Oil pump gives resistance when turning by hand?

[plasticboob]

Hey everyone - I used my old dizzy and shaft (which is true as far as I can tell by rolling it) to install in the engine, ready for priming. When I turn it by hand, it turns very smoothly but gives a bit of resistance every turn - it doesn't feel like it's binding, and I can't remember if my old "new" pump did this as well. I am not using the super thin gasket. Also, it seems like the shaft is trying to raise up just a hair when the resistance starts. After noticing this, I loosened the bolts for the adapter plate, but that made no change.

So, my questions are:
Is this normal?

and

Is this why distributor shafts have a slight amount of play up and down within the distributor housing?

Thanks for any input! :)

[jeepsr4ever]

I would take the gears out and look for any dings on the edge of the gear teeth. Chances are you have a small ding that is causing a little binding.

[plasticboob]

Sure, I'll check that out, but this is a new cover / pump / midplate set that I ordered from you and when it arrived I did inspect it and found no dings. Any other thoughts? It doesn't stop and catch, it just slows down a bit...

[jeepsr4ever]

Turning it slowly?

[plasticboob]

Yeah, turning it by hand fast or slow gives slight resistance - not that much the faster I turn it - but I dunno if I'm making a big deal out of nothing? I just don't want to overlook something that might cause problems later, because I thought I read that misalignment or extra pressure can cause dizzy gear wear? Turning it slow doesn't make it catch and stop, it just gives resistance but continues turning (although I have to use a tiny bit more force).

[jeepsr4ever]

Did you install the gasket dry? You may have some gasket in the pump offering resistance.