FYI: TA pickup tube is over an inch longer than stock tubes. If your pan is dented ever so slightly the pickup tube will be left to suck directly off the absolute bottom of the pan. If this happens you WILL loose your prime at the oil pump and burn up your engine!!!:af: :af:
Jerry, Sorry to hear the bad news. What is the damage? Are you going to be ready for the BOP in September?
ASSEMBLY ERROR? Shouldn't ALL clearences be checked on assembly?????????? Maybe that pick up tube was for a deep pan.
Jerry, how about updating the info here. Have you found out the reason for your tube being too long? Inquiring minds want to know...
Well David, not much too report yet. I talked to Mike at TA and he has never had a problem with his p/u tubes. He said that the engine builder should have checked the pan clearance before sending it out, but was left scratching his head as to why this happened otherwise. When we pull the rods and main caps off I may know more, but the circle wore into the bottom of the pan sure looks suspect.
I have the 5/8" p/u tube from TA and it appears identical to two stock p/u tubes in terms of depth from the block. But while i was mocking up the bottem end i had the distinct impression that the pan was rocking on the p/u tube screen. Even allowing for gasket thickness it seemed that the screen was very close to contacting the pan. Sticking a piece of chewing gum in between confirmed it. I got a better pan....my original was ever so slightly dented. Still, i was concerned about the lack of clearance in this area. If you look at the sectional illustrations in the Buick manual (love all those dwgs) they show it pretty darn close. My theory is that original, new pans have a slight convex bottom area and that many used pans, due to jacking errrors, snow banks, etc have been dented to the point of being concave. The pan i plan to use is very clean seems almost flat in this area. Any one have a dimension on what the p/u screen to pan bottom clearance should be? thanks.... wlund
1/4 to 3/8 of an inch is prefered. You will find that typically, there is 3/16 to 1/8 on most factory setups. We use the Victor oil pan gasket on all our motors, because it is twice as think as the fel-pro one, thus giving us an extra .060-.090 in the pickup to pan clearance. Can't say that I have measured it exactly, (the difference between the fel pro and victor gasket), but it is substancial. Also.. I think that when folks take a motor out, and set it on the floor on the oil pan, you can run into this issue. odds are, that unless you have been in control of the oil pan since the day it left the assembly plant, then it has been sat on the pan at least once. Not sure if this is Jerry's issue, and I don't mean to imply that it is, but I have run across this issue with factory 5/8 pickups and oil pans before. JW
Talking with Mike @ TA he told me about the time he smashed the pan on his wagon. He said that he had to goop up the pan to keep it from leaking. When he pulled the pan off the p/u tube was all bent up, but still functioning. He also says that it would be near impossible, though a slim chance, that the tube would seal to the pan and knock out the prime to the pump. Even with a dent in the pan, which many running 455's have, the engine should still get some suction if checked on assembly. He talked of clearances and how the engine builder should have double checked for the p/u tubes clearance. When I told him who built it, he backed off. This same engine builder put the fly cut pistons in the wrong holes, there for causing another issue...:af: Anyway I am still :af: over the loss of some serious $$$. I may just give up trying to go fast, since even reputable people can't get it right. I'm just a little frosted, can you tell???:gt:
Other items will leave before that happens. My kids are available for raising though, you can have them...:laugh:
How do they do locked in small, dark areas for extended periods of time? ...and do they come with a trailer?
