Was out having some fun last night, car was running mint

Until this happened:

Oil Pump seal took a dump on me. I noticed the oil light come on right away so everything is fine.

There is a crazy amount of pressure running through the motor at the boost levels i am taking it to. I am still amazed since i have never seen this. I am more pissed about the mess The seal is a few $ and i enjoy wrenching on my car.

Anyone have this happen? Could there be a problem with the oil pump or could this just be a coincidence?

No one cares to chime in? Someone say something!

Anyway, it is all taken care of. New seal and problem solved

I would find out why the seal failed, boost levels have nothing to do with oil pressure only rpms. I would make sure the oil pump gears