Oil Pump
The oil pump is a pump mounted to the engine that supplies pressurized oil to various components in the engine. It is vital to the engine's performance and longevity.
Location and Function
The oil pump is mounted to the front of the engine. The underside of it essentially forms the front lower corner of the engine, providing a place for the front of the oil pan to mount and seal. It is driven by the crankshaft directly, with no chain or belt.
Internally, the oil pump features a staggered gear setup that draws oil from the oil pan via the oil pickup tube, and pumps it through various engine components such as the crankshaft, bearings, oil squirters, cam journals, cams, lifters, and turbos. The oil pump also has a bleeder spring that opens and closes to regulate the pressure produced by the pump.
Differences
Z32 oil pumps are all very similar, but there are a few different versions.
| |
Non-Turbo |
Twin-Turbo |
|---|---|---|
| 90-93 |
Early-Style |
Early-Style |
| 94+ |
Late-Style |
Early-Style |
Essentially, 94+ NAs received a revised oil pump. This revised design is also found in replacement NA oil pumps, even those for 90-93 applications, indicating that they're interchangeable. It is unknown if there are any performance or durability differences.
Early-Style vs Late-Style
The early and late-style are visually very similar but internally different. The early style uses gears with sharp teeth and a wedge between their negative space, while the late-style uses a lobular pair of gears. The late-style also appears to have a larger galley capable of holding more oil It is unknown if there are any performance or durability differences.
|
|
|
| Early-Style Oil Pump. Click for full size. |
Late-Style Oil Pump. Click for full size. |
NA vs TT
While identical cosmetically and (almost) identical functionally, NA and TT oil pumps are slightly different. While they can flow the same amount of oil, NA pumps have a slightly weaker bleeder spring, so they actually produce less real-world oil pressure. The additional pressure is to support An NA oil pump can be "converted" to a TT oil pump by simply replacing the spring.
