High Volume Oil Pump for 4.9?

So, I'll be replacing a crapped out oil pump on the 81 F100 Custom. It's a 300 I6. I know that an upgrade to the High Volume pump from Melling is popular. I also know that the HV pump is twice as much, and I'm on a budget. So, I'm interested to hear the general consensus whether the HV pump is that much better in this engine. It's not going to be a heavy hauler or spend a lot of time at high rpm; just driving.

When I had Scotty @ Parkland Performance build my 460 he recommended a standard volume, standard pressure pump.  So that's what I went with.

Thanks for the reply. I got a couple responses over at FTE that agreed, and the Melling website says that standard is enough for most trucks. So, I think I'll go that route. Any tips on dropping the pan? Most of what I've looked at indicates I'll have to raise the motor to do it.

I've not dropped the pan on a 300 six, but on a V8 you certainly have to raise the front of the engine so I'd expect to do so on the 300.

If you have a fan shroud make sure you remove it so you don't break it as the fan goes up with the engine.

When installing the pan I've read that using cotton thread to tie the gasket on to the pan on every other hole is a good idea.  I've not done that, but have been very careful to ensure that the gasket didn't slip into the pan as I was installing it.  And one way I did that was to use long bolts to start the combo in every other hole, put factory bolts in the intervening holes, and then replace the long ones with factory bolts.  The long bolts lets the pan hang down enough you can see that the gasket is in place before gradually pulling the pan up to the engine with the short factory bolts.

And, I frequently use RTV on the gasket.  But, RTV makes the gasket SLICK!  So I don't try to torque the bolts down until the next day after the RTV sets up.  Just snug it up and let it set.

I think I'd just glue the gasket to the pan with Indian head or something like that, but you still need a dab of silicone in the corners of the front and rear arches.

DH166 wrote

Thanks for the reply. I got a couple responses over at FTE that agreed, and the Melling website says that standard is enough for most trucks. So, I think I'll go that route. Any tips on dropping the pan? Most of what I've looked at indicates I'll have to raise the motor to do it.

I replaced mine about seven years ago...I was also replacing the pan at the time, and I had to raise the engine.

It's no fun, but it's not terribly difficult.  I disconnected the motor mounts, loosened the transmission mount, I think I disconnected the exhaust ( don't remember if I removed the fan shroud), and then used a bottle jack under the engine to raise it.  Once there was enough room to slip a 2x4 onto each of the motor mounts I lowered it back down, and that was enough height to remove the oil pan and change the pump.  

The only hiccup I had was that the engine shifted backward about an inch during the process, and when I went to lower it down the motor mount bolts wouldn't go back into their holes.  As I recall I used the bottle jack wedged between a flange on the transmission and a frame crossmember to jack the engine forward, and back into position it fell.  That was seven years ago, and no problems since.

Do consider upgrading to the one piece oil pan gasket Ford switched to on the FI engines in 1987!!!

This was done on my 1986 and no more oil leaks!

What 86F150Six said... Cork gaskets suck!

I have a one-piece and a Melling HVD pump waiting to go in.
My truck has low hot idle pressure and often runs out of oil because of the gasket.

Being 3 1/2 quarts low is not good, especially if you're often driving more than 80 in a 4.10 geared truck.

ArdWrknTrk wrote

Being 3 1/2 quarts low is not good, especially if you're often driving more than 80 in a 4.10 geared truck.

Hmmm? I once drove an old cube van for work. It used so much oil that we routinely stopped at a gas station to fill it up with oil and checked the gasoline!