Don"t touch that bolt

As for the pump "passion". (And maybe I'm pulling a night-crawler out of this can of worms) But what is the purpose of spring loading the pump gear in the valve cavity? I wondered if for some reason they wanted to pump to "float" between two springs. Is it just a way to hold it instead of a bolt? Seems an expensive and complicated way. I thought it might be pressure relief, but it can't rise because of the distributor shaft.

The pressure relief by pump spring seems like a valid explanation - and maybe it was intended that way - but it looks to me like to shoulder is longer than either the pin or the slot. I would think that before you got relief either the pin would disengage allowing the body to spin or the slot would disengage and it would stop spinning.
 
I like the tool or jig that "foreverfour" posted but what is the spring for on the retaining bolt? Jack
 
About 10 years ago I bought an engine from a club member. On the way home I stopped at a friend's house to show him the engine, but when I tilted the engine to the side I heard some clunking in the bottom end. I knew then that I most likely bought another boat anchor. When I got home and removed the oil pan I found the oil pump got tangled up with the crankshaft and a lot of damage was done to the rods, tappets, oil pump, and even the cam.

I should have paid more attention as I removed the pan, because as I think about it, how can the pump go anywhere if the dipper tray is in place? I have the engine tucked away in a large blue plastic tub, but when I do some garage cleaning this summer, I'll look it over again. Sure seems like the dip tray must have been missing for the pump to tangle with the crankshaft.
 
Edit: Found it at Bratton's. Thanks.

Can I purchase a tool like this? I need to reinstall my pump and pan but the engine is still in the car.
IMG_0667s.jpg
 
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yea that tool is to hold the pump up while attaching the oil pan if the engine is still in the car. BUT remove the tool and install the proper plug once the pan is on and secured.
 
forever4 said:
Ford never used a lock bolt to retain the oil pump.

The block is threaded for 1/8-27 pipe thread, and a slotted head pipe plug goes in the port.

People who stick 3/8-24 bolts in the side of the block just mess up the threads, and it does not retain the oil pump anyway.

And as another poster noted, the pump is supposed to be spring loaded, not fixed, in order to regulate the pressure.

The pump cannot fall down and get tangled up in the crankshaft either! :eek:
Click to expand...

Vince,..it's not that I doubt you and the other fellas,..but that spring is a
stout dude! With out mocking it up,..to know the "installed height" and the
spring rate(with a spring checker), I could see it being in the 100-150 pound
range..?

Dudley
 
Every time I have had to drop an oil pan with the engine in the car (not really a lot, but more than a few) the oil pump has stayed in place. Just lucky, I guess. I never had to address the 'Don't-touch-that' screw.
Fearless
 
d.j. moordigian said:
Vince,..it's not that I doubt you and the other fellas,..but that spring is a
stout dude! With out mocking it up,..to know the "installed height" and the
spring rate(with a spring checker), I could see it being in the 100-150 pound
range..?

Dudley
Click to expand...

Vince and I did a few emails and figured it's the UPPER spring that could be
some kind of pressure relief.

So I went and did the math and this is what I came up with..

1. Spring rate, upper spring,.....28# per inch..used spring..
2. Installed height of spring,...2.980"
3. Installed spring pressure,...23#..
4. Height of "ledge" on the driven / drive gear housing,...165"
5. Should pop-off @ about,...25#

Dudley
 
The oil pump and distributer drive gears are both driven by the worm gear on the camshaft. I am no engineer but it seems to me that Ford designed this to be an integrated assembly that floats so as to minimize wear and prevent any binding that might occur with the various thrust forces that come into play on cold starts and acceleration/ deceleration. Ford also incorporated some give in the distributor drive shaft itself by making it in two pieces instead of one. In addition, the camshaft has its lateral thrust floated under pressure from another spring at the front end. That spring at the bottom of the oil pump is part of a system. I don't think it is relieving much oil pressure in a non-pressurized system but it is helping to relieve stress on the whole assembly. Note that most of the wear on the camshaft bearings is on the middle section where there is a lot of stress going on.

I have disassembled some A and B engines that had severe wear on the camshaft center drive gear teeth, to the point where the gear edges were as sharp as a knife. In each case, somebody had used a bolt to pin the oil pump in a position where it could not move up or down at all. Any thoughts?
 
ursus said:
The oil pump and distributer drive gears are both driven by the worm gear on the camshaft. I am no engineer but it seems to me that Ford designed this to be an integrated assembly that floats so as to minimize wear and prevent any binding that might occur with the various thrust forces that come into play on cold starts and acceleration/ deceleration. Ford also incorporated some give in the distributor drive shaft itself by making it in two pieces instead of one. In addition, the camshaft has its lateral thrust floated under pressure from another spring at the front end. That spring at the bottom of the oil pump is part of a system. I don't think it is relieving much oil pressure in a non-pressurized system but it is helping to relieve stress on the whole assembly. Note that most of the wear on the camshaft bearings is on the middle section where there is a lot of stress going on.

I have disassembled some A and B engines that had severe wear on the camshaft center drive gear teeth, to the point where the gear edges were as sharp as a knife. In each case, somebody had used a bolt to pin the oil pump in a position where it could not move up or down at all. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

My post, #30,..is about the UPPER spring,...not the lower spring..
 
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