.0020 .0025 rods clearance, a wee bit less for mains, and a hv pump works great. check crank end play and rod side clearance.

 

HV pumps are total overkill unless your bearing clearances are looser than... well you know where I'm going with that

Seriously you're just dumping that extra oil right back into the pan. The high pressure spring is all you need.

 

HV=
excess parasitic drag/wasted HP
most often excess oil pump drive gear wear
possible issues with stock pan

SV-HP=
no excess parasitic drag
normal oil pump drive gear wear
no issues with stock pan

 

Have only heard issues with the HV pumps. Never heard anyone have issues with SV pump. One machine shops take on it was that HV keeps a lot of oil up top side and thus tends to warm it up more.

If you need another opinion why don't you ask melling.

 

I never had a problem with HV pumps but with the stock pan, high pressure pumps have problems. Maybe its been my bad luck, or my abuse toward the car.

 

The shop that built my engine also built a couple of extremely reliable 1,000+ HP LT1's. Their approach was to use a new stock pump (this was in 99-01 so the stock pumps from GM may have changed at this point in time, 10 years later), blueprint and tweak it (there used to be a great site that showed how to do this, but it no longer responds), install an 80psi spring. Finished. Also used the stock pan, windage tray, with no problems at all. Buddy of mine was glad they used the stock pan, because he damaged a few dropping the car too hard from 3+ foot wheelstands.

 

I think part of the push to use HV comes from sloppy shops that want to just slap things together without measuring. One popular shop like HV pumps and 20w-50, also likes to use cranks known to be tapered more often than not. Using thick oil and a HV pump to avoid having to address the bad machining on Chinese parts.

Not enough to know what a shop recommends, have to ask WHY.

HV pumps are more likely to cavitation and heat the oil by circulating it through the bypass too much.

 

so there is no truth in what i have read in the past, nothing in my factory gm chevy bowtie power sbc set up manual, anything in there that states that a properly clearanced motor for an hv pump, experiences longer bearing life and cooler running internals? not withstanding my past and current setups? why in the world were the dang things ever produced? marketing hype, perhaps

 

They were produced as a bandaid for engines with worn out bearings.

There are OTHER applications that need attention to oiling maybe some of those actually needed a HV pump and that lead others to assume the SBC needed one too. Sort of like underdrive pullies. They are nice on belt driven WP engines but near worthless on an LT1 unless road racing and you want lower rpms to keep the PS cooler.

 

I wonder if the marine guys need higher oil flow for cooling purposes?

Rich

 

Interesting. I remember years ago that marine engines needed to use straight weight oils cause they ran at raised rpms for long periods of time. Like OPE engines. Unlike autos that constantly vary speeds.

 

SO... when I do my rebuild here pretty soon, should I NOT use the melling 10554 w/ pink spring that I just bought? I was under the impression all cammed engines should have a higher volume/ pressure oil pump.

 

You will starve your engine of oil only if you use heavier oil in low temperature climates at start up followed by immediate extreme driving. And of course if you don't have enough oil in it. If you start it and drive it at low ambient temperature through high rpm and oil has not set its viscosity you will starve your engine of oil.

I know no one does this and usually everyone is running 5W30 which is perfect.

When I built my motor I was told:

-high volume (is for full race track application where you have continuous high rpms)

-high pressure (for extreme drag casing where the sudden acceleration pulls the oil into the pump and sends it with high pressure to the valve chambers and everything else).

If the car no mater what hp is a street car you will be fine with stoker and you may upgrade to a aftermarket performance but there is absolutely no need to high volume nor nigh pressure. I hope this helps!

 

Have you been reading any of this thread, LOL? Yes, use the 10554. It is not an HV pump. A lot of LT1s are notorious for low pressure, so the HP pink spring will do fine for you. It's only a 70# spring, so pressure is not excessive. I disagree with what Diplomat said about not making use of the higher pressure. It won't hurt anything and can very well potentially help.

 

Yes I agree...I didn't mean by no means not to use it, its just that you don't need it, GM does great work with their oiling systems. If your not going to use it to its full potential I don't see the justification in buying it but that's just me. When it comes to oiling more is better.