My pump became victim to this disaster ealier this week, and fianlly... threw its last leg this morning... My friends melling pump also failed 2 months ago... we never knew why until mine broke in half...

I did a search on this board and didn't find any info on it so I thought I would post a link to the discussions about it.

Save your motor read this

url]http://forums.godragracing.com/viewtopic.php?t=36095&highlight=[/url]

This is also good.It also mentions the BB pumps.Angry Drag Racers here.

http://drr.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/t...2/m/8711073162


http://forums.godragracing.com/viewtopic.php?t=36095


original thread, giving great info....
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1552633

 

Never had a problem with any of the ones I've used.

 

one more for ya

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1558337

 

the new melling pumps started coming out early 2006, if you have an earlier pump, your fine... but afterward. your screwed...

 

yet...?

 

Yet being the key word.
Scary. The old standby is gone, I guess. I think I am going to permanently scratch Melling off my list if they are making junk to save a buck.

 

Moroso, here we come...

 

I wonder if this applies to their 'PSK' line and hi-volumes?

 

Might want to read ALL the links. Seems that someone bought a Moroso and found the new, thinner, casting.

 

Read all the links...moroso, sealed power all use the thinner castings from melling..you need to look at the "select line" of melling to get the original style pumps. Hell, moroso went 1 step further and sent out "100 $ blueprinted" pumps to engine builders with no thin casting warning like melling put in their boxes. Dyna gear pumps are unchanged but according to one of the links, cloyes bought them and they started cheaping up there stuff a few years ago with japenese chains instead of the better germany made ones.

 

From what I've briefly read, the issue is with the stock replacement pumps. It's not going to be any worse than any other stock replacement pump in a high performance engine. I always use the M pumps which if I read the threads properly, are unaffected. My current pump is a M77. I don't need the M77HV.

 

Better read again, it is the M series that have been cheapened. There's some debate yet about the BB pumps though. From these threads all the performance pumps now have a 5 digit part #. The actual melling brand pumps seem to be coming with a warning about not running over 5k rpm. Some of the rebranded products like the Moroso don't have the warning. Melling owns alot of different brands now, so it's hard to not get a melling pump.

From other threads, it looks like GM forced melling to shave weight off of their pumps.

 

Actually its all the short number pumps like M55 M77 etc... those are now junk.

 

basically my oil pump broke in half... where it bolts to the motor was still on the motor... the rest of the body was sittin in the pan... Fedexed it to melling yesterday... didn't have time to take photo's... but hopefully my case will give me reimbersment.

My M55HV was purchased at Autozone few months back... New cheap casting design... Not known of at the time...

MY motor does spin way past 5krpm but they wont be finding that out... Basically with the pump, photo copies of all reciepts, pictures of crank journals, cam journals, and 2 rod and main bearings sent in package...

They will be reimbersing me everything before i let this go...

 

I can see the writing on the wall on this. You send the pump to them and they look at it and tell you that you overtightened the bolt and that caused a crack. (not saying you did this) but Im sure they will use that as their out. Thats suck though man about the engine can your rotating assy. be ground and polished again or have you already done this?

 

its going in for a diagnosis today... the machinist said he'd try to see what he can do... so i hope...

its all forged nitrided 4340 crank
6.2" forged rods

everything was well over and beyond what the motor was going to expect, i put every penny i had in the engine for long term durability.. didn't want some stupid cheap **** like an oil pump breaking to ruin my engine...

They cannot use statements saying i overtoqued the bolt....machine shop that built the engine is very reputable... very... Melling saying it was installed improperly is bad on their reputation not mine. And they assured me, melling wont get off easy saying it was their fault.

so i'm kinda happy i have more then just me behind myself...

 

so then if the M55 is crap, what should all us uninformed masses be looking at for a reliable standard volume chevy oil pump?

 

am I ok with a M155

 

Oh that pisses me off. If there was 1 thing they didn't need to cheap out on it's the oil pump. Hell it couldn't have cost them THAT much...

 

well melling owns moroso, speed pro, a whole crap load of other companies... most oil pumps you'll find are owned by 2 big companies.... melling... and cloyes... both pumps are garbage now... sorry...

the "select" version of melling's pumps is ok... but it still uses the cheap casting with beefier internals... so not much of a better unit... so... i dont know at this time...

 

my engine is not in the car yet...what is a good reliable pump that I can get that I wont have to worry about? its going in a HSR 383..I have the M155

It is from last year Im pretty sure

 

if from mefore january 2006 your fine... after... screwed...

 

guess i'm screwed and the sky is falling....hope my motor lasts

 

I am having a new 383 built soon and I havent checked the old oil pump clearance yet. I am thinking I will defineately do this now that a new one might not last very long.

