Club Cobra - 351W with Accusump question

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351W with Accusump question

I recently ate the distributor drive gear while autocross racing. I believe the oil pump failed when the oil was sloshed away from the pickup, and this led to the drive gear failure. One option I'm considering to prevent a repeat is an Accusump, and I have two questions. First, is this a reasonable solution to the problem of oil pressure loss during autocross racing? Second, should I plumb the Accusump so it provides oil to both the oil pump and the engine when pressure drops? What do you guys think?

I think the Accusump is a great thing. I can't answer the plumbing questions. You might also look into a Canton Racing pan with the internal oil baffles. to keep oil around the pickup when cornering and braking.

Tom,
You can't go wrong with the accusump for road racing or autocross. I have seen a few dist. gear failures in sb Fords. Most were because of wrong dist. gear.Depends if you are running a roller cam or not. Check with your dist. manufacturer to find out the correct gear needed.

McCranky:3DSMILE:

Don't think the Accusump is a bad idea, but not sure it will solve your problem.

First, you need an oil pan and windage tray that will keep your pickup submerged during braking, and cornering. Canton makes a 9qt baffled road race pan. Milodon (I think) makes an 8 qt.

Did the pump seize and break the gear. Usually, the shear pin on the distributor will let go if that happens. Did the pump ingest a piece of junk that caused it to sieze? Send your replacement pump out to a coatings shop and have its internals polymer coated with an oil retentive coating. Then use a magnetic drain plug in the pan to collect pump eating pieces of junk. The Canton already has one.

As mentioned above, if you mismatched the distributor gear and cam, that will eat the gear. Roller cam-steel gear (FMS part). Flat tappet cam-iron gear (likely, the one that came on the distributor).

One of the engine builders here, Don Scott, takes all new roller cams and burnishes the cam gear with a wire wheel before installing it. Claims to prevent dist gears from wearing prematurely even when properly matched.

After this, for a little extra insurance, install the Acusump.