Jeep Strokers

like many building strokers, we often take our time piecing or gathering parts until we've got them all to finish the build.

i ordered a number of parts from summit (valve springs, pumps, ect) but got around to installing them 1-1.5yrs later and ran into a hickup with the oil pump.

in my parts ordering, i purchased the m167hvs pump however noticed a new fitment issue when attempting to install the 4.0 pan. the pickup tube was hitting the bottom of the pan by a solid 1/4" (no gasket) and not accounting for a pan-to-pickup clearance, which is not the normal fitment issues when using the m167hvs. inspecting the pump it actually had the casting m81ahv.

google turned up little forum info and the melling site confirmed that the m81ahv is for non 4.0L applications. i even went down to the local parts store and got a stock oil pickup tube (melling 242s) thinking the issue could fix easily. nope, the 242s pickup is the same length as the pickup that came with the m81ahv. i then had my local parts store order in a m167hvs, and when it arrived, you guessed it ... it was another m81ahv. maybe melling is superseding the pumps?

ive emailed summit to inquire with melling on this, and potentially returning these incorrectly boxed pumps. no response yet.

the pumps arent all that different, and i could simply have the pickup tube shortened/welded to a correct pan clearance.
m167hvs = +20% pressure
m81ahv = +25% pressure

so the moral of the story, check your parts when you first get them !

summit responded, and even though its been some time they said they would let me return the pump with no fee's.

trying to decide if should keep on order m167hvs pumps until the correct one arrives, modify the pickup and use the m81ahv, or just order a stock m81a.

a 1/4 inch is quite a bit...i would modify the tube im crazy like that...but i don't recommend it, also make sure your pump is fitting flush on the block without its gasket silverxj has a good thread on it

im almost certain that ill be shortening the pickup tube. i wouldnt attempt to massage the pan that much, and the pickup tube is limited for bending.

and yes i followed silver's oil pump checks with no issues there. going to disassemble the oil pump and have the tube welded to the pump as theres a very minor amount of play that i would not risk.

i would me scared of the pan leaking if it gets messaged to much

I replaced the OE Aluminum pump in my '97 Wrangler with a Melling M81 and the Melling 242 intake tube, worked just fine.
There is a post/sticky? by Silver XJ about fitment of the M81 pump on the late blocks, I was unaware of this when I installed the pump in my Jeep, but I have checked it on my '00 block and did find an issue!, it WILL be corrected before assembly.

oil pump check info can be found here:

http://www.jeepstrokers.com/forum/viewt ... =34&t=2671