Oil pump swap

-
autopar3000

autopar3000

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2008
Messages
699
Reaction score
327
Location
Ontario, Canada
Hey Guys,

I'm having oiling issues with the 318 in my 1970 Dart, so I'm thinking about replacing the oil pump.

Can anyone tell me what's involved in this kind of swap, and what kind of headache I'm looking at? Can it be done with the engine still in the car? And what's a good oil pump to use? Is the stock replacement OK or should I go with an aftermarket piece?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks...
 
Stock replacement should be fine unless your engine has excessive clearance. It can be replaced in the car but it sure ain't easy. You gotta drop the center link to get the pan off. The way I do that is pull the entire steering linkage off (disconnect the tie rod ends at the lower ball joints, pull the pitman arm, unbolt the idler arm) so there's nothing in the way. Then take the dist. cap off cause you need to unbolt the engine mounts and jack it up as high as you can get it. When you do that the dist. cap may hit the firewall and break it. Keep a close eye on the dist. housing itself to make sure it doesn't hit the firewall. Last one I did was close but cleared. Taking the starter off isn't absolutely necessary but sure helps a bunch so you can get in to scrape off the old gasket material. I hope you don't have headers cause if you do the drivers side may need to come off, depending on how their designed.

What kind of oiling issues are you having?
 
fishy68 said:
................ take the dist. cap off cause the dist. cap may hit the firewall and break it....................... Keep a close eye on the dist. housing itself to make sure it doesn't hit the firewall. Last one I did was close but cleared................
Click to expand...

JUST PULL THE DAMN DIST OUT!!!!

Plug the hole with a towel.
 
Hey Fishy, thanks for the advice. From your description it's sounding like I don't want to get mixed up in that kind of repair.

The engine is quite old... I put it in the car 12 years ago intending to pull it out the next year and rebuild it because it didn't make great oil pressure and it had some ticking in the valves. The rebuild never happened and here I am 12 years later still beating on it.

Now it makes some pretty scary noises on start up, almost like the oil pump is losing its prime between starts. The mechanic says it's because it's an old engine with excessive clearances. I was hoping to squeeze a couple more years out of it if I put in a new oil pump, maybe something that pumps at a higher volume.
 
autopar3000 said:
Hey Fishy, thanks for the advice. From your description it's sounding like I don't want to get mixed up in that kind of repair.

The engine is quite old... I put it in the car 12 years ago intending to pull it out the next year and rebuild it because it didn't make great oil pressure and it had some ticking in the valves. The rebuild never happened and here I am 12 years later still beating on it.

Now it makes some pretty scary noises on start up, almost like the oil pump is losing its prime between starts. The mechanic says it's because it's an old engine with excessive clearances. I was hoping to squeeze a couple more years out of it if I put in a new oil pump, maybe something that pumps at a higher volume.
Click to expand...

Your welcome. Yeah replacing the pump is a pretty big job and I doubt from your description it'd help a lot. Just time for a rebuild. Good luck with the project.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top