Nine Ball
Enthusiast
A couple months ago, I was warming up my 2006 Viper to get ready to pull it out of the garage, when my oil pressure gauge all of a sudden went to 0 psi. I was hoping it was just a sensor, but it wasn't. Keep in mind that my car is heavily modified, and makes over 1,000 hp at the wheels. It has been perfectly reliable for well over a year, and several racing events. This was the stock oil pump, which has approx 14k miles on it. The inner gearotor is just cheap cast metal. It is likely that the added hp put the additional stress on it, since my engine revs up much quicker than a stock engine does.
Needless to say, it was a pain in the ass to get the thing out of the engine. Here is what I had to remove:
Paxton supercharger system
All belt-driven accessories (A/C, power steering, alternator)
Crank pulley (really fun with steering rack in way)
Front engine bay crossmember
Drain engine oil
Drain coolant
Multiple coolant hoses
Oil cooler line
Remove oil pan
Remove oil pick-up tube
Remove front engine / timing chain cover assembly
Remove the 8 worst stripping torx head screws in the history of screws (to get oil pump plate off)
Here is what I found. I know of a few other high-hp cars with the same failure. Most of us seem to be in the 800+ rwhp range. Those of you planning big mods might want to address this now, rather than later.
You can see where the initial cracks likely formed, along the edges of the gear-drive flats. Those look like terrific stress riser areas. Once it let loose, I'm sure the other cracks were soon behind.
Here is an example of a typical oil pump gerotor, the pump works by spinning the smaller gear inside the larger gear. This goes around the crankshaft, so that gap between the inner teeth is what moves the volume of oil as it spins. Pretty simple concept, most cars use similar setups now.
Many other cars have similar failures. Explanations vary. Here is a decent write-up about a similar failure. http://www.skylife4ever.com/2011/01/real-problem-with-rb26-oil-pump.html
Tony
Needless to say, it was a pain in the ass to get the thing out of the engine. Here is what I had to remove:
Paxton supercharger system
All belt-driven accessories (A/C, power steering, alternator)
Crank pulley (really fun with steering rack in way)
Front engine bay crossmember
Drain engine oil
Drain coolant
Multiple coolant hoses
Oil cooler line
Remove oil pan
Remove oil pick-up tube
Remove front engine / timing chain cover assembly
Remove the 8 worst stripping torx head screws in the history of screws (to get oil pump plate off)
Here is what I found. I know of a few other high-hp cars with the same failure. Most of us seem to be in the 800+ rwhp range. Those of you planning big mods might want to address this now, rather than later.
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You can see where the initial cracks likely formed, along the edges of the gear-drive flats. Those look like terrific stress riser areas. Once it let loose, I'm sure the other cracks were soon behind.
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
Here is an example of a typical oil pump gerotor, the pump works by spinning the smaller gear inside the larger gear. This goes around the crankshaft, so that gap between the inner teeth is what moves the volume of oil as it spins. Pretty simple concept, most cars use similar setups now.
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
Many other cars have similar failures. Explanations vary. Here is a decent write-up about a similar failure. http://www.skylife4ever.com/2011/01/real-problem-with-rb26-oil-pump.html
Tony
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