[TR] Uprated Oil Pump TR-3/4

[Irv Korey]

On Tue, Jan 19, 2010 at 11:53 AM, Tony Drews <tony at tonydrews.com> wrote:

> I was talking with a group of my Triumph racing buddies, and we were
> discussing a new oil pump design for the TRactor motor (TR-3 / TR-4) that
> came out of the Chicago area Triumph club.  I realized that I may not have
> properly promoted this product.  Steve Yott (aka "Drippy") has developed an
> oil pump design based on the stock pump, but with some important
> modifications.  The rotor and shaft are NOT two separate parts, but are one
> piece - eliminating one of the failure modes of these pumps.  Also, the end
> cap has been machined to accept a new shaft sticking out of the bottom of
> the rotor - so the rotor is supported on BOTH ends, rather than the stock
> single end support.  The end plate is pinned to the main housing so that the
> location of this bore is consistent upon disassembly and reassembly.  The
> rotor has oil passages in key places ensuring that all of the moving parts
> ride in an oil bath so there is no metal on metal contact.
>
> Steve Yott is at tr4 at wi.rr.com .  I believe the price for this was $225
> with a core exchange.
>


FWIW, Steve Yott, a fellow member of ISOA, started this project when one of
our club members had an oil pump failure. The failed pump was one of the
currently available aftermarket pumps, and had only about 30,000 miles on it
when it failed. These are street miles, not racing miles. The rotor, which
is apparently not made from the same material as the oem pumps, or else is
not hardened as in the oem pumps, wears. As it wears, it starts to wobble
side to side, until it gets to a point where it seizes. The failed pump in
question showed .030 wear on the shaft. The engine sustained serious damage,
the car had to be towed home hundreds of miles, and a complete overhaul was
required. There was no warning that this was going on, just a sudden and
catastrophic failure. Not only is Steve a former TRiumph mechanic and the
engine builder for the TTA Stag, he is also a TRactor engine owner (67
TR4A). If he engineered a pump for the TR6, I'd be the first in line to grab
one.

NFI

Irv Korey
74 TR6 CF22767U
Highland Park, IL