splidecision63

I am in the process of putting the correct motor in my 59. The Mechanic who built the motor said I shoud put a High Presure oil pump in. The motor is 60 over. Is this ok? A friend of mine said the high pressure oil pump with the STANDAR OIL PAN will pump the oil out of the standard oil pan and starve the oil pump for oil. He said if I use a HP Olil Pump I should but a larger oil pan on.
Any comments would be great.
Thanks George

DZAUTO

Sure it will pump all the oil out of the oil pan---------------------IF YOU RUN IT 2qts LOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There is, and will continue to be, lots of debate about using hi-pressure/hi-volume oil pumps.
Let me just point out a couple of things. Chev used hi-press pumps in all of the solid lifter 327 engines and BBs. They used stock pans. Yes, admitedly, some of those engines had pans with an additional 1qt capacity. EVERY engine I build, Chevy, Olds, Pont, whatever, gets either a hi-press/hi-vol pump----------------EVEN IN GRANNYS GROCERY GETTER. The oldest engine of mine personally with a hi-press pump is the 350 in my 51 Chevy which I built 31yrs ago. I literally drive this car to work 45mi round trip everyday, and sometimes like I stole it. The car looks like a rusty POS, but that 350 still starts and runs fine everyday with 50-80psi oil pressure (depending on whether its cold or thoroughly heated up). I installed a 55psi spring in a stock pump that is in my 56 so as not to over pressure the oil gauge (it only goes to 60psi). A lot of people feel strongly both ways, and I don't argue with those who prefer a stock pressure pump. I still use only a hi-pressure/hi-vol pump and have NEVER seen a problem as a result.

a smith

I do not believe that a high pressure pump would pull all of the oil out of the pan. I think the reason for an added capacity oil pan may be if you had a high volumn pump and added the effect of very hard accelleration, cornering, or braking. The two effects combined might be enough to cause a problem. New performance pans are baffled to alleveate centrifical force effects, not sure about old street style oil pans though. Vegas

devildog

Tom's comments above are right on. I run a high pressure oil pump in my 61. The need comes from high revs such as in race or high performance engines...racers have a rule of 10psi /1000 revs. I do not think it is really needed, but it will not hurt.

Large oil pan is again from the high performance thinking, you may burn, blow out, more oil, so start with an extra qt or two. The high pressure oil pump is not going to suck the pan dry...the oil must return somewhere, where else...the pan. You will just move it marginally faster with the HP oil pump. Also, the oil pan is the place of cooling, so a bit more residence time for cooling in a larger pan. with the extra qt or two.

The HP oil pump does take a little more power. Use the HP and not worry. The only diference is the little spring tension.

MikeM

That's what friends are for.

There should be no need to install a high pressure pump. Especially if you're running standard bearing clearances and keep the rpm down to below hydraulic lifter red line.

The high pressure pump does take more power and puts more wear on the bottom distributor bushing to turn the high pressure pump. It does throw more, unneeded oil on the cylinder walls which can result in more oil usage. It can also pump all the oil out of a standard capacity pan and put it in the top of the engine. Some engines drain back faster than others. Unless you keep your oil fully topped off, you could have a problem and never know it until it's too late. Many OEM oil pressure gauges use 1/8" line and the gauges don't react fast enough with this small line. You can be out of pressure, yet still show some on the gauge.

If you use the high pressure pump, I'd use the large pan and make sure you use the correct pump pickup and set it the correct height off the bottom of the pan.

When you're not sure, always refer back to how the Manufacturer designed it. Well, usually.

Coves4me

Use the standard oil pump. Most people don't realize that the reason you have an oil sump in a pan with 5 to 6 quarts of oil is for COOLING! It only takes a cup of oil to lubricate all of the parts in an engine. The rest is there to take away heat from the engine metal-to-metal parts. An HP oil pump is overkill unless you're running wide tolerances on all internal engine parts. The factory oil pump supplies more than enough oil pressure and fluid to the engine internals.

62Jeff

Is your friend primarily into Oldsmobiles? 455 Olds from the early 70's can have issues with pumping too much oil into the top-end under high RPMs, maybe he's just basing his data on one manufacturer's issues.

jerrybramlett

I think many responses in this thread are confusing high pressure with high volume. They are related, but they aren't the same. Pressure is controlled by the stiffness of the oil pump relief spring. Volume is determined by the height of the pump gears.

The risk of excessive oil pressure is minimal. Brief periods of high rpm operation will not result in bearing erosion from very high oil pressure (100 psi).

The risk of excessive oil pump volume is real. Depending on your oil viscosity, drain-back restrictions, engine rpm, and pan capacity, you can end up with almost all of your oil in your valve covers and lifter valley. At that point your pump will start to gulp air in the pan. I know.

Small blocks never came from the factory with high volume oil pumps, and I don't think they need them. Many small blocks came with high pressure pumps though, and I've never heard of any resulting engine damage.

Oddly, most performance big blocks actually need a high volume oil pump to get adequate oil to the rockers. Please don't ask me how I know this; it's another ugly chapter in my life.

KyleDallas

Here's an article from Stock Car Racing Magazine on oiling... including interviews with Melling engineers.

http://www.stockcarracing.com/techar..._street_stock/

splidecision63

Thanks for your comments, I am now really confused. lololo. I think I may go with the stock oil pump since I am building a stock engine. This way I feel I will be safe with my oil pressure.
Thanks again for your comments. It is un believeable on what we can learnn on the CF.
George