[Sun Tuned]

All I can say is both pumps came from same place. Both pumps had same issues exactly. Maybe I got 2 bum pumps?? Don’t know, but for a “ blueprinted pump” I’m not convinced.

I forgot to mention it but,Steve made me remember it. If you want a treat, surface those bottom plates on a thick piece of glass and some 220 wet or dry and see the halo you end up with.

Both of these were pretty damn ridiculous as far as I’m concerned.

I will say this both are doing what they should now, but if I’d have just went ahead and spent the time in the first place….

Then I coulda just bought standard pumps instead, because I sure as hell ended up doing the work plus anyhow.

FWIW.

Steve youre probably right , I bet those seats are ground.

[Sun Tuned]

Plus I’ve heard several members here on various posts make mention of “new engine….oil pressure at idle seems low.” Like theyre talking under 15lbs

Makes you wonder.

I certainly don’t fault butler, I love them to death. Obviously they can’t check every single pump they get. So no harm no foul there. I just wonder if they got a batch that flew under the radar and didn’t know it.

I just fixed it and carried on.,the pump ain’t gonna fix itself.

[mgarblik]

Originally Posted by Sun Tuned

I put pump in a vise and did Cliffs checkball mod ,only it felt like a really big Qjet.

Seriously I whacked it about 4-5 times with a pretty good size punch and a hammer until it held a column of liquid.

I almost thought I was gonna have to get serious with it and if that didn’t work I had planned to silver braze a different ball on a rod and break out some valve lapping compound and lap the seat. But that didn’t have to get done.

You know the guys have been talking about using a smaller ball…. I may just try that on the next one.

I’ve always blueprinted my own pumps. But hell, for 235.00 you’d think you could get one that was done. Not me.
I about got sick when we pulled that engine and I pulled that pump cover and put a depth micrometer on it. They never touched that one anyway. Maybe it got missed.
Pump works beautifully now though.

The guy who owned the car wasn’t mad at all about it.oretty goid bit of work to do it again but hey, it worked out.

I have lapped that ball seat as you described with a stick brazed to a ball. Lapped with 280 grit Clover compound. Takes a little time but that iron is pretty soft so not too bad. It's a real shame virtually everything you buy is total crap. It 's absolutely everything, not limited to Pontiac engine parts. I have had the best bang for the buck just buying a regular M54 DS. Or an F54 if you want an 80 lb. pump. Then I add a thick bottom plate and go through it before use. The Nightmare Performance plate is nice and thick.

[steve25]

Tight tolerances on set up when holding a casting to apply a machining operation can make or break an items performance like an oil pump.

Machine a pump check ball seat by a tool that can only be piloted on one takes great precision

[chiphead]

Originally Posted by Sun Tuned

Both these guys were in a bit of a hurry, so I got them to order already blueprinted oil pumps from Butler. Now as I understand this these are Schuman pumps? In other words they come to butler already supposed to be fixed and ready to go. 235.00 each I think they were. And they were clean and looked the part anyhow.

There have been several guys on the pontiac FB groups recently complaining about low idle oil pressure in new motors. I ask where they got the pump and if they took it apart and blueprinted it. The answer every time is " I got it from Butler so I assumed it was good."

A M54DS on Summit is $91 as of today. Somebody is making bank on these "boutique" pumps that still have the same issues as a M54DS.

[Sun Tuned]

I agree about that.

Thing is, in both cases, both put out 65 lbs + when running a drill priming tool. Mine just happens to be a stock points distributor, driven by a Milwaukee electric 1/2” drill.
So likely 350 rpm.

The leaking checkball was the tell tale for me. When hot and the oil thins out ,it bleeds off just enough to have a controlled leak abd oil pressure at idle goes in the you know where.

Now the whole time….i gotta think, surely folks haven’t been using these out of the box, they have to be doing the required extra and not seeing ussue. That’s what happened on the 2 I redid, run fine now with no issue.

So if they say they using em in engines out of the box, either someone not paying attention or I’m the only idiot that got not one but TWO in a row that were culls.

Bottom line : check your stuff period. Save yourself a bunch of extra work.

[Dragncar]

I have always blue printed my own pumps. Never had a issue.
Paying lots of attention to your oiling system pays off. Do all the little tricks. Make sure everything is in your favor.
Its too expensive and a giant pain not too.

[NeighborsComplaint]

Just swap to 20w50 on your next oil change. Your issues will go away.

My 455 was originally built w .003/.0035” main/rod clearances and acted like tours at idle. I switched to 20w50 and it improved the idle oil pressure by around 5psi. I drove the car really hard w a 4:56 gear in it for 15 years, Which I swapped later to 3:55’s.

I redid the motor with flat-top pistons and 6x heads and tightened up the clearances with a crank cut & polish and rod resize at that time. I installed a Butler blueprinted pump and have around 30 psi at idle and 65 psi at cruise now.