Be careful, that gasket sets the end clearance of the gears which is really important. It's probably best to remove the pump from the engine for this repair.

Yes, remove the pump then pull the cover. Take a depth mike and measure the clearance from the body to the impeller and compare that to the factory manual. Measure the depth at three or four points around the surface.

You will need a gasket that gives the clearance recommended by the factory specs regardless of after market or original pump.

To get the correct clearance subtract the depth of the impeller in the body from the recommended clearance and that is the thickness of gasket you will need.

You also may want to dress the surface of the body and the cover plate on a surface plate with 220 emery cloth before taking the measurements listed above. It's possible the body and/or the cover plate are deformed. Only remove the high spots so you have a flat gasket surface.

Be very careful doing the dressing and measuring and you may have to make a gasket as I did. A few extra thousandths clearance is better than a few less thousandths.  

1955CJ-5 wrote on 11/10/13 at 20:24:49:


I think in reality I have the newest new type oil pump. Though the relief valve is still in the cover, there is no vent or drain plug as shown in the repair manual....and it looks just like the one that Walck's sells....

I may just pull the bolts one at a time and give them a good dose of thread sealant..the book recommends thread sealant in the re-assembly section..

Permatex makes a teflon thread sealant..Permatex 14...I'll need to order some.

I watched it today and the oil seems to accumulate around the bold heads...

And I read that squirting starting fluid in the holes will help clean the residual oil out...

Use carb or brake spray cleaner to degrease parts.

I sealed all the bolts on the oil pump with Permatex High Temp thread sealant.. The stuff takes 24 hours to cure so it's wait and see now.

The lower bolt that mounts the pump to the block was wet with oil when i took it out so it was probably the culprit. The rest were dry and I don't think the cap bolts contact an oil source anyway.

If anything further needs to be done the pump will come out as it is not fun to work on in that confined space....

I wondered about that..it looks tight. I can't imagine working it back in there without throwing off the ignition timing..

I do hope I done with it. I'll give it plenty of time to cure....