Tweet
I started to work on the oil pump for my B6 swap in my spare time at work.
I figured it would be cool to show some pics of the inner pump workings for
those who have never had one apart before.
The plan is to measure the clearances (and adjust if required) and basically de-burr, smooth and blend all the passages. I may also do a slight polish to the gears. By doing all this, the volume of the pump will be maximized and the oil can run slightly cooler as well. It's not a huge benefit, but it's the little things that add up. The bearing clearances on my B6 are set up to the middle of the factory range, so a little extra oil flow certainly won't hurt.
Here is a pic of the oil pump with the gear cover removed. As you can see, it's a very simple crank driven gear-rotor design....only two moving parts!
The internal gear is driven by a couple flat spots on the snout of the crank.
As it turns, the displacement of the gear teeth meshing with those of the outer ring gear create a suction that draws oil out of the pan via the oil pick-up tube (1). The oil is then "squeezed" or pressurized and discharged into the engine supply oil passage (2) which travels up, makes a sharp 90 degree turn (3), and feeds the main oil passage along the side of the block. You can see the bypass valve inlet and outlet (4) as well.
Here's a view into the pump from the oil pick-up tube passage. You can see a fair amount of casting flash protruding into the passageway (red circle). This flash not only restricts the flow, but also can create turbulance which reduces the pump efficiency. I will use a tiny bit in my trusty Dremel to clean this up. The shiney spot circled in blue is actually a reflection of the internal pump housing. The cover with the cotter pin (on the left) retains the bypass valve.
This pic shows an internal view of the suction side of the pump. You can see some of the casting flash that will be cleaned up and blended (1). The passage for the bypass valve can also be seen. When this passage was machined, the tooling left a sharp lip that extends into the suction cavity (2). This will also create turbulance and will be cleaned up. The relief valve will be removed to do this, and MUST BE COMPLETELY CLEAN before re-installed. Any debris that causes the relief valve to stick can cause a loss of pressure or a spike in pressure.
This view shows the pressurized oil feed passage that feeds the block, specifically, the 90 degree turn at the end. You can see some major obstructions caused by the tooling used to machine the passages (1). The turn is created by machining in from two different directions, and the mismatch is what created the obstructions. This will be all cleaned up and blended with the Dremel as well.
Once I get all this cleaned up, I'll measure the gear clearances and post some more as it develops.
I figured it would be cool to show some pics of the inner pump workings for
those who have never had one apart before.
The plan is to measure the clearances (and adjust if required) and basically de-burr, smooth and blend all the passages. I may also do a slight polish to the gears. By doing all this, the volume of the pump will be maximized and the oil can run slightly cooler as well. It's not a huge benefit, but it's the little things that add up. The bearing clearances on my B6 are set up to the middle of the factory range, so a little extra oil flow certainly won't hurt.
Here is a pic of the oil pump with the gear cover removed. As you can see, it's a very simple crank driven gear-rotor design....only two moving parts!
The internal gear is driven by a couple flat spots on the snout of the crank.
As it turns, the displacement of the gear teeth meshing with those of the outer ring gear create a suction that draws oil out of the pan via the oil pick-up tube (1). The oil is then "squeezed" or pressurized and discharged into the engine supply oil passage (2) which travels up, makes a sharp 90 degree turn (3), and feeds the main oil passage along the side of the block. You can see the bypass valve inlet and outlet (4) as well.
Here's a view into the pump from the oil pick-up tube passage. You can see a fair amount of casting flash protruding into the passageway (red circle). This flash not only restricts the flow, but also can create turbulance which reduces the pump efficiency. I will use a tiny bit in my trusty Dremel to clean this up. The shiney spot circled in blue is actually a reflection of the internal pump housing. The cover with the cotter pin (on the left) retains the bypass valve.
This pic shows an internal view of the suction side of the pump. You can see some of the casting flash that will be cleaned up and blended (1). The passage for the bypass valve can also be seen. When this passage was machined, the tooling left a sharp lip that extends into the suction cavity (2). This will also create turbulance and will be cleaned up. The relief valve will be removed to do this, and MUST BE COMPLETELY CLEAN before re-installed. Any debris that causes the relief valve to stick can cause a loss of pressure or a spike in pressure.
This view shows the pressurized oil feed passage that feeds the block, specifically, the 90 degree turn at the end. You can see some major obstructions caused by the tooling used to machine the passages (1). The turn is created by machining in from two different directions, and the mismatch is what created the obstructions. This will be all cleaned up and blended with the Dremel as well.
Once I get all this cleaned up, I'll measure the gear clearances and post some more as it develops.
Comment