Re: [ihc] Melling SII oil pump email

["Allan Ericson" <lowvolt@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <Suprscout@domain.elided>
To: <ihc-digest@domain.elided>
Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 2004 2:00 PM
Subject: Re: [ihc] Melling SII oil pump email


> Scout/Light Line Dist has provided Melling (several years ago) with  the
> sales history of the orginal Scout Oil Pumps dating back to when
International
> sold them before we took over. I do not understand what these  people are
trying
> to do as the numbers are not there to recover the tooling  costs for such
a
> project. I also gave the name of the original manufacture of  the original
oil
> pumps to see if they could get the tooling.  ???????????????
>
> JG
> Scout/Light Line Dist. Inc.
>

Technology has changed. A new way to make this pump by modifying the
existing production item may be feasible, whereas it was not reasonable to
do this before. I believe it may be possible to modify the Loadstar pump and
pickup oil pump by making a new tube for the pickup and cutting down a
section of the pump body. A new casting would not be necessary. As a more
reasonable solution, a kit could be made to this end. The tube would
probably not be expensive to make, and the rest of the parts would be
standard, off the shelf items. As this would involve cutting, and MAYBE
drilling and tapping the current production unit, a kit might be a better
way to go. However, if it were feasible to do this at the factory, parts
"cleaning and deburring" might be something that could be integrated into
the process for next to nothing.

I doubt that many of these pumps would be needed (as John has already
pointed out), though, and it is certainly likely that no amount of change
can be justified for such a small market, even if it's an easy change. I
have often toyed with the idea of making such modifications myself, but
there always seems to be a more pressing project. Now that I have an SV
sitting out with the pan off and another one with a scout II pump in place,
I might just make a few measurements and see what happens. Wouldn't it be
funny if one of the digesters with a machine shop could start selling
modified pumps or kits?

-Allan