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Cons of a shimmed oil pump spring?

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Old 05-28-2004, 06:39 PM
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Default Cons of a shimmed oil pump spring?

What are the disadvantages of shimming the oil pump spring for increased oil pressure?

Also, at what stage should one have to shim their pump for better oil pressure? I don't like the low at idle oil pressure I have always had with my motor. It has a stock, deburred, ported and shimmed oil pump but the PSI at idle is too low for my liking.

Any ideas on what the increments of shim sizes and effective increase in PSI output?

Last edited by CANNIBAL; 05-28-2004 at 07:00 PM.
Old 05-29-2004, 09:04 AM
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Old 05-29-2004, 10:39 AM
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How far is it shimmed? The pressure your motor sees has a lot of factors in it. Crank oil hole shamfers, bearing clearances(not nessacarly a bad clearance) type of oil, heat of oil, pump pressure....And not to mention your gauge in your dash is not completly accurate. Have you had an extrernal gauge on it? Does the pressure drop extremly low at idle or when it is run hard? If not then I would say you have nothing to worry about.

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Old 05-29-2004, 10:56 AM
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Originally Posted by Nasty N8
How far is it shimmed?
I have no idea. It came with the MTI motor, a deburred, ported, polished and shimmed OEM pump.

Originally Posted by Nasty N8
The pressure your motor sees has a lot of factors in it. Crank oil hole shamfers, bearing clearances(not nessacarly a bad clearance) type of oil, heat of oil, pump pressure....And not to mention your gauge in your dash is not completly accurate. Have you had an extrernal gauge on it? Does the pressure drop extremly low at idle or when it is run hard? If not then I would say you have nothing to worry about.

Nate
This just started after 11,500 miles on the pump/motor. I have not had an external gauge on it. Where can I pick an external gauge up so that I could verify the low pressure?

It only drops low at idle after the oil has reached operating temperature, at other RPMs and loads it's just fine. I have not ran it hard in months, it rarely sees over 3500 RPMs on a monthly basis.

Last edited by CANNIBAL; 05-29-2004 at 11:06 AM.
Old 05-31-2004, 09:38 AM
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I ordered a new LS6 oil pump, shimmed, deburred and ported. Also, a new oil pump o-ring will be utilized.

This should take care of it. I'll post back with my results.
I'm also ordering a triple pillar pod for fuel pressure, OIL PRESSURE and water temp. The stock gauges are **** poor.

Last edited by CANNIBAL; 05-31-2004 at 09:48 AM.
Old 05-31-2004, 10:08 AM
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Levi, you can bring it buy the shop oneday, im sure we can get an accurate reading with a extrernal gauge. im sure you know high oil pressure isnt always good.
Old 05-31-2004, 11:32 AM
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Jason is right, Levi, higher pressure is not as good as it sounds.
I also hear that increased oil pressure can blow out the rear oil galley plug in some cases. This may be the problem with yours currently. There is enough room for the plug to pop out and bypass oil from the bottom end back into the pan. It is in place with an o-ring only, no clamp. You may not notice much of a change in pressure since this is after the sensor but the lower end will be a ticking time bomb.
That said, it is very hard to verify this. The rear engine cover must be removed and I can only imagine how fun this would be in-car.
Let us know how things go, thanks.
Old 05-31-2004, 11:39 AM
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Originally Posted by ktmrider
Jason is right, Levi, higher pressure is not as good as it sounds.
I also hear that increased oil pressure can blow out the rear oil galley plug in some cases. This may be the problem with yours currently. There is enough room for the plug to pop out and bypass oil from the bottom end back into the pan. It is in place with an o-ring only, no clamp. You may not notice much of a change in pressure since this is after the sensor but the lower end will be a ticking time bomb.
That said, it is very hard to verify this. The rear engine cover must be removed and I can only imagine how fun this would be in-car.
Let us know how things go, thanks.
My oil pressure from day one was never higher than a stock LS1s oil pressure so I'd be very difficult to sway that I popped a rear oil galley plug. Is it possible, sure, but since my PSI were never more than (actually slightly lower) than the pressure seen by a stock LS1 I don't feel it's a worthwhile scenario to delve into.

I understand high oil pressure can be a very bad thing. My motor has looser tolerances so my oil pressure, holding the pump the same, will naturally be lower. MTI shims the oil pump spring to compensate for the looser tolerances of the motor to increase the oil pressure. I'm getting a new pump, shimmed. I just feel that this pump wore out, holding all else equal as I'm using the same oil, filter, etc.

I don't like my oil pressure at idle (at operating temperature) dropping below the first 1/4 mark on the stock oil pressure gauge. However, I still have no verified the pressure output via an external gauge. I'd rather put in a new motor and prevent toasting a very expensive motor.
Old 05-31-2004, 11:59 AM
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Levi. you can bring it by the shop and we'll hooup a gauge to it. for peace of mind. i will help you anyway i can. if you wanna come use a rack on a saturday to do the swap ill be there to let you in etc.. I hope nothing is wrong..

goodluck man,
Lemme know if you need anything
Old 05-31-2004, 12:16 PM
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Originally Posted by Jason98Zee
Levi. you can bring it by the shop and we'll hooup a gauge to it. for peace of mind. i will help you anyway i can. if you wanna come use a rack on a saturday to do the swap ill be there to let you in etc.. I hope nothing is wrong..

goodluck man,
Lemme know if you need anything
It's nothing serious anyway, IMO, it's not the rotating assembly as that would have surfaced LONG ago, way before 11,XXX miles. It's the pump at the worst.

Where is your shop located man? I may drive it over there on Saturday and do that, check the pressure first.
Old 05-31-2004, 12:18 PM
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I work at Quantrell Cadillac, Volvo on New Circle Right across from Palumbo. Dr..
Old 05-31-2004, 12:45 PM
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Originally Posted by Jason98Zee
I work at Quantrell Cadillac, Volvo on New Circle Right across from Palumbo. Dr..
Sweet, Alex and I may bring it by on Saturday to check the pressure and if needed, swap the pump.

I appreciate it.
Old 05-31-2004, 01:27 PM
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why would MTI run looser tolerances, What do they run looser tolerances on. too much oil pressure is bad yall established that. You typically want about 10psi per 1000rpm on a typical engine
Old 05-31-2004, 02:05 PM
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Originally Posted by SlIm95
why would MTI run looser tolerances, What do they run looser tolerances on. too much oil pressure is bad yall established that. You typically want about 10psi per 1000rpm on a typical engine
Larger cube motors, especially those made of Al need looser tolerances for many reasons. To compensate for the expansion of the Al as it gets hotter, if the tolerances are too tight you can't compensate for the expanded Al block therefore you'd have poor piston ring sealing at operating temperature. Looser tolerances = less friction = free up extra HP due to less frictional losses. There are many other reasons but looser is a necessity on bigger cube motors such as these.
Old 06-01-2004, 11:27 AM
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Levi, if you all are gonna come lemme know before hand, we can check the pressure anytime. just gimme a call, but i will be there on Saturday prolly put in some plugs n stuff..

Lemme know Via, email or call me on my Cell i Emailed it to you..



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