[flat tire]

i just replaced that PIA flaired oil pan with a new hamburger oil pan.
i always thought that there was a space between the oil pickup screen and the bottom of the pan. that is not so with this application. the screen rests right on the bottom of the pan

[prostreet69camaro]

That is not good. It will not pick up oil and you will have no oil pressure. You need to adjust the pickup.

Are you sure you have the correct pickup for that pan?

[flat tire]

it was the pickup that came with the pan
i'll post a picture tomorrow

there is no way to adjust it
the pickup fits in the oil pump and there is a flange welded to the tubethat bolts to the pump

[paulsstuff]

As far as I know you want to have 3/8 clearance between pan and screen. Too much clearance is bad as well as during heavy acceleration/braking the oil sloshes to the front or back. I'm no expert but I've been told by engine builders 3/8 is a good number. They usually measure from the block to the bottom of the screen and then measure block to pan bottom.

[flat tire]

i just got off the phone with hamburger oil co.
they told me i was lucky i even got the pan to set on the block with a melling hv oil pump.
i got some play doh and checked for clearance. i have 1/8 on one side and 3/16" on the other. i asked about drilling holes in the side and end of the pickup screen and he said he didn't think it would hurt anything.
has anyone ever did this
good idea or bad.
i sure dont want to ruin a $8000. engine

[bigblockragtop]

I am not sure how much more money for the correct pump and pickup but like you said 8k for the engine. I think it would be would be penny wise and pound foolish not to get the right set up now while the engine is out. jmho

[69camarox11]

I can't believe your even thinking about using this pump and pickup combo. With $8000.00 invested what's another $100.00. Do it right now. It will be a lot more expensive to fix later if it it cavitates and looses pressure. It only takes a few seconds to starve a bearing of oil and spin it. And what's that gonna cost ya.

Brian

[68rs406]

Originally Posted by flat tire

i just got off the phone with hamburger oil co.
they told me i was lucky i even got the pan to set on the block with a melling hv oil pump.
i got some play doh and checked for clearance. i have 1/8 on one side and 3/16" on the other. i asked about drilling holes in the side and end of the pickup screen and he said he didn't think it would hurt anything.
has anyone ever did this
good idea or bad.
i sure dont want to ruin a $8000. engine

They really said that? That is mind boggling.

Absolutely do not do that, it may work, but it may not. And how about the screen? No screen? Holy crap Hamburgers tech is on crack.

There is only one option here, get the clearance correct at the pick up (around 3/8" , +/- 1/8" ). Either get the right pump for the pick up, or right pick up for the pump. This is an area you don't want to cut any corners on.

[flat tire]

the problem is the engine came with the melling hv pump and i cant change internals without voiding my waranty
yes he actually told me to drill the holes
really, what would be the problem? i already drilled 7/64 holes 1/4" ( same as factory holes) above the bottom of the pickup .
this is in a 7 qt pan
i would think the pickup will always be in oil

[68rs406]

I am understanding this correctly that you have holes actually drilled into the pick up? You can maybe get away with holes in the pick up, but there would be no screen to keep large chunks from getting sucked up into the pump which is bad. Am I following this correctly?

So if you change the pump it voids the warranty, but what happens when you have a failure and they find a pick up less than 1/8" off the pan floor with holes drilled in the pick up?
I can only tell you there is no way I would do anything but get the pickup off the oil pan floor the correct height.

[flat tire]

this is the so called screen that came from hamgurger oil pans

that is a 7/64 drill bit sticking in the screen (the way it was shipped)
you can see how i drilled 7/64 holes on the side, actually both sides and ends
my ? is if it is in oil what will it hurt.
so far i just have got spectulation

[68rs406]

Originally Posted by flat tire

this is the so called screen that came from hamgurger oil pans

that is a 7/64 drill bit sticking in the screen (the way it was shipped)
you can see how i drilled 7/64 holes on the side, actually both sides and ends
my ? is if it is in oil what will it hurt.
so far i just have got spectulation

I see what you are saying now, and thats probably fine. Those are kind of big holes though.

I have never seen anyone drill holes in the side of the pick up like that, not sure what the advantage of that is?

However, you need a minimum square inch of opening for the oil to freely flow at the designed GPM of the system, and when you start altering a pick up you increase chances of sucking air by creating little "whirlpools" in the oil, and I doubt you will ever get the opening sized right by drilling holes.
You can have the same problems with a pick up that's too close to the bottom, in fact you are better with more clearance than less up to the point of uncovering the pick up.

I'm just confused at what I see as "reinventing the wheel" with an important part of the motor. The pick up is designed to sit around 3/8" above the pan and suck through the bottom, I would just make that right if it was mine. But ultimately it's your motor, your call. I'm just saying IMHO I would do it as designed. Good luck with it at any rate.

[bigblockragtop]

Tell the engine builder the problem you are having, maybe he can supply the pump and pickup and that way you can keep the warranty. I would think if the engine blew with what you did to that pickup you are giving him the perfect out to not cover the warranty, jmho

[MW67RS]

I personally would not drill holes like that. I know why you did it. To allow oil to get in since their wasn't sufficient clearance to the pan. But as stated earlier this is definitely not an area I would make these types of mods. I hope you did this with the pickup off the engine. You dont want to take a chance of getting metal shavings in the engine.

The problem with adding hole to the side is you have now raises the oil level that will allow the pump to suck air instead of oil. Probable not by much but I personally wouldn't do it.

I had a similar problem with mine. The pickup that was suppose to fit the pan had insufficient clearance. With the pickup removed from the engine I cut a small section out of the mount that attaches to the oil pump bolts. I cleaned it thoroughly and assembled the pickup onto the pump and installed the pan. I adjusted the position of the pickup to give the proper clearance. Then marked the location of the bracket on the pickup. Removed them from the pump, TIG welded the bracket in place and it fit perfectly.

You may not have the equipment to do this but it is not uncommon for slight modifications to be required to give the proper clearance. It is important so work at it and get it right. Maybe you can bend the mounting tab slightly. I don't know. But I recommend you get a new pickup and get it installed to provide the proper gap.

[mark191]

Maybe a stupid question and I missed something as I often do but are you checking clearance with the gasket installed?