. I suspect with the longer bolts that is is a little more. 96 inch pounds?) My torque wrench starts at 10 foot pounds. I guess I need to go out and buy a smaller one.

Which of the bolts does the transmission line bracket hook to? I didn't see it in the AIM. When I took it apart I figured it would be there and didn't take note.

76okievette, how is yours coming?

 

[GerryLP]

...The other 14 or so side bolts are hand tight. They need to be torqued to 8 foot pounds according to the instructions. (Bill does 8 foot pounds equals 80 inch pounds. I suspect with the longer bolts that is is a little more. 96 inch pounds?) My torque wrench starts at 10 foot pounds. I guess I need to go out and buy a smaller one.

Bob,

I agree with the emoticon. I use every opportunity to buy a new toy; however, if one finds oneself short of cash or time, place a torque adapter in such a way to shorten the lever distance to the fulcrum on the torque wrench handle. Adapters are like mini box wrenches, except that one end fits on the square drive of the torque wrench and the other end is a box end with the size needed for the bolt or nut being torque. They're about 1 1/2 to 2" long (we have a set with various lenghts to achieve the specified torque).

Anyway, place the adapter square drive end on the torque wrench so that it is aligned with the handle and pointing to the grip part of the handle. This will effectively shorten the lever action on the wrench (i.e. when the wrench is set (without the adapter) at 10 foot pounds X 12" = 120 in/lbs. When a 2" adapter is placed in the way explained, it will effectively reduce 2" from the lever to the fulcrum on the wrench. So now the same 10 ft/lbs setting = 100 in/lbs.)

Other useful set-ups are at 90 degrees to the handle to maintain the same torque value, and one can also place the adapter in such a way to extend the range of the torque wrench (i.e. if max torque wrench setting is 100 ft/lbs, then extend by "X" number of inches to torque something at above the wrench torque value, so for example, 100 ft/lbs X 12" = 1200 in/lbs or 100 ft/lbs X 14" = 1,400 in/lbs = 116 ft/lbs).

I have a couple of Snap On adapters. They are P/N FRES 12 and FRES 14. These are 3/8 drive size on one end and 3/8" size on the box end (P/N FRES 12) and 7/16" size box end on the other adapter (P/N FRES 14). These types of toys are also fun to go after ...

GerryLP:cool

 

[Bob Chadwick]

Thanks Gerry. I think I'm going to drop by Sears this afternoon and take a look at the various options.

I suspected that foot pounds converted to inch pounds by a factor of 12. Can you confirm?

 

[vette-dude]

Bob,

That is correct. 1 ft lbs is 12 inch lbs. Inch Pound torque wrenches run about $20. Just go ahead and get one and save yourself the agravation of trying to use a foot lbs wrench to do inch pound torques. Glad your getting all together.

Randy

 

[Bob Chadwick]

Thanks Randy. It has taken forever, even for me, but hopefully this weekend I'll be firing her up. I just need one more wee bit of help.

Which of the bolts does the transmission line bracket hook to? I didn't see it in the AIM. When I took it apart I figured it would be there and didn't take note.

 

[GerryLP]

Thanks Gerry. I think I'm going to drop by Sears this afternoon and take a look at the various options.

I suspected that foot pounds converted to inch pounds by a factor of 12. Can you confirm?

Ditto on Randy's response, Bob. And just divide by 12 to convert from in/lbs to ft/lbs. At work, we do not use the lower 10% value of the torque wrench. It has been shown (through our calibration laboratory) that the lower 10% is inaccurate. Also, we accept or reject torque wrenches that do not correlate more than by 3%. The upper 10% of the wrench is similarly avoided for the same reasons. However, don't go throwing your torque wrenches in the trash now folks. That's where the range in torque on instructions is applied. Sometimes one has to opt for a lower torque value within the approved range to accommodate these inacurate issues. On a vehicle, it's probably not that critical except maybe on engine moving parts.

GerryLP:cool

p.s. edited the mispelling of "inaccurate" and "accommodate"; how do I use the spell checker:W

 

[Bob Chadwick]

Thanks Randy. It has taken forever, even for me, but hopefully this weekend I'll be firing her up. I just need one more wee bit of help.

TTT. Anybody have the time to look under their car and tell me where this bracket goes?

 

[Bill75]

Sorry...........4 speed can't help, but good luck on the startup.
Bill

 

[vette-dude]

TTT. Anybody have the time to look under their car and tell me where this bracket goes?

Bob.

It really doesn't matter unless you are going for concourse perfection. You should be able to look on the rail of the pan and tell where the bracket was before. Normally it is the third or fourth bolt from the front but I am too fat to get under mine. Sorry, can't see it with hood open either. Come on you skinny guys, help Bob out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:W

Randy

 

[Bob Chadwick]

This is an NCRS car dude. Not.

I cleaned the pan and painted it. All the goup that would have marked it is gone.

 

[Bob Chadwick]

You knw when you're in the tool store looking at a tool, thinking do I need it or don't I. And the answer is always that you need it but you go against your better instincts and you can't get the project done because you didn't buy the tool. Well that's where I'm at.

I went to Sears yesterday and bought the inch-pound torque wrench. While I was there I was taking a look at a strap wrench. Went back and forth and eventually didn't buy it.

Fast forward to today. All pan bolts torqued in place, including the one holding the trans line bracket at the 3rd bolt, at 8 ft/lbs for the small and 18 ft/lbs for the big. Went to pull the oil filter. No luck. Needed that band wrench.

I was hoping that was the last time I was going to have to get under the car because it is an oily mess. I guess I'll be under there one more time.

 

[wishuwerehere82]

Bob,
Drive a screwdriver through the side of it and torque it off with the screwdriver as a handle. It works when strap wrenches slip. Once you get it loosened up, it should turn off by hand.