Thank you Mr. P!

As I work my way back out of the pan I will check out those areas.

I got the pan off and found chunks of gasket material in the pickup and in the pan. I was able to scrape some out of the pickup with my finger tip and there is a piece hanging on in this picture. This does not surprise me since I have made three cam swaps with this pan in place over the years.

My next move is to check the bearings.

Note: The existing pump has a HV tag and has been in this engine for 22+ years but only about 5-7k miles.

While you're their you may want to make sure there isn't a hairline crack in the pickup tube. they can sometimes happen on the threaded end. Kind of a longshot BUT ?

TJP:
I am going to replace the pump, so when I pull it I will clean out the pickup and check it close. I may just buy a new pickup too.

Thanks

I pulled the pump and pickup this morning and found no gasket between the block and pump. Is this correct? All the pictures of new pumps show a gasket.
I also found the inside of the pickup to have orange and blue gasket material up inside of the pickup screen. I can’t get the pickup removed or get the screws off the pump cover to look inside.

I am feeling a little weenie thinking about pulling any of the main caps. I’ve never done it before and could use some advice.
Thanks!!

Most do not have a gasket. Do one of the center mains. Take the bolts out and tap the cap from side to side and wiggle it. Do not mix these parts up. Check a couple rod bearings.

Will the bearing fall out of the cap?

Do I need to wipe off the oil before applying a piece of the plasti-gage?

Thanks again!

the bearing should not fall out of the cap. if it does it should be replaced or the cap is oversized. And yes both the bearing and cranks surfaces should be dry to get and accurate reading with plasti gauge. I would do 1 bearing at a time, relube and reinstall before going to the next.
If the pump and main cap surfaces are machined properly, perfectly flat with no gouges deep scratches etc. a gasket should not be required.

Thank you TJP!

I got some time today to pull the oil pump apart and found some damage to rotor and housing. I also dug out some more crud from the screen.
I will check back in when I get some time to check the clearances.
Thanks

What did the bypass look like?

I didn’t pull it apart (I got called in to start the grill), but I will tomorrow. That will be the first item on the list.

Thanks

Well that pump for sure is not good. Inspect all the bearings and go from there.

Nitro:
I have ordered a new pump/pickup and while I am waiting on them to be delivered, I will check the bearings. Thank you!

Definitely TOAST, The next question is why? appears as though A LOT of foreign metal went through that pump. Hopefully someone installed a used pump

Waiting to see some bearing pics.

What rocker arms are you running?

To me overall and with the paperwork it looks like a decent build. I wonder if thats a melling pump or the reman version of the hv72?

How hard did you run this motor?

Mr P:
I hope to get time to look at the bearings this week.

I run Yella Terra 1.65 rockers for about 5 years now on two different sets of heads.

I had not run the motor hard since the cam swap over the Winter. I had put about 4 hours of cruising time on the new cam/lifters and then I changed the break-in oil over to 10W-40. On that first drive on the 10W-40 is when I noticed the oil pressure change during the drive. I just got done with a half throttle hit and then came to a stop sign and I noticed the oil pressure going down. I was actually getting ready to make a WOT hit and that is when I looked at the guage. I slowly made it back to the garage with no extra engine noise. The gauge was showing 25'ish while cruising back to the garage. Ever since this time I have been showing 38'ish on cold startup and then it creeped down to 10 or less at warm idle. Then I started pulling it apart.

Thanks!

No crud found in relief valve of oil pump. The valve needed a little persuasion to come out though. It seemed stuck.

First bearing cap: please let me know.

Stuckk valve might have been your oil pressure issue. As for the cap, it;s the bearing we really need to see.

Wheres the beef? I mean bearing shell?