Remove Oil Pump

johnr9q@yahoo.com

Senior Member
People are concerned that when I install the pan, the oil pump will fall out. They have given me ideas on how to secure it. I tried to pull down on the oil pump and it won't come out. Now I would like to remove it so I can clean and inspect it. There are videos on how to do it and some show removing the valve cover. Do I need to remove the valve cover?
 
Show us a picture of what you have in this hole. It should be a pipe thread plug, if it's a bolt that could be whats holding the pump.
 

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Check to see if someone installed a set screw in the location BobC's arrow is pointing to. The upper pump mounting surface that mates to the block has a small locating pin. The pin fits fairly snugly into a blind hole. Oil in the blind hole might be preventing the pump from falling down. Try prying the pump from the block surface it should release.
 
John,

It’s confusing when you start new threads on the same subject. Readers have go back to one or more threads to see what prompted current discussion. It would help if You would stay on the same thread until the issue is resolved.

David Serrano
 
Should I be concerned about the rotational orientation when I remove the oil pump i.e. should I mark the oil pumps position before I remove it?
 
It can only go back in one way. There's a pin on the pump mating surface that fits into a hole in the block.
 
It can only go back in one way. There's a pin on the pump mating surface that fits into a hole in the block.
The shaft of the oil pump needs to mate with the shaft of the oil pump drive gear. You may need to engage the shaft of the pump with the shaft of the gear, then rotate the housing to get the locator pin to slip in.
 
I finally got the oil pump out, I had to use a long handle crow bar. Now I can't get the 1/8" pipe thread plug out of the block. As last resort, I put vise grips on using channel locks to secure them and the vise grip just mared the plug. Any suggestions?
 
You may be getting to the point where you have to "drill" out the plug.

You've heard of "easy-outs?" Essentially a pin-reamer with a "twist" opposite to the thread. You drill a hole, twist in the easy-out (turns counter-clockwise). The easy-out "winds into" the drilled hole and provides torque to "back" the plug thread out.

One wants to be careful not to "overly twist" the easy-out and break it. Like a reamer, the easy-out is hardened - and like a broken drill it makes it VERY hard to remove by drilling.

Even the act of drilling and the heat generated may be enough to loosen the plug. Drill the hole in the plug, try the vice-grips again, and you may find the plug will turn.

If you can, you can try "expanding" the drilled hole from say 1/8" to near the pilot drill diameter of the pipe plug thread. Which is (looking online) 21/64 (near size) or Letter Q (exact size.) Expand in steps and again try to make the heat of drilling work for you.

You may get it all the way up to pilot drill hole size for 1/8" pipe - in which case you can try "retapping" the pipe thread. Even if you're a little "off center" - the remaining thread crests may peel off in the threaded hole leaving enough to put in a fresh plug and pipe-dope.

I have used "left handed drills" to good advantage in this instance. Most any size and even a set you can buy on Amazon. One of the high point of my machine repair career comes when you suddenly see a bolt/plug "back out" under the heat and torque of a left handed drill.

The nice thing about pipe thread is the "taper." It gives you a lot of leeway in re-drill/retapping.

If you have to (last ditch repair) you can "expand" the hole size to 1/4" pipe thread. Re-tap 1/4 npt and then use a 1/4 x 1/8 cast iron bushing to make new threads. The 1/4 bushing can be ground off flush and when painted will look and work like original.

Joe K
Edit: Google AI

The standard pilot drill bit for a 1/8-27 NPT (National Pipe Thread) pipe tap is a
21/64" drill bit. A Letter Q drill bit (
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0.3320") is the recommended, precise size, while a 21/64" (
wAAACH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==
0.328") or R (
wAAACH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==
0.339") bit are common, effective alternatives.
 
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If it's that tight I think all you would do is break an easy out.

Yup. Been there done that. Cobalt drill is the solution - but not a cheap or dependable one.

Another trick I have used is to drill a hole the "root" size of a Torque screw bit. You know those. Six sided bit where the bit forms a "star" rather than a hex.

With a root sized hole, you "sharpen" the bit by touching it at right angles to the grinding wheel. You're looking to remove the rounded entrance corners of the torque bit.

THEN - "hammer" the bit into the hole drilled. The sharp edges "cut" the round hole and make it "six sided" - and give the torque bit something to "bite" into as you turn it. Most fasteners and pipe plugs are relatively soft or easily cut.

I have a cordless drill which has various "settings" - you can set the clutch to really "torque up" in tightening a fastener - or you can set it to "impact" the fastener for removal. I've used this successfully with a hex driver on the torque bit.

It's a "durable alternative" to an easy-out.

Joe K
 
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If you know someone who has a portable induction heater that you can borrow that will more than likely allow the plug to be removed. This approach will only heat up the plug.
 
If you know someone who has a portable induction heater that you can borrow that will more than likely allow the plug to be removed. This approach will only heat up the plug.

What? Another tool I should buy? You can't die with too many tools.

I have found after drilling the small hole an oxy-acetyline torch set on "pencil" can be run into the hole and makes the easy-out work so much better.

At the power plant, a stud broken off at the surface would have a nut overlaid - and then the welder would reach in through the hole and fill it with weld. Almost always the stud could be removed by turning the nut.

Same principle...

Joe K
 
What? Another tool I should buy? You can't die with too many tools.


Joe K

Have you heard of a "tap Destroyer"? I had occasion ( actually 2) to utilize this tool. ( This was part of the lesson that you never chase threads with a dry tap!) The one I saw had a magnetic base and sort of like a drill press-but really heavy duty--I assume to maintain alignment. The operator selected a bit, or "quill" he might have called it. It was a hollow tube, the OD sized exactly to the broken-off bolt. The machine used a combination of up-and-down pecking motion, electrical discharge and fluid flow thru the hollow quill. It removed the body of the broken bolt and the threads then were free to be washed away. It left the original threads undamaged.
 
I had need of EDM work like that when I broke an EZ Out. This was in the late '70's and I was lucky enough to find a shop to do it in the evening. It cost $25 for a 1/4" broken bolt. Made me very leery of EZ Outs!
 
I’m not sure that I have ever had success with an easy-out. Left-hand drill, yes, welded nut, yes.
 
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