226 oil pump

[WillysTom1]

Rebuilding my 226 engine for my 55 Willys Custom. the rebuild kit came with a new oil pump. The gear on the new oil pump does not mesh properly with the cam gear- makes it very tight to turn the engine. Also, the new pump pick up and screen faces to the rear of the engine and will not fit in the pan. 
We cleaned up the old pump which has 52,000 miles on it and it pumps oil just fine so we reinstalled it in the engine. I would prefer to find a new one though.  The supply house that I bought it from has never heard of this problem and they have probably sold a couple hundred of these oil pumps.  My pan is shallow on both ends and the pump screen and pick up face forward towards the front. I have asked a couple of friends about the shape of their pans on 54 and 55 Willys Aeros and their pans are only shallow at the front.  Both of their cars are stick shifts and mine is a Hydramatic. Does this make a difference? I sure appreciate any feedback.

[MarkH]

I can't answer your pan sump question but if you opt to get your original pump rebuilt, Egge  Machine Co.can do that & will give you flow rate & pressure specs after it's done.

[joefrazer]

Oil pumps rarely fail but will leak. The body is cast iron but the gear cover is stamped steel and over time will warp. Have both checked to be sure both are flat and if so, install fresh gears and use the pump. I did that with my 50 Kaiser engine and when hot, it maintains 35 lbs pressure.

[WillysTom1]

  Thanks to both of you. I have sent it out for a rebuild. I will also be consulting with Melling to figure out the configuration for this one and will post the results. The question still stands, do all of the  Hydramatic 54 and 55 Aeros have this shape of a pan and a different style of an oil pump?