Video How To: Moroso Performance Explains Oil Pump Pickup Clearance

You’re building an engine for the first time, so you buy an oil pan, seal it up, and slap it on. Sounds simple, right? It’s not, according to the fine folks at Moroso Performance. Measuring the clearance between the oil pump and oil pan is one of the critical measurements that can make or break your brand-new build. Don’t think that just because the pan is designed for the particular engine, as is the oil pump pickup, you can mate the two without doing any extra work to make sure that things fit properly.

In the newest how-to video to hit their YouTube channel, the company recommends two different methods to measure the clearance and ensure sufficient clearance and oil pressure while the engine is in operation.

The first method is the simple one – using one of the company’s pans, pan gaskets, and oil pump pickups, they dry-fit the pan to the engine using clay on the pickup’s screen. Prior to sticking the clay on the pickup, a thin piece of racer’s tape is used to prevent any of the clay getting squeezed into the pickup itself – and subsequently into the engine.

Using two simple pieces of clay, the pan is bolted on and snugged up at all four corners, then the pan is removed to check the clay’s thickness with a pair of calipers. They also demonstrate removing the gasket from the equation, to test how much clearance is present using the one-piece gasket in case a user needs more or less clearance.

The second method involves using a straightedge and a tape measure. The straightedge is laid on the pickup screen, and a measurement is taken at both sides of the straightedge in relation to the block rail. Next, the straightedge is laid across the rear of the pan, and the tape is used to measure the depth of the sump in the pan. A third measurement is taken of the gasket that will be used in combination with the pan, to determine the total dimension a user has to work with in the application.