oil pump installation?

Hey guys, how hard is it to install a new oil pump and pan while the engine is still in the car? Is it important to change them? How bad (or good) was the original? What is the deal with all these high volume oil pumps? If you could recommend any brands that you've had success with that would be huge as well! Thanks again for all of your info!
 
It depends what year car you have. 71-73's have a fixed crossmember so the engine must be jacked or lifted to allow pulling the pan. This can be done in the car though. On earlier cars, piece of cake--remove the crossmember and unbolt the idler arm, you should be able to drop the pan.
 
Beef97 said:
Hey guys, how hard is it to install a new oil pump and pan while the engine is still in the car? Is it important to change them? How bad (or good) was the original? What is the deal with all these high volume oil pumps? If you could recommend any brands that you've had success with that would be huge as well! Thanks again for all of your info!

The others covered the simplicity of changing a pump(my '65 notch needed it three times). Its not important to change them unless you're rebuilding the engine. Dont bother with a high volume unless you have a race engine with loose tolerances. I also recommend getting a hardened oil pump shaft. I only have experience with Melling pumps which are really the standard that nearly everyone uses.
 
One thing that should be mentioned about the crossmember----be careful and don't snap the bolts off.
If everything is original and thoses bolts have never been removed, there is a good chance they're rusted tight. If you break them off you got yourself a real buttache drilling and retapping. Give them a shot or two of pb blaster each day for several days before attempting.