Hi, im putting together my 324 olds, and I just took apart the oil pump to inspect. When I removed the side cap there was only a spring in there, nothing else. Should there be a check ball, or something else? I dont know what the spring would do by itself . I did a search and cant find any info at all. Any help would much appreciated , thanks
I think you may need to work a little more in the cavity where you found the spring. There is supposed to be a sliding piston in there that the spring pushes against. Mine(324) was stuck fast in it's place. Check up inside the spring hole. If it is open to the pumping chamber, the piston is missing. If the hole is closed the piston is probably still in there and stuck. Don't get carried away and break something. Be patient and keep working with it. The piston looks like a thin metal sleeve with one end closed. You can do it! DON'T damage the cylinder that the piston slides in! Good Luck!
Here's another couple of items to keep in mind; The oil galley plugs that go in the ends of the galleys that intersect with the lifter bores are special in two places. If you send your block to the machine shop for cleaning/machining, they will likely remove the "special" plugs and loose them(the young guys don't realize they are special). The one that goes in the front passenger side has an orifice of about .060 to spray oil on the timing chain. The one at the back where the distributor is inserted also has an orifice to lubricate the distributor shaft. Inexperienced guys usually will return your block with solid sbc type plugs installed if you don't watch them.
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