While I had my oil pan removed I decided to inspect my oil pump. I only found one thing that seemed out of the ordinary. Is it ok for the gears inside the oil pump to look like they wont interlock perfectly? I haven't noticed any mechanical problems from this. Sorry I wasn't able to take a real picture of it, but here's one I drew.

 

Bump.

 

They aren't supposed to. The space between the gear teeth picks up the oil and pressurizes it. Unless you see obvious wear, chips, or broken teeth, you should be fine. They rarely fail, unless you've experienced a sludge problem. If your pressure is fine, your pump is fine.

 

I just had someone else tell me the same thing. Thanks for helping to appease my worries.

 

No problem. Hows the project going? On the road yet?

 

Yep. I installed the new oil pan, new motor mounts and snub mount, bolted the subframe back on, and put the core support back in its normal position today. I drove it home and everything seemed fine except for some kind of a slight ticking sound coming from the engine. I'm a little concerned, it seems most apparent near the valve cover. Any idea on what it might be? It could have been there before, but I just noticed it today.

 

Funny, I just did all of that too when I cracked my oil pan! Is the ticking engine-speed dependent? It's a shot in the dark, but have you tried Seafoam to break up possibe carbon on the valves?

 

Since I had to move the core support and lift it off the motor mounts anyway, I decided why not replace all the mounts. I can only hear the ticking during idle. When I removed the oil pan I didn't see a single trace of sludge, although I believe the previous owner had the engine flushed.