Dropped Oil Pump Drive Shaft

[Rick Parker]

Recently I had to replace a leaking piece of -10 hose that carries oil to the remote filter. Afterwards I wanted to prime all the lines by spinning the oil pump before restarting the engine to eliminate the possibility of air in the lines. I carefully removed the distributor twisting the rotor back and forth to keep the hex drive oil pump shaft from being pulled out of pump. I removed the distributor and set it aside. I attached the "dummy shaft" that I took out of another distributor and inserted it into my variable speed reversable drill. I then inserted the "dummy shaft" (without the gear) down onto the hex drive of the oil pump shaft ad spun it for about a minute until I was sure the lines were purged at which time I raised the drill & attached shaft straight up without thinking. "Clink"!, yep I knew what it was immediately. I had pulled the drive shaft out of the pump and it was now lodged in the hole out of the pump itself. Damn! I knew better than to do that, now what??
The remedy was actually easier than I thought. I was able to use a powerfull small 1/4" diameter magnet on a handle and pull the drive up until you can get a hold of it with your hand, then slip a piece of hose onto the hex drive distributor end then feed the entire length of the shaft back down into the hole and manuever it around (suggest clear plastic hose for stiffness) untill you can find the female drive recepticle in the pump. Once you are sure it is reinserted back in the pump stick a long skinny screwdriver down the hose and retain the drive shaft in the pump as you pull the hose off the shaft.
I was not looking forward to pulling the pan again to remedy this situation.

This could have gotten ugly real quick.


Rick