Oil pump questions

[Dallas Lemon]

I've been chasing down an issue with my CJ losing oil pressure on steep climbs. I was chatting with a buddy of mine yesterday regarding this issue. Oil pressure is not a problem. It maintains 25 PSI hot at idle and 50 PSI at higher RPM. We got on the subject of clearances in the pump itself. I did put new gears in it about three years ago, and really didn't notice anything that made me suspicious of a problem. Oil pressure was good. If there was a problem with clearances, what should I expect to see? My little pea brain tells me that oil pressure would suffer from clearances out of spec. But, how would that effect the suction ability of the pump? Again, being it is a positive displacement pump, my little brain tells me as long as the suction side is air tight and the pickup submerged in oil, it will suck oil into the pump. Thoughts?

[tufcj]

Probably not a pump problem, but a pickup problem. I would suggest an oil pan with a bigger sump (maybe Canton), or modify your pan with some baffles in the bottom. On a steep climb, the oil runs away from the pickup. My CJ did the same thing. I found a pan that was built for AMC state patrol cars that had factory baffles. They're pretty rare too.

Bob
tufcj

[tufcj]

Probably not a pump problem, but a pickup problem. I would suggest an oil pan with a bigger sump (maybe Canton), or modify your pan with some baffles in the bottom. On a steep climb, the oil runs away from the pickup. My CJ did the same thing. I found a pan that was built for AMC state patrol cars that had factory baffles. They're pretty rare too.

Bob
tufcj