Big block oil pump bolt torque?

I am putting in a new five lobe Milodon pump body, which is aluminum, with an aluminum cover. I thought i read that is easy to over torque the bolts, and bind up or seize the pump? What should this combo be torqued to? Thanks in advance!!

The spec is 30 ft lbs. but I have heard of people having binding problems on some pumps, so after you torque it down stick your priming rod in there and turn it over to make sure it feels fine.

And how comfortable are you with bolts that are little more than finger tight?!?!?

The problem is with the aluminum covers more than the pump body.

If you really want to know where you are at, torque the pump down to 5 lbs, then put a dial or beam type torque wrench on the priming shaft and get a baseline, then torque down the pump and recheck the priming shaft.

Call Tom at Milidon,805-577-5950, and ask them

Thanks, will call Tom. I have time anyway, the new pump body takes a longer distributor/oilpump drive shaft. Its on the way, hope to run on Saturday, provided i figure out why #3 isn't firing!

Have the intergear in before you torque em

The important thing is to check for any binding after you've torqued the pump down. Some people forget to do this and the pump can eat itself when the engine is fired.