My 292 with about 30,000 miles on a rebuild is equipped with the gear type oil pump, and I use 15W-40 oil. Oil pressure is 70+ when cold and 55-60 psi at freeway speeds when hot. When the engine is overnight cold, the oil pump makes a noise with engine speeds over about 2,000 rpm that sounds a bit like your 3/8 drive ratchet when it gets spun quickly. Not as loud as that, and it goes away within the first 5-minutes of operation. Also, when the hot engine is re-started after sitting for a half hour or so, it idles a little rough after the oil pressure comes up, though this symptom seems to improve after driving it again for a while.



Play in the pump gears? Would using the later rotor style pump reduce or eliminate these symptoms? Distributor is a one year old MSD.



Steve