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96gt4.6

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Still waiting on the analysis results from the manufacturer after they requested them back.

A quick Google of the brand along with oil pump gear noise returns others with the same noise and issue, not that it really means anything. What is odd is that the other threads and YouTube video are all around the same time mine started, leading me to believe that we all purchased them around the same time. Probably just coincidental i'm sure.

The manufacturer has now removed the dead link to their oil pump gear install how-to which hasn't worked for over a year, despite there apparently being a very specific centering procedure that must be adhered to or 'clicking' or abnormal wear can occur.

I just want to be clear, i'm NOT out to drag anyone's name down here.....just to clarify and make sure nobody else has to go through the same issue by following a possible mis-step on install, if that is deemed to be the causal in my case.

Will update once I know more.
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khsonic03

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Well....I think I have the same issue. A little pissed right now because it was a big job for me to install the opg and not really looking forward to doing it again.

I installed my "brand x" (mmr) opg and tg January of this year and immediately after noticed the sound on this video. I assumed I was hearing more valve train noise as a result of my long tube header install at the same time. Nothing else really seemed out of ordinary, so I ignored it. I did a full whipple install, lt headers, and opg all at once.

I don't think it's quite as loud as yours, but it definitely sounds similar (rotational clicking sound) and I don't really want to take any chances. Will be keeping an eye on this thread and probably planning to redo the job this fall/winter when its cooler out with a different brand. Might just do ford performance full oil pump replacement with their billet gears to play it safe.

 

schmeky

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96gt4.6,

Those clearances are horrible. That's not an oil pump gear set, those are pure trash. Like someone said, they make them and we "assume" they are better.

My OEM ford MIM oil pump gears measured a snug .004", which is impressive.

I am going to buy the Ford HD gears for my build, even though they cost more. I am personally not buying anything "MMR".
 

96gt4.6

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Going Ford myself for sure this time around......

Have a stock pump for now, still quiet as can be! Planning on sending it down the 1320 a few times tomorrow while I wait to find time to do the Ford gear install.

Still no word from the manufacturer, although they received the gears last week, but I also understand it's a process and may take a bit. I'll give it a couple weeks before contact again.

Well....I think I have the same issue. A little pissed right now because it was a big job for me to install the opg and not really looking forward to doing it again.

I installed my "brand x" (mmr) opg and tg January of this year and immediately after noticed the sound on this video. I assumed I was hearing more valve train noise as a result of my long tube header install at the same time. Nothing else really seemed out of ordinary, so I ignored it. I did a full whipple install, lt headers, and opg all at once.

I don't think it's quite as loud as yours, but it definitely sounds similar (rotational clicking sound) and I don't really want to take any chances. Will be keeping an eye on this thread and probably planning to redo the job this fall/winter when its cooler out with a different brand. Might just do ford performance full oil pump replacement with their billet gears to play it safe.

I agree.

Counting the final time I have to go into my cover, I will have had mine apart a total of 5 times. Original install, again to install upgraded boss tensioners/gt350 chains in 1st attempt to fix the noise, again to remove those components and install a completely new/all stock timing set with guides and phasers, then again to remove the oil pump and replace with OEM/Stock. Noise went away after the OEM pump install and that's where i'm at now.
 

96gt4.6

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Interestingly enough, I'm not the only one with this issue with brand X:

 

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J17GT

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Sorry to read about the troubles here. Greatly appreciate you guys sharing this info for other perspective buyers, myself included. I know issues are probably rare, but they do happen. Great PSA to check your gears before install!

I'm curious who makes the Ford Performance gears? I'm wondering if it's TSS since they provided them in the Cobra Jet. I think I've settled on TSS or Ford Performance OPGs when I do my blower project this winter.
 

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My OEM ford MIM oil pump gears measured a snug .004", which is impressive.
which is exactly what you wanna see. Not .013 /.028 / .021 / .015 / .033 / .029 on a single unit like on some aftermarket gears.
 

Rollin'

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I measured my MMR oil pump gear set today and here are the results for anyone interested. I wasn't really surprised but mine seem to be ok. Cheers
IMG_E3611.JPG
 

roomk101

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I'm sitting on a set of OPGs waiting for time to install them. What should maximum tolerance be? (I know, "same as stock.") But I really don't want to wait until the car is torn apart to realize I should have ordered a different set.

What I'm seeing on the set I have here is clearance of .004 up to a few spots at .008
 

OniVita

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Tho I didn't measure mine, I got MMR opg and tg no problem so far.
Does it takes time to notice the opg noise or u can notice it right after installing?
 

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96gt4.6

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There has been an outreach from the company as of yesterday afternoon. I will update in full here as soon as I get a moment to summarize it all. Talked with the tech for quite a bit about what they found after inspecting my gears. I am very pleased with how the situation was handled, very professional.
 

96gt4.6

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Allrighty. So, for those that have not been following, here's the summary of my dilemma:

Installed my MMR OPG/CS set back in February 2019 along with my Whipple stage 1 750 hp kit. Everything was going good, until about 1k-1500 miles in, at which time I had a very light 'click', could have even been there sooner, but with a new blower kit and not really being familiar to what noise may be normal, I didn't think much of it. I mean, this was light to say the LEAST. Being an OEM tech for the last 16 years though, you pick up on noises that just aren't normal. Anyhow, didn't think much of it and carried on.

