xflow oil pump replacement

[kingsea99]

Evening everyone.

I have a 1.6 AX block crossflow in what i believe is standard config.  When cold at idle i see 35-40psi on a mechanical gauge and at load about 55-60.

When the car is up to temp the pressure at idle drops to around 25psi and at load is around 50.

Plan to do an oil and filter change but wondered if as a precaution I should change the oil pump, and if i do, should I go for a standard replacement or a high pressure, or high pressure/high capacity.

Intention is for a winter rebuild and capacity increase so if I went for an uprated pump it would be needed for the rebuilt engine but would there be any downside using it for the standard 1.6?

Cheers

Sean

[Roger King]

Your figures are actually quite good, especially at warm idle. A high pressure pump merely involves changing the relief valve spring so there is no point in buying a whole new pump. Of course you should take the original pump apart and check that the internals are still sound (this is very easy), but if they are, a new spring is a lot cheaper than a new pump.

A high capacity/high pressure pump is an improvement, but may well be an improvement you don't need depending on what you have done to your engine. The reason you would need a high capacity pump is if the engine demands more oil flow than standard in order to maintain pressure - examples might include the oil gallery on the pump side being drilled to spray oil onto the dizzy and oil pump gears, the engine being built with "loose" bearing clearances or even having a feed to lubricate a turbo. If your oil pump has excess capacity, the relief valve will simply dump the surplus into the sump, so you could argue that it's simply nice to have a bit in reserve. It should do no harm on a standard engine, but will likely provide no benefit either.

[kingsea99]

Thanks Roger that is reassuring to know.  Will give the pump a strip down and check and go from there.