Mains Girdles and Oil Pumps

[Brett James-McCall]

Has anyone used a mains girdle, and if so did you have any clearance issues with your oil pump?

I am putting in a Canton girdle with ARP mains studs, but I have a clearance issue. Appreciate any advice. Thanks

Brett

 

[Neal]

Yup. I have one on a Windsor and had to clearance the girdle and pump webbing slightly. The pump isn't installed in the pic below but the upper right was dimpled. I found it easier to install the pump and then the girdle.

 

[Brett James-McCall]

I obviously was a bit tired and emotional last night... and not thinking straight LOL

Straight back in from work tonight and saw it straight away. I hadn't used the shorter bolts with the 1/2" multi-point head in the right position.... All fixed now.

 

[Randy V]

Brett - if I could offer just a little bit of advice...

I've not seen a lot of good long-term success with those alloy housing oil pumps.. I would swap it out for a good standard volume Melling or Sealed Power pump... They are iron housings.. Make sure you wash it out thoroughly and lube up with assembly lube prior to install.

 

[Rick]

Brett:
I'm sure this is not something you want to hear at this point BUT The best pump currently available for 289/302/351 is made by Melling. Their redesign of the High performance pump is made of cast iron (as are all i've seen) but has a fitted bottom plate that has a length of shafting protruding from the gerotor and adds a significant amount of stability to the internal pump mechanism. This company disassembles the pumps and hand fit the pieces and offer a dry film coating for improved longevity. The main difference between the aluminum (which I have never seen "over here") and the cast iron will be the change of internal dimensions when they get hot and the gears will wear more on the aluminum housing, and also the lack of the aformentioned support shaft. It's a "no brainer".

http://www.precisionoilpumps.com/images/302%20Ford%20Race%20Pump.jpg

http://www.precisionoilpumps.com/pumps.htm

 

[Jon Briggs]

Guys, that's the standard Ford oil pump from the Ford Racing catalogue. Is it one to avoid as I was thinking of ordering one?

 

[Brett James-McCall]

Brett - if I could offer just a little bit of advice...

I've not seen a lot of good long-term success with those alloy housing oil pumps.. I would swap it out for a good standard volume Melling or Sealed Power pump... They are iron housings.. Make sure you wash it out thoroughly and lube up with assembly lube prior to install.

Randy,
Interesting. Its a Ford part, so do these suffer from failure?

Brett

 

[SouthernGT40]

Brett

Its a good idea to machine the bearing caps to make sure they flat while in situ so that the girdle sits absolutely true.

Regards Martin.

 

[Jac Mac]

Randy,
Interesting. Its a Ford part, so do these suffer from failure?

Brett

They are/were original equipment in all 221/260/289/302/351w -332 thru 428- 272 thru 312 Y-Block V8's plus the 144/170/200/221/250, 6cyl engines plus a few more Ive forgotten about and I have to say that in 40 plus years of playing with fords I have yet to see a failure in a normal production motor within a 'normal lifespan' that could be attributed to the alloy housing. Lack of frequent oil/filter changes are the biggest enemy that cause accelerated wear in the alloy housing.
After all you dont see many Cast Iron dry sump pumps.

More likely to be a problem if you try to re-use a slightly worn pump in a new rebuild after spending all the $$$ on shiny bits!

 

[Rick]

Maybe they are cheaper to ship?? DOH!

 

[Mike Drew]

Have you tried fitting the oil pan yet?

I've got a very spiffy girdle on my 331 stroker from Ford Performance Solutions. I've got an Aviaid 6.5 quart baffled oil pan (this is for my GT350 clone) and my engine builder had to spend *hours* grinding away at the girdle in various places to get it to clear.

Just FYI....:worried:

 

[Brett James-McCall]

Mike not yet, will try this weekend/early nest week.

Hopefully allshould be good, as I am running Canton parts for all of it. If they didn't fit together I would be asking some more basic questions of Canton.....

Brett

 

[BruceA]

Just a question here - is a main stud girdle really necessary? I can understand the need for one on rocker arm studs with perhaps triple valve springs and the side stresses that are imposed, but apart from a very heavy clutch pushing the main thrust bearing around, is it that necessary? How many failures of main bearing studs or walking caps are around?
I was also going to question the part about the aluminium pump as well. I havent seen too many iron dry sump pumps around either.

 

[Eric A.]

Installing a main girdle probably won't hurt anything but for all practical purposes they are only needed if you will be running high RPMs for extended periods.