willysmjeeps.com

Pulled my oil pump to check it out. Everything passes with flying colors, except two areas. In the manual it says you should be able to put end cover on w/o gasket and the pump will not turn. Well mine does. But if i push in the top rod it touches then. The second area is the top outer gear is suppose to have .020 to .030 clearance to the body, but mine is around.031-.033 ish. Definitely over .030. I think because of this spacing issue, its does and doesn't touch the bottom cover plate. Is this still an ok pump, or should i rebuild or replace it ? I've never had this pump run so i don't know how it works, pulled to check since all oil system needed a cleaning. Like said the insides were fine, and spacing correct.

It is a bit subjective but wear and excess clearance is always your enemy when assembling oil pumps. It's your call and your wallet. I would not waste my time with an out of spec pump. Yes it is difficult but not impossible to R&R the pump again after you install it and find your oil pressure too low.