hotratz wrote82Waggy wrote.......The dots on the gears are insignificant.
I thought that's how you time your pump... :-| :mrgreen:
Seriously though. I just had my gear out and it doesn't have the dots you speak of. I did notice the scuffing on the face of the adaptor plate but it seems to be superficial. When I drag my fingernail across them it doesn't catch. The gasket thickness on the cover is critical on all oil pumps. The one I replaced measured .009. Don't really know what the norm is.
I leave it to you to determine how bad the scoring on the pump is, since we can't see it. #-o
Aside from scoring, gear end clearance dimensions have a lot to do with how much bleed down past the gears there is, and therefore effects output efficiency.
There are several sources for tech info on this subject, including the TSM and Performance American Style. The stock specification for gear end clearance suggests that the gears should protrude .002" - .006" out of the housing. Assuming a standard .0095" thick pump cover gasket, this yields .0075" - .0035" gear end clearance. According to PAS, for a performance application the pump housing end should be milled so that the gears protrude .006" - .007", yielding about .0025" gear end clearance when the filter adapter (pump cover) is installed with an .0095" thick gasket (slightly thinner when compressed.
There used to be thinner gaskets available to aid in establishing the desired clearance without milling the housing, but I beleive only the .0095" thick gaskets are now readily available.
IMO: if you are going to tighten up the tolerances as described, you should consider using the stainless mid-plate for the gears to ride on. It is effective at extending the life of any pump cover.
