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Top-Line Oil Pump?

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Rabbi

15+ Year Contributor
174
1
Mar 15, 2004
Muskegon, Michigan
are the top line oil pumps any good? i see them on eBay and on a few vender's sites.

Ive read good and bad things about them, And i was wondering if i should go with the topline or just snag an oem mitsubishi one? The oil pump is a very critical part i know, But its not that complicated of a part so i was wondering if its ok to skimp out on this one.


Thanks
 
go mitsu oem, unless you dont care about your motor. i have seen 5 or 6 toplines fail THIS YEAR alone
 
I had problems with both of mine. The last one said on the box that it was not warranted if the balance shafts were removed. The Mitsubishi front cover oil pump that replaced them is working perfectly.
 
I have used them quite a few times and they have never failed.
 
im going with an oem oil pump, 'cause of the fact i've heard to many mix'd reviews on the topline. and i dont want to take a chance on something that important myself, so i'll stick with something everyone knows works(can't beat oem) LOL
 
I have heard of plenty of horror stories about failed Top Line pumps, but I have heard (and experienced) plenty of factory pumps failing as well. I think the biggest question is method of drive and driven gear installation, inspection, and if the balance shafts were removed. I don't nessisarily think the Top Line pump is garbage, but one thing I do know for sure is their stub shaft for the balance shaft eliminator is. What is sad is how many people actually use this shaft, and experiance failure, and blame the pump without really determining what the failure really is, or how it was caused.


The Top Line stub shaft DOES NOT have a groove and/or oil feed hole, which starves the pump of oil. This is usualy why I see these pumps fail. Usualy the shaft siezes in the housing, and locks up. The factory Mitsubishi Mirage stub shaft (MD098626) has this gallery, and obviously is the part you will need if eliminating the balance shafts.

To be honest, reusing a old oil pump, even if it has 150,000 plus miles, in my opinion, isn't a bad idea as long as the back of the case has been taken apart, the drive and driven gears are in good condition upon inspection, and most importantly, it is within manufactuer's specification limits. Our oil pumps are very simple, there isn't really much to fail. The only way that the pump is going to really fail is if forign debris is introduced into the pump, or if you install that garbage Top Line stub shaft.
 
Good point about the stub shaft. I chose the Mirage stub shaft because it has the oil passage in it, and I wanted good lubrication to the shafts that the oil pump gears ride on.
 
pneumo said:
Good point about the stub shaft. I chose the Mirage stub shaft because it has the oil passage in it, and I wanted good lubrication to the shafts that the oil pump gears ride on.
Click to expand...

I do agree 100% with this statement. I did try to use the Top Line stub shaft and had to fight it to spin the way that it needed to. I got the Mitsu part and had ZERO problems.
 
JaxTalonTSi said:
I have heard of plenty of horror stories about failed Top Line pumps, but I have heard (and experienced) plenty of factory pumps failing as well. I think the biggest question is method of drive and driven gear installation, inspection, and if the balance shafts were removed. I don't nessisarily think the Top Line pump is garbage, but one thing I do know for sure is their stub shaft for the balance shaft eliminator is. What is sad is how many people actually use this shaft, and experiance failure, and blame the pump without really determining what the failure really is, or how it was caused.


The Top Line stub shaft DOES NOT have a groove and/or oil feed hole, which starves the pump of oil. This is usualy why I see these pumps fail. Usualy the shaft siezes in the housing, and locks up. The factory Mitsubishi Mirage stub shaft (MD098626) has this gallery, and obviously is the part you will need if eliminating the balance shafts.

To be honest, reusing a old oil pump, even if it has 150,000 plus miles, in my opinion, isn't a bad idea as long as the back of the case has been taken apart, the drive and driven gears are in good condition upon inspection, and most importantly, it is within manufactuer's specification limits. Our oil pumps are very simple, there isn't really much to fail. The only way that the pump is going to really fail is if forign debris is introduced into the pump, or if you install that garbage Top Line stub shaft.
Click to expand...

This is very interesting... Are there any images or pictures that can better explain what you're saying?

This might be the solution to a problem I just had!

Thanks,
 
I can;t verify their quality, but i have run one now for awhile with no problem, however i did not use their stub shaft i used one from extremepsi. Jax makes a good point about that. Not supporting them, but i work in a shop and have installed a few on other veichles, no complaints, and i have helped two buddies with budget rebuilds and pulled their front cover and everything spec'd fine on their used topline pumps. As far as people destroying their engine on start up thats their own fault, everything should be greased or at least installed with 10-30(not my pref), but either way you should have an ail pressure tester hooked up if your concerned, or at least notice the oil light, and factory oil pump gauge being bottomed out long before anything in completely ruined, especially on a first start up situtation.

If you get the topline just used the saved money to go get an electronic oil pressure guage with the money you save, therefor you will no if it is defective right away, and essientially you got one of the most useful gauges for free.
 
pneumo said:
Here's a good pic. Notice the groove in the middle of the shaft? That groove lets oil pass through and lube the second oil pump shaft, (yes there's two)
Balance Shaft Eliminator Kit Install
Click to expand...

That's great... thank you very much...

Effectively the stub shaft was the responsible!!!!

I never lost oil pressure, but an annoying noise was coming from the inside of the engine... when I removed the oil pan, my fear was confirmed! Rod and main bearings were totally damaged...

The engine had 300 miles only!!!!

I'll post some pics for you to see!!!!
 
jawar666 said:
I never lost oil pressure, but an annoying noise was coming from the inside of the engine... when I removed the oil pan, my fear was confirmed! Rod and main bearings were totally damaged...

The engine had 300 miles only!!!!
Click to expand...

Woah, that's some serious damage. I don't think the wrong stub shaft would cause damage that quick. Usually the cheaper stub shaft simply wears down the 2 oil pump shafts, then the oil pump gradually looses pressure. Many members here have used the cheaper stub shaft for thousands of miles without damage.

If your entire bottom end went bad without loosing oil pressure the bottom end must've been starved of oil somehow, or there was massive ammounts of dirt in the oil passages, or the bearings were a bad fit.
 
Here are the pics...

Maybe it was my fault I didn't check the clearance on this shaft stub, but there was no info inside the box!
 

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