I can't believe I went this long without building this project. I do alot of rear end work on my own cars as well as customers cars, and it is always a pain in the A$$ to get gear lube back in rear ends and trannys. I have used the store bought pumps, funnels etc. and I always seem to make a mess. I built this pump with parts and pieces that I had on hand in my shop, and I am sure that most of you all have everything to build one as well. Follow along: I first needed a resevoir of some sort. I could have scratch built one, but I wanted to keep it simple. I settled on a cat litter bucket that was somewhat rectangular in shape with rounded corners. It holds about 3 1/2 gallons: I next needed a plate to mount a pump to. I used a piece of 6" wide x 1/8" steel plate. I traced the shape of the top of the bucket and cut it out: I now needed a pump. It didn't take long to figure out that an old engine oil pump would do the trick. Since I have a yard full of vintage Fords, a Ford small block pump was the winner. You can also use any pump you have on hand, but the fact that the Ford uses a bolt on oil pickup tube made things alot easier. You may also choose to use a high volume pump for when you really need to fill that rear end in a hurry: We now need a couple of plates that the pump will bolt to. I traced both ends of the pump on some 3/16" plate and drilled the holes for the mounting bolts and for the oil inlet and outlet: You will also need a way to attach the hoses to the inlet and outlet plates. I used a couple of steel A.N. plugs that I could weld to the plates. I drilled through the plugs to make a nice fitting that an A.N. hose would attach to. I used #8 on the inlet, and #6 on the outlet. You could also tap the plates and use pipe fittings: I next TIG welded the fittings to the plates: Now, bolt the plates to the pump using gaskets to make sure there are no leaks: Place the pump on the top plate and weld the pump plates on: A couple of tabs welded to the top plate will hold it to the bucket: A couple of 90 degree fittings and some hose finish things up: The inlet is a #8- 90 degree push loc fitting: The outlet is a #6-90 degree fitting: I was going to make a hand crank to actuate the pump, but I tested it with my cordless drill and it worked like a charm. You will need an oil pump drive shaft off the engine your pump came off: I poured a gallon of gear lube into the bucket, and pumped it out in about 30 seconds. I am going to attach a small screen to the inlet, and add a cover to the open end of the bucket to keep out debris, as well as something to hang the hose on:
I know this will work very well because of a parts washer tank my dad built over 30 years ago. Engine oil pumps are cheap and sacrificial. Thanks for reminding me of an old way to make cheap tools. GOOD JOB!
I managed to find the lid to the bucket. I also eliminated the pickup hose and used a piece of 1/2" aluminum hard line with an A.N. fitting on the end. I used a grommet where the line passes through the lid: I also added a filler port so I can pour in the gear lube when it runs dry. I used a metal snap in cap that I bought at Lowes: Finally, I bent up a piece of 3/8" hard line into a "J", so I can hook it into whatever I am filling. I also added another hole with a grommet so I can insert the filler hose when not in use:
Neat... Im going to guess... could prob do same thing with a Power Stearing pump and small ele motor ... Been a few times ive gone to change fluid in a trans only to see somone punched a hole in floor board for a funnel and hose... and made my job easyer...LOL
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