Oil Pump vs Engine Wear question ??

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ValiantOne

ValiantOne

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Hey All,

When I am idling at a red light with a warm/hot engine, my oil pressure dummy light blinks on and off. I have had other mopars do this and haven't really worried about it too much. Engine is a 273 SB with 135K on the clock.

I will likely be pulling the engine and resealing it (trans is already out, I am doing a 4sp swap) with a gasket kit as I have some atrocious oil leaks down the back side of the engine. But the engine will be temporary as over the next year or two I will build a 5.9 EFI engine for the car.

The question is this. Is the flickering oil light more likely a worn pump, a worn engine or (most likely I believe) a combo of both? While I have the oil pan off would it make sense to spend the $60 on a new oil pump, that will probably only be used for a year or two? Or will this this oil light keep flickering b/c there is so much clearance between rotating parts?

Thanks for your thoughts,

CE
 
or , a collection of valve seal material restricting the oil pickup tube :glasses7:
 
It could be as simple as turning your idle up a touch, as long as it isn't too much.
 
At the very least I would remove the oil pump, clean the pickup.
There is a procedure in the FSM on how to check the clearances in the oil pump.
 
Most likely a combo of wear everywhere with that number of miles. That light indicates pressure dropping below 8 psi. 8 psi where the sensor connects means lower pressure in most of the rest of the engine. I would not hesitate to put in a new standard pump while in there, just to keep things lubed as well as I could while waiting for the new engine; 1-2 years has a habit of turning into 3-4-5 years! It does not cost much. Also, check the hex on the intermediate shaft, and replace if the corners are rounded off at all. If so, put in a hardened shaft and sell it later.

BTW, what weight of oil are you running?

BTW#2, a Sealed Power std pump is $31 + shipping from RockAuto...
 
nm9stheham said:
Most likely a combo of wear everywhere with that number of miles. That light indicates pressure dropping below 8 psi. 8 psi where the sensor connects means lower pressure in most of the rest of the engine. I would not hesitate to put in a new standard pump while in there, just to keep things lubed as well as I could while waiting for the new engine; 1-2 years has a habit of turning into 3-4-5 years! It does not cost much. Also, check the hex on the intermediate shaft, and replace if the corners are rounded off at all. If so, put in a hardened shaft and sell it later.

BTW, what weight of oil are you running?

BTW#2, a Sealed Power std pump is $31 + shipping from RockAuto...
Click to expand...

Running 10/30 now. I was afraid to go any thinner.

$30 makes it an even easier decision! Thanks,

CE
 
I am not sure why you would want to go any thinner.....'specially with some engine wear.
 
There is a spring in the oil pump that insures a minimum pressure. It is not at all uncommon for the spring to fatigue with age and present the symptoms you describe. The spring can be stretched and replaced. That will restore operating oil pressure, but may compromise initial flow of oil at engine start-up. But There is no assurance what kind of oil pressure that will result, especially for minimum oil pressure. Replacing the pump is cheap insurance to prevent some of the ill-effects of low oil pressure.
 
ValiantOne said:
Should I go thicker then? It just seemed counterintuitive to me to go that direction. Am I bass-akwards?
Click to expand...
Thinner oil flows more quickly at start up and cools better. I personally might change to 10W40, but it would not change my opinion on putting in a fresh oil pump, and would not expect a big change in behavior of the light. (My understanding is that a lot of the really thin oils like 0W20 and 5W20 used in modern engines has to do with just improving MPG's.)
 
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