Oil pump failure/aftermarket oil pump situation

[Wicked96GS-T]

Okay, It has been a never ending battle with my engine builder and trying to get everything to work correctly on this car. I purchased an engine from a company in NY (PM me if you want to know which company, but it's not a vendor) and long story short it took 3 months longer than he quoted me to get the engine. It is a 1st generation 7-bolt N/A motor with oil squirters removed/scat rods/JE pistons, etc. Well, I had to go through the trouble of trying numerous different parts to get my 2g head to attatch to the 1g block and get all of the timing belt related parts to work together.
So all is well, aside from an odd slight sueel from the timing area that was going away slowly,up to about two weeks ago when i pulled into my driveway and noticed some liquid dripping steadily from my car. I look underneath it and discovered oil was flowing out the bottom of the timing cover great. So I pull off everything and found out that the oil pump shaft seal is leaking massively. I just so happened to have an oem seal, so I replaced it, and added a new timing belt for a little insurance due to the old (500 mile old) belt getting soaked in oil. I started the car up and the squeeling was back a little louder like the first time i started the motor with the first bely when it was new, but no oil leak. So I try to drive off, and the car bogs badly, I had to give it gas just to keep it running.
Took the car home and it stalled. I pull everything apart again, and guess what...I find that the squeeling was the oil pump shaft, and it is now extremely hard to turn. I call my engine builder and he just says to send it in and he will get me a replacement. By the way, I was naive and paid $340 for an "upgraded" oil pump back when I bought the motor because he said it was worth it. Anyways, now he has my oil pump and is giving me a load of BS saying it's my fault it failed, and he's never seen one fail before. First he tells me the belt was on too tight, yet a factory tech for Mitsubishi put it on for me the first time. Then he tells me I should have primed the pump, yet he put the damn thing on my engine in the first place! It was turned over and oil pressure was achieved before the plugs were installed and the motor was ran.
So tell me, what am I to do about this situation? And is there any reason to use an upgraded oil pump at all?

 

[GVR4592]

The stock pump is your best bet.

 

[Wicked96GS-T]

In your opinion, would an oil pump failure be my fault even though I spun the pump to fill it with oil before starting it, or is it the builder of the shortblock's problem seeing as he installed the pump?

 

[awdtalontsi1992]

It is in no way your fault especially with a factory tech doing the belt. I think this guy is just giving you a load of B.S. cause he doesn't want to pay out.

 

[Newlogics]

Were balance shafts removed?

Most oil pump failures I 've dealt with were due to engine builders not using assembly lube on oil pump gear shafts or foreign materials in the oil gear bearing journals.

On that note, two pumps that I haven't seen any failures on (we're talking freshly built engines, with clear oil pump failure) were OEM and TopLine. Every other oil pump brand had some failures here and there.

Again, this can't be your fault, as long as there was oil in the car, oil sump was in place and engine was cranked before the start.

 

[Wicked96GS-T]

Ok, thanks for the responses guys. Hopefully this guy will do what is right, and replace my pump. I don't even want money for all the labor, just the new part.