1957 312 oil pump

1957 312 oil pump

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By nrashooter - 12 Years Ago

I read that there are gear types and rotor types available. Can you use either? Is one preferable. Thanks.

By NoShortcuts - 12 Years Ago

Hi Shooter,

Welcome to the site.

Either type of oil pump can be used. My understanding is that more y-blocks were produced by FoMoCo with gear type pumps than with the rotor style pump between 1954 and 1964. New gear style pumps are still available in the aftermarket arena; N.O.S. rotor style pumps occasionally show up on eBay. Melling (for one) is still making rebuild kits for the rotor style pumps. These carry the Melling part number K-56. Advanced Auto parts stores list these for one, but if you Google 'Melling K-56' you'll find a number of other parts stores that also do.

If you do a search of the Forum archives, you'll find info that indicates that there is advantage to the rotor style pump over the gear style. What I've taken away from what I've read is that for high rpm applications, the rotor style has a distinct advantage in it's ability to supply oil.

Hope this helps. Smile

By PF Arcand - 12 Years Ago

Y-Block oil pump types is one of the subjects that creates some arguments. As stated both are interchangeble. Gear pumps have cast housings, Gerotor types have aluminum housings. No shortcuts statement that Geroters have a noticeable advantage in oil supply, again might spawn an argument. However, our moderator Ted, prefers the gerotor style, apparently because sometimes the gear types can be somewhat noisy & are believed in some cases to create resonance problems with the distributor. The resonance problem may only be a problem with high performance situations, but I'm not sure on that point.. I believe all or most engines thru 1956 were gear types & in most cases they worked just fine. The oil pump designs in Y-Blocks is not an area of trouble normally.. If installing one, ensure that the drive rod is in good condition. If it shows signs of wear on its sides, replace it!

By NoShortcuts - 12 Years Ago

Paul's 'rememberer' is better than mine, Shooter. I did some archive digging and came up with what follows.

Ted (9/17/2012)

The main problem I find with the spur gear pumps is a cavitation issue that starts showing up after 5200 engine rpms. This is a problem with this style of pump that shows up regardless of engine make.

While this is not a show stopper in a high performance application, it does take away some horsepower by way of oil pump drag and harmonics being transmitted to the ignition.

While the spur gear pump design was introduced on the original Y's, Ford engineering did come up with the more superior gerotor design in 1956 and started phasing those pumps into production. By the end of 1957, the gerotor style of pump was the standard oem pump for the Y engines and for that matter, all subsequent Ford engine families after that.

I remember reading more from Ted on his assessment of gerotor pump oil flow issue, but was unable to locate it. I'm finding that some archive material was not accessible, too, perhaps because of the site software update. -Unfortunate IF this is in fact the case. Possibly, what I thought I read not too long ago appeared in Y-Block Magazine.

By nrashooter - 12 Years Ago

Thanks very much to all. Great info

By Ted - 12 Years Ago

I'm currently at Bonneville so I can't do a thorough search but did find this link that might help.
http://forums.y-blocksforever.com/FindPost12094.aspx