Anyone else having problems?

 

My old pump worked fine -- should I be able to get away with using the old pump just checking the rotor to backing plate clearance?

 

Ah man, now I don't know what to do either. The machine shop I bought my oil pump from went out of business (great place, guy retired after 30-odd years) and I built my motor in the spring of '06. I have NO idea how long my M55 pump sat on his shelf, and there was no warning not to use it in the box. My motor is a ZZ4-cammed 355 with a TPI on top; pointless to spin over 5K RPMs. Think this pump should be OK?

 

What ever happened with this?

 

wow this is not good, :O i read all the threads and i am dumbfounded

hum.

i wont be building any sbc or bbc engines anytime soon nor replacing pumps on any until this is ever resolved, hum, i will have to tell anyoen i know who is about this, wow..

 

Well I just started my new 383 tonight and the oil pressure was good. Well see if thats true in the long run. I got the new casting with the piece of paper in the box that said all the stuff about not using a motor plate or running high RPMS.

 

I bet they don't pay for any motors unless they start getting class action law suits, but if they put a warning in their box with the pump that might help Melling out in court.

I figure they are like cam and lifter manufacturers. My brother had a cam and lifters wipe out a complete motor, bearings, crank, rods and everything. The camshaft manufacturer said they would replace their cam and lifters but would not pay for any other damages. They asked him if he read their warranty statements and that is what it says. So he just bit the bullet and did not want to pursue it in court because of the cost factor.

 

I just had to say a few words here...this is BS!!!!


The very reliable SBC oiling system is now in jeopardy because of the crappy cost custting of the only oil pump mfg I wanted to use. I also have one of the newer pumps, will hopefully be running a 400+ HP 383 and spinning to 6200. The good ole M55 was something you could never go wrong with, now its all crap.

But I can't say I don't blame them with all the cheaper Chinese etc parts being made putting good companies on the chopping block.

Looks like my motors gonna blow and I'll be screwed once again.

 

I too have one in my truck motor but it won't spin past 5000 so i should be safe with that one. Here is a link to a thread at nasty z28. on this.
http://www.nastyz28.com/forum/showthread.php?t=65870

p.s. I think there are pictures of both pumps
side by side.

 

Send them some emails - let them know what's up... Here's a copy of mine I just sent.

http://data.melling.com/contactus.php

I found this on your site... lol

From a Humble Oil Pump
Their first product was the M-10, an oil pump for a 1937 six cylinder Chevrolet. On the surface, it was fairly unremarkable. But the M-10 was made with an attention to detail that the industry had not seen before. George and Ben knew they had made a good product and they recognized a need in the market......

I'm just curious why the 'change' on your oil pumps to think junk castings?

I mean - if you want an economy class - fine, come out with a new 'economy' line, but don't change the pumps people have come to rely on over the years. The word is really getting around the communities that the oil pumps many used to be able to count on, are dying. It's stuff like this that has a lot of us car builders staying away from certain products. When something breaks - we have to look into the how and why - and 98% of the time, we find the right problem, particularly in today's world - the internet is an outstanding tool for car builders too!

As well - many of us are waiting to see how you deal with these issues. Cheap castings and disclaimers may have the *appearance* of saving money to the "bean counters" - but when 15%+ of your customers start looking in junkyards for old oil pumps because they feel they can trust them more...

Well, that may just impact the bottom line.

Perhaps the quote on your own history page should serve as a warning within itself - "they recognized a need in the market......"

No reply is need at all - just an observation. There's a number of web forums out there - some damage control may be in order? And mainly - some solid castings~
I don't think people want to buy elsewhere, they just want the old quality...

 

Hey - They replied...

Sir :
Thank you for your thoughts , concerns and comments. We at Melling have been
investigating and making adjustments to this situation for the past few
months .
First I would like to know if you have had any failures with the M-55 family
pumps?
As with any situation there are many opinions and thoughts, truths and un
truths circulated . Much of what has been on the internet is the same type
of inaccurate information that you can read on the news stand at the
grocery store .

I can say - at least they admit they are looking at the 'situation'. I haven't had any issues myself - but heck, I keep up on parts so when I'm there, I have a good idea of what to buy. Would be silly not to.

It's good to see some of these companies reply - I know in my experience at work, it's rare for many of them to bother with anything but a 'canned' response.

 

If my pump fails for any reason in the future I will be the first one to volunteer to set up a class action against melling.

 

so I was replacing my rear main seal today and had to remove the oil pump. When I went to put it back on I barely got to 60 ft/lbs on the bolt and the casting cracked!

