Pressure and volume are two very different characteristics. Too much pressure can cause bearing failure but it takes more pressure than you get from a new High pressure pump. It will separate the bearing, peeling the layers apart but you have to have 120 PSI or more to do that. I don't recommend high pressure pumps on Fords because Ford runs tighter clearances than Chev. Chevys need the pressure to keep the metal pieces apart with all the clearance that they have but a Ford does just fine with the higher volume pumps. Whatever the pump can't get into the oil gallies goes out the relief valve and back into the pan. You just can't go wrong with a high volume oil pump in a Small block Ford.
I agree... The only engines I have ever seen lose oil pressure to the pan being sucked dry at high rpm were engines with badly clogged drain-back passages. My truck used to do it, before the engine seized up... Dave
Well, just about every major performance automotive publication states that a HV pump will suck a stock pan dry and cause oil starvation to bearings (which is part of the reason why deep-sump, extra capacity pans are often used on high performance/high RPM engines). I guess those "experts" don't really know anything, huh?...
Depends on which major performance auto publication you are talking about. Some of those 'experts' are wannabes writing for rags I wouldn't use as toilet paper. The ones that know what they are talking about surely consider a "high rpm engine" as one that spins up over 7k. Every engine that I have ever built and then spun to 7k has had a Moroso deep sump and clean oil drain-back passages. I guess I am not so dumb as you think to run a stock pan on a "high rpm engine". Dave Edit: To clairfy, I didn't think we were discussing such a high winding engine. I use HV pumps and stock pans on anything that will only see sub-6k rpms, and as I have said, no problems for me. I wouldn't have brought my stock 5.0 truck engine into the discussion if we were discussing anything radical.
But it's pointless to run a HV pump on a sub-6000RPM engine. I guess if it makes you "feel" better, do it. Oh, and no one was suggesting that you are "dumb". I always appreciate your educated and experienced opinions...
Nope, never said you need it. We have gotten off subject. This all started with the statement "never run a high volume pump with a stock pan".
That what makes cars such a great hobby - everybody has a different experience. Engines that I build have a windage tray or oil scraper on them. I saw an engine in one of my classes that was running without one and the faster you revved it the more oil clung to the crank. No kidding that crank actually collected oil from the pan and it all stayed on the crank. The faster it turned, the more oil it had wrapping itself around the crank. Then the instructor put a windage tray on and it was like a vacuum cleaner taking the oil off the crank. With a scraper the oil piled up on the side of the engine with the scraper. The class was on sports cars and racing them - covered everything from frames and suspension to the engine and exhaust system. The engine was a four cylinder engine and the instructor had install a strobe light and a lexan plate in the oil pan. I don't mess with it without putting a windage tray on. With the SBF its easy - Ford and almost every aftermarket maker that is worth anything sells them. The kit comes with the main brg bolts and the tray - its supposed to ad 10 HP. I can see why!
