how do you put the oil pump driveshaft bearings in?

87_7MGTE

SOLD :(
Mar 30, 2005
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Bellingham, WA
just like the title says! im doing a fresh rebuild, and im trying to put the 2 bearings in for the oil pump driveshaft, but i dont have the SST do do it. is there a trick you guys use to put them in? the crank and rods are already back in, and i would like to try to avoid removing them again. thanks!
 

siman

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Mar 31, 2005
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My machine shop put them in for me when I picked the block up, that was really nice of them to do since they had rebuilt LOTS of 7ms in nashville. They knew that I was going to have to get it in..so at the last minute the guy took it upon himself to install my oil pump driveshaft bearing.

But I guess you just fit your fingers in there and squeeze them in...thats what he did...and he had porky fingers :biglaugh:
 

Race Bred

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Mar 30, 2005
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Tallahassee, Fl
siman said:
My machine shop put them in for me when I picked the block up, that was really nice of them to do since they had rebuilt LOTS of 7ms in nashville. They knew that I was going to have to get it in..so at the last minute the guy took it upon himself to install my oil pump driveshaft bearing.

But I guess you just fit your fingers in there and squeeze them in...thats what he did...and he had porky fingers :biglaugh:

Are you 100% sure that is how he installed them? I am skeptical as they a pretty tight fit... Would a cam bearing installer for a domestic engine work? I am not sure if it is in the correct size range, but if it were, there may be a chance you can rent one at an auto parts place. You could always take it in to a machine shop; I imagine it would be pretty cheap (and how can you put a price on peace of mind?).
 

87_7MGTE

SOLD :(
Mar 30, 2005
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Bellingham, WA
well i am a bit skeptical about the machine shop, they work on NO 7M motors ever. i went in at lunch today and asked him if he could "install the bearings for my oil pump drive shaft" and i got a blank look from him and he said he had never heard of such a thing. so im not trusting that. i would rather do it myself with a tool that will work.
 

Idealsupra

Supramania Contributor
Mar 31, 2005
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87_7MGTE said:
well i am a bit skeptical about the machine shop, they work on NO 7M motors ever. i went in at lunch today and asked him if he could "install the bearings for my oil pump drive shaft" and i got a blank look from him and he said he had never heard of such a thing. so im not trusting that. i would rather do it myself with a tool that will work.

a lot of machine shops call it something else...i cant fucking remember what...but my machine shop asked me if i wanted them to put the bearing in...i was like ummmm sure and couldnt figure out wtf they were talking about...until later when i saw it and they showed me...

i wish i could remember what they called it lol...
 

kamil

87T Targa
Apr 4, 2005
144
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Tucson, AZ
I am about to do this myself tomorrow and will let you know if we manage to get those suckers replaced without the aid of a machine shop... I have been taking meticulous photos of the entire rebuild process thus far and will continue to do so throughout the rest of it. Hopefully it will clear some things up!
 

kamil

87T Targa
Apr 4, 2005
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Tucson, AZ
Sure enough, it can be done without a machine shop! I rented a $150 set of cam bearing pullers (came with a slidehammer and various puller heads that were size adjustable) from autozone. Use this set to pull the inner bearing (smaller of the two) out of its journal. Do this one first otherwise you will damage the outer bearing while trying to get the inner bearing out. Once thats out, use plenty of brake/carb cleaner to make sure the journal is free of debris. Using just your hands, gently align the new inner bearing (make sure the oil feed hole on the bearing is aligned with the hole in the block) as best you can and press it on enough so that its straight but doesn't fall off the opening. To push it in I again used the slidehammer with the biggest puller attachment screwed completely open. You can knudge the slidehammer handle against the front bearing hole to get a good straight line and have a friend hit the end with a rubber hammer. Make sure he doesn't hit it until you tell him "go" each time, otherwise you can get a little carried away and score the new bearing when the slidehammer slips between hits. Keep at it, it'll eventually get in there -- patience is key.

For the bigger outer bearing I simply used a socket of about the same size with an extension and a rubber mallet. Tap it all the way out and again thoroughly clean the journal with brake/carb cleaner. Align the new bearing like with the first one (making sure to align the oil feed hole) and gently start it with the rubber mallet. Finish it with the socket. Never force it, if you wedge it bad enough you'll ruin the bearing.

Once both bearings are in, lube them with lubriplate or your favorite assembly lube and gently insert the driveshaft. If its really tight you're gonna have to get creative as demonstrated in exhibit one:

scotchbrite1.jpg


After about 5-10 minutes with this home-made scotch-brite-pad-on-a-stick(tm), clean off any residue with carb/brake cleaner, relube and try your driveshaft again. There should be very little resistance in turning the shaft by hand from the front of the block, and definitely no side-to-side play. A little resistance is OK.

Most important thing is to be patient and not get frustrated. Take a break if you have to, don't force anything. If you don't think you can handle that, definitely have a shop do it for you. I didn't have the option since I'm on a tight schedule and this had to be done!

Edit: Make sure you measure the thrust collar clearances as well, they should be within spec otherwise you will either need a new oil pump driveshaft or have a shop refit it with a new collar. Mine was dead on at minimum clearance specs after 165k miles, pretty impressive!

Edit 2: Edited above to include aligning the oil feed holes on the new bearings. Thanks and good catch IJ!
 
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Idealsupra

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Mar 31, 2005
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the funny thing...all that work..for something a machine shop will do for around $10....

obviously if you have the right tools it can be done..i meant the machine shop will need to do it if you dont have the SST and the knowhow which MOST people dont...

so good job...but id rather drop $10 bucks and not have to worry about the hassle ;)
 

TONY!

Habitual Supra Killer
Mar 30, 2005
524
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Tonyland
the funny thing...all that work..for something a machine shop will do for around $10....

obviously if you have the right tools it can be done..i meant the machine shop will need to do it if you dont have the SST and the knowhow which MOST people dont...

so good job...but id rather drop $10 bucks and not have to worry about the hassle ;)
It is cool for you to have that sort of thinking, but it is good that people provide information to us.

Many like to do things just out of the satisfaction of knowing that they did it, and that they did it right.
Many pros are incompetent also. If you are really serious about building something, you have to know how things are supposed to be done and done properly. You can't be a good project manager of your car/build if you don't know how things are supposed to be done.

Just like when I installed my core plugs in the block: I could have had the shop do it, but I said I want to do every step myself.

Now will I do it myself on this block, I don't know. Others can decide for themselves too.

The more info, the better. I am always grateful to folks who want to contribute.
 

kamil

87T Targa
Apr 4, 2005
144
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Tucson, AZ
For $10 I would have had the machine shop do it too! Unfortunately the whole thing got overlooked somehow and they're not open on weekends. Rather than messing up my entire projects timeline I decided to remedy the situation myself and figured I might as well share the experience with others that might run into the same situation :) Hope it helps somebody!
 

87_7MGTE

SOLD :(
Mar 30, 2005
278
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16
Bellingham, WA
kamil, thank you so very much for the information. i appreciate it more than you can imagine. i will do the steps you say tomorrow, as i plan to tackle this problem then. im sure i can take this on myself, and the knowledge and pic you provided should help tremendously. thanks again for everything!