Oil pump replacement...

[trwp72]

Anyone know if the oil pump on the 302 boxes can be changed without pulling the engine? (dropping the pan, and lifting the engine up some?) Just wondered... My oil pan gasket is starting to leak a little around the edges... thought if I had to change it out, I would do the pump if it is possible without pulling the engine out of the car...

[gadget73]

It is, but its not easy. The pan gasket is a pain to change, but fishing an oil pump in there with the motor in place is much worse. Its a case of working blind with little space to spare. Honestly with your engine's oil pressure, I wouldn't bother with it.

[trwp72]

I just figured since I had to drop the pan, I would do that at the same time... Just in case.

[Pesty351]

With how easy it is to yank a motor out of one of these I would pull the motor.

[gadget73]

+1.

[86VickyLX]

The oil pump isn't to hard to do with the engine in the car. It's just a lot of laying on your back and blind working. Pull the upper intake, pull the fanshroud, (if you're removing oil pan, drain and remove radiator). Lift the car up as high as you can so you can work comfortably (if you have access to a lift, do that). Undo motormount thru bolts, hoist up engine with cherry picker, engine hoist or comealong, or jack up on oil pan with wood inbetween so you don't damage anything. Get it as high as you can without jacking up the car with the engine. If using a hoist or come along, leave it in place. If you're using jacks to lift up engine, place some blocks of wood between the two pieces of the motor mounts on both sides. Drain the oil if you haven't done so already. Undo the bolts on the oil pan. Keep track of the front and rear bolts, as they are different than the other ones that are on the oil pan. Watch out when all bolts are out, the side brackets (if you have them) can come down on you. Free the pan from the gasket. Now comes the fun part. Unbolt the oil pump from the block, it's held on by two bolts. And on one of the rear main cap bolts, is a nut that holds the pickup assembly. Remove that, and the oil pump, the pick up and the driveshaft will come down. Once that's done, start moving the pan towards the front of the car. It may be necessary to turn the engine over a little bit for the pan to clear the crank to get it out from underneath the engine. Once you've managed to get it out, clean gasket surfaces and such, so you're not working dirty when you're reassembling everything. If you're reusing the oil pan, clean it up real nice so there's no oil or grease. Get a one piece rubber oil pan gasket (CORK SUCKS). Wipe off the cross member and stuff so there's no issues there. Since you're doing a new oil pump, make sure it spins before you assemble it. If your driveshaft is in good condition, and the retainer clip stays put, you can reuse it. If you're getting a new pickup bolt that up to the new oil pump first. If you're reusing the old one, clean it up, and bolt it up (don't forget to put the gasket between the pump and the pickup!) to the pump. Put the other gasket, with some rtv so it stays in place on the oil pump where it will be bolted against the block. Let it sit for a while so it cures a bit so you don't disturb it when you go to bolt the pump up. Put the assembly in the oil pan. And manuever the oil pan into where it's supposed to be. Mark and remove the distributor from the engine (it'll be easier this way to put the pump assembly up, and for when you prime the oil system before you start the engine for the first time) so you can put it back at least close to where it was upon reassembly. Get back under the car and put the driveshaft in the oil pump WITH THE RETAINER CLOSE TO THE TOP OF THE ENGINE!!!!!!!!!!! Start the oil pump bolts. Run each in with a few threads, and also the pickup nut on the main cap bolt. Run everything up evenly. Tighten everything to specification. Then you can work on getting the oil pan reinstalled. Position the gasket on the block first (the two ends front and rear must be in their grooves. Once that's done, put the pan up, and run a few bolts in on each side just to keep the gasket where it's supposed to be. Then when you're ready, put the brackets on (if equipped). If the holes in the gasket don't line up with the holes in the pan, use something to move the gasket over so everything lines up properly. Put all of the bolts in, and tighten them in sequence (yes there's a sequence). Once that's done, you can let the engine back down in the mounts, and you can bolt those back in. Put the radiator back in, attach the radiator hoses, fill with coolant, check for leaks. Put the shroud back on as well. Put on upper intake (while you're doing that, replace any questionable vacuum hoses, change the PCV valve and screen if it hasn't been done already ). Change the oil filter and fill the pan with 5 quarts of oil. With a drill, and the appropriate size bit 5/16" iirc, spin the oil pump driveshaft counter clockwise, the drill should start to sound different as it's pumping oil through out the engine. Put the distributor back in exactly the way it was when you pulled it. How the distributor base was and where the rotor was pointing is very important especially if in a fuel injected application! Connect any linkages or wires that you haven't hooked back up already. Start the car, if all was done correctly, the car should start. Check for oil leaks.

[gadget73]

I read that paragraph and I think to myself "unbolt engine accessories, unbolt trans, unbolt torque converter, unbolt engine mounts, remove the motor and then fix other crap while its all accessible."