I had a belt chirp start early on, due to a slight pulley alignment issue stemming from manufacturing tolerances in the OEM timing cover and how Whipple braces to said cover. Watching the belt and trying to time it with the noise, I assumed it was just the label on the back side of the belt passing through the various pullies, the timing visually vs nose was almost exact, so I thought it was surely related to the minor belt issue and didn't think much of it. I tried a few different belts, and eventually found the slight alignment issue with the belt tensioner feeding the belt onto the blower guide pullies too far inboard. A .040" shim under the tensioner bearing did the trick, got the belt issue all squared and off we go.

However, the click still persisted. It was at this point, I decided it was time to really look at this. To eliminate the possibility of belt issue, I then removed the belt entirely and re-checked, the click was still there. Next up, removed the A/C belt, still there. Well, that's not good! At this point, about 3k miles in, the noise was growing in intensity as well. Running the car briefly while underneath with no belt, I was able to isolate the noise to around the crank/balancer area. It sounded like guide/tensioner/chain click to me. At this point, I e-mailed MMR asking if they had any issue with noise on the gears (June'ish 2020), and was told no they have not.

Ok, well has to be something I did while installing the OPG's or I have a timing component failing or I didn't get something tight or right on the initial install. I then removed the cover, removed and inspected everything (but did NOT feeler gauge the OPG's or even look at the rotor gap), quick visual I didn't see anything. Removed and cut open the oil filter, clean as can be in all the media pleats, and this was also after a dyno session, and 1 summer of racing. Well, ok. Sounds timing component click to me, so guess i'll throw in the BOSS tensioners and GT350 chains and see what happens. No change.

Removed cover again, this time installed all new OEM timing components, except the oil pump gears. The noise just stuck with me as being timing or chain/guide sounding. Very clicky and plastic on metal click sound to me, so my focus was with these compontns. Noise was still present. So, all that's left, are those gears. Went in one more time, installed a new OEM pump assembly, and it was quiet as new again (car had 14k on it when install started).

E-Mailed MMR with my findings, they immediately asked for the gears back for inspection. The technician also hinted at install error, and how it is critical the gears are centered during install, which honestly was news to me as the gears didn't come with any special instruction, none were provided on the website and the OEM procedure makes no mention of this even though the tech did also say that OEM gears can click too if not centered properly. Fair enough, i'm human and things happen so anything is possible and I just want to know what could have happened so it doesn't happen again.

So I got a call from MMR yesterday by the tech I have been talking to. SUPER nice guy! He explained that upon trying to inspect my gears by putting them in their checking tool, that they would not even go into the tool. He said the measurements I had found, where exactly as they found, that the gear was egg-shaped. But why. Each gear goes through a checking process before it is packed and shipped, mine passed on shipment it was said. Upon closer inspection, they found what was believed to be an impact mark on the gear, which seems to indicate it was dropped, and made it clear they were NOT pointing fingers, just stating what was observed and suspected.

I made mention that in my install pics I had found a picture of the gears as unboxed, and the rotor gap was visible in those pictures as well, straight out of the box. This led us to believe that they were damaged in shipping, and the tech noted that they no longer come in a sealed plastic back with the inner rotor ring installed in the outer ring to where it can move around/jingle during shipping, that they are now boxed differently and separated, which had started a while back therefore my gear set had certainly been purchased a bit ago.

Well, now at least we know it wasn't install error. MMR explained there are NO refunds, so they offered to do another set of gears, or store credit. I chose the latter just in case I need something else someday, as I already have purchased a set of Ford Racing gears yet to be installed.

I felt they handled the situation well, and a quick google search of MMR+OPG noise will yield a few of us that are having the same noise issue, with dates ranging back to around the same time of install. This leads me to believe that the diagnosis of shipping damage likely holds true, as after the packaging change happened many users have reported success and no issues with these, which is why I went MMR in the 1st place.

Moral of the story, just as the video that started this thread says, CHECK, CHECK, CHECK before you install. Hind sight is 20/20 obviously, but lesson learned and certainly from now on i'll be more attentive to certain critical parts.

Ironic that as a supporter of upgrading the OPG's from the beginning, here I am falling victim to doing so, and now making passes on a stock OPG setup, haha. However, I do plan on installing the Ford upgraded ones shortly, as well as reinstalling the BOSS tensioners and GT350 chains as well during the process in anticipation from when I move away from the Whipple tune/header upgrade shortly.

Sorry for the long reply, but wanted to be as accurate as possible, and thanks to the shop in the video on this thread for starting the awareness of checking these out!
 

96gt4.6

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db252

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Thanks for the update and good look with the upcoming install. Let us know those results.
 

aleccolin

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Dropping that gear wouldn't strain it anywhere close to its plastic deformation range, wouldn't even be on the chart. You'd have to put it in a press and squish it in a very controlled manner. What's infinitely more likely is they were machined incorrectly and not QC'd before they went out the door.

That's what happened with the billet crank signal wheel I got from them, which fortunately for me was SO poorly machined that it wouldn't even go on the end of the crank. That got me mic'ing everything and found it was so uneven in thickness that it would have induced flywheel runout around 10x the allowable tolerance. With a brand new Tilton clutch and chromoly flywheel, not to mention the Tremec MXL behind it, that's completely out of the question.

They refunded my money without a fight.

Given that experience, this one here, and several other notable failures elsewhere, I have no confidence in anything MMR does.
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