I am just happy the damn thing didnt crack while I was driving.

I am still unsure of what other pump I should be getting but rest assured it will not be a melling!

BTW this was the M55.

 

Id bet its not Melling but who is makign them for them.
They all farm out their stuff to mexico or china.

Like that fram filter rumor of cardboard parts. All of it was factory level, somone tried to cut corners n label a cheaper line of parts as fram. Soon as corp got wind it changed.

Just like lead paint on toys.

Its the end 3rd-4th person contracted to do the job cutting corners to try and make a buck as they get like %0.5-1 of what the item sells for to make it.

Also were a bunch of bad AC filters but you could tell from the bad silk screen job, so they got them out of the system easier. The fram ones were not.
But all them rumors are false about fram.

 

I work for a large engine parts supplier, and I sell alot of melling pumps. I have noticed that the m55 and m55hv pumps that are coming in say "new design" on the box, and they have a piece of paper in them that says do not use for high performance applications WITH SOLID MOTOR MOUNTS.
I havent have the first person complain about having a problem. I sell 25-50 or more a day and havent had the first complaint. I think people are blowing this out of proportion. You cant complain if your high dollar drag motor is ruined because you went cheap on a oil pump.
The m55 and m55hv are perfectly fine for any street or mild street-strip application. If your worried about it use the M155, they havent changed it yet, but you will need the 3/4" pickup tube for it. Also most of the m55 and 155 pumps still have Made in USA cast on them.
Just my .02

Seth

 

I have a Moroso blueprinted oil pump in my 383. Alot laughed at me for spending 95 bucks on a oil pump, I didnt know about melling cheaping there products. But i figured im spending 4500 bucks in part, I dont mind protecting it will a good oil pump. It makes 80 lbs of oil pressure too....

 

yall are missing the point.

The point is that the redesign of a previously reliable part now appears to have an infant mortality problem (structural failture) that would result in loss of oil pressure and catastrophic failture.

In my book thats not a shift in expectations as to the quality or longevity of the part -- thats borderline fraud.

 

Ugh. I hate seeing this kinda stuff. My shortblock came with a Melling pump on it, I was already planning on switching it out with a Milodon, guess this gives me even more reason.

 

Ok so I went back on my word and bought another melling.

P/N 10553 is the old style casting in case anyone wanted to know.

The 10553 even has the old M55 cast right into it. Cept now it costs 80 bucks instead of 18.

Bitches.

 

I'm so glad this was posted on TGO. I am building my new 355 for my car, and sitting on the shelf is (was) a new M55 Melling pump. I just got back from returning it and getting the M55HV for $50 at Schucks.

I read the posts that were linked to, and in my box was the disclaimer that was mentioned (which I'd not read yet) that states:

"Any high performance application especially those with using solid motor mounts require the installation of an M Select performance oil pump".

When I ordered my pump, I ordered a sealed power one, and was substituted a M55. Didn't think anything of it until I read this thread.

I did manage to take some pics of both pumps for comparision. What you are looking for is the difference is in the size of the casting where the mounting is, and the extra supports. I realize one is an HV, and the other isn't. I don't need to tell you which is which. It's extremely obviuos even without reading the numbers cast into the pump body. I really didn't need the HV pump, but I do want a pump that won't fall off in my oil pan either.

I can't tell you how much I appreciated this being brought to our attention. Thank you so very much from the bottom of my wallet!

 

Just curious ... Now if the pump did break wouldn't the fuel pump shut off in a EFI car for lack of oil pressure? ... I do realize the guys that had them break didn't have this feature due to carburators etc. etc ... I've just been curious how well this shut off switch reacts

 

The oil pressure switch doesn't shut the fuel pump off when oil pressure drops. It continues to power the fuel pump if the fuel pump relay fails while the engine is running.

The differences in the pumps above don't look all that significant to me.

 

Well.........I really thought the pics showed the differences between the two. If you had these in your hand, you could definately tell the difference.

If your willing to take a chance on these even after the reported failures and the disclaimer from Melling not to use the M55 in any performance application, go right ahead, it's your motor not mine. I'm not willing to take that chance.

 

I think its about time we made this a sticky...

 

I'll be grabbing a milodon pump for mine. Cheaper than that 10553 pump from Melling, and Milodon makes all their products in-house according to their site. Good ol' Made in the USA.

 

You can see the difference between a standard volume and high volume.

This will definitely NOT be made into a sticky.

 

Please tell me you require the use of coke bottle bottom glasses, and forgot to put them on before looking at the last post pictures.

The difference is significant, especially the one that is from the mounting bolt end.