Hey ya'll. Alright, here's a little background for everyone first. My rebuilt shortblock's been leaking oil ever since I installed it, and I finally got VT to look at it. We found out the oil pump (which VT installed) is leaking. The kicker is, since VT is now under new ownership, the warranty on my rebuild doesn't stand anymore. So I'm going to have to do this myself. Now, Pop's said either the pressure bolt gasket or the o-ring inside is leaking and either way the oil pump has to come off. I'm wondering how I'm going to take the pump off and re-install it w/ the engine IN THE CAR. What am I up against and how much time will it take?
Thank You Much!

EDIT: I'm not trying to make VT sound bad at all, it just sucks that my warranty doesn't exist anymore since VT changed owners.

just do the t-belt job, and remove the oil pump once you got the belt off, its not hard and you can do it with the motor in the car no problem. Sucks that VT is leaving you hanging.

off topic but is the change of management the reason they ditched their 420A line? :(

Yeah it does suck that VT can't help me, but at least I can fix this thing only for the cost of a gasket.
And Pop's (who still works there after the change) said that they will still build 420a's, whether it be the block, head or both. In fact, when I was there this past Friday, I saw a freshly built 420a block sittin on the floor waiting for the customer to pick it up :thumbsup

Does anyone know where I can get parts for melling oil pumps, like gaskets and o-rings?
Thanks

Originally posted by 95venge
Does anyone know where I can get parts for melling oil pumps, like gaskets and o-rings? Thanks

They use factory gaskets with newly cast (and improved) rotors. The front main, oil passage o-rings, and relief spring gasket are not melling-specific.

Alright, thanks a lot Dino. By the way, does anyone know how to get the passenger mount bracket off, since there's not enough room to pull the bolts out? I'll drill a couple holes in the frame to get them if I have to but just wondering if there's an easier way.
Thanks again!

Originally posted by 95venge
Alright, thanks a lot Dino. By the way, does anyone know how to get the passenger mount bracket off, since there's not enough room to pull the bolts out? I'll drill a couple holes in the frame to get them if I have to but just wondering if there's an easier way. Thanks again!

with mine, all i had to do was jack the motor as high as it went and with about a minute of playing with them, they came out...and i had to do it twice. i don't know what everybody else's problem with them is. :shrug

heh...

You guys had alot of luck

When I had to remove my oil pump for a rebuid.. the crank gear was stuck on the crankshaft. It would not come out for nothing. So I left the pump on and took the crank/pump to the machine shop where they broke 2 pullers trying to remove it. Then they had no choice but to cut the gear in half to take it off the crankshaft.

Resulted in me going to Dodge and getting a new gear for $16.00 and a new oil pump for $130.

And the new gear still didnt fit on the crankshaft, I had to stop by Autozone and get some sandpaper to sand it down a bit, finally after about a good 30 minutes of sanding, I still had to tap the gear with a rubber mallet to get it on the crankshaft.

Ok fellas, can anyone else tell me how they got their passenger mount bracket off? I can't seem to find enough room to pull it off for the life of me. The two bolts closest to the bottom are giving me a hell of a time trying to get em out. And I can't see how you could jack the engine up high enough to pull them out either. I'm just so pissed off right now I can't think of anything.

Thank you

Originally posted by 95venge
Ok fellas, can anyone else tell me how they got their passenger mount bracket off? I can't seem to find enough room to pull it off for the life of me. The two bolts closest to the bottom are giving me a hell of a time trying to get em out. And I can't see how you could jack the engine up high enough to pull them out either. I'm just so pissed off right now I can't think of anything. Thank you

You need to loosen both bottom bolts in that bracket, with the topmost one out(i think you are at this point). The motor needs to be jacked up at a certain point, where as the back most bolt head is positioned to fit between the two steel hard lines along the frame rail. You may need to separate those hard lines a little bit, but you should be able to get that one bolt head pulled out to fit in between these lines. Once you do that, it gives JUST enough clearance to move the bracket a bit, and that lets you get the last bolt out. You will have to maneuver the bracket with the two bolts still in it, around and out of the way of the timing belt. Once you do it a few times, you get the hang of it, but it is a bitch at first.

If you loosen up the front motor mount that will help you jack your motor up higher. Good to see another fellow venge owner on here.

Originally posted by fastpunk
Good to see another fellow venge owner on here.

Ya damn right it is! :7
Anyways, thanks for the help fellas. I ended up getting that bracket off just like you guys said by jacking the engine way up. But now I'm a little afraid that my headgasket is what's leaking instead because I found oil on the bottom corner of the head right above the oil pump pressure bolt. I'll just re-seal the oil pump for now and hope to God that i don't leak anymore oil.

Once I finally got the pump off tonight, the gasket and o-ring WERE on it. I replaced them anyway but if the pump wasn't the problem I don't know what is. I mean I've got a new cometic headgasket, valve cover gasket, and camshaft seals. You think I should just start it up for now and go from there or what? Oh and should I replace the front main seal because I didn't take it out of the pump case. I'm sure this post is pointless but I'm just looking for some advice.
Thanks a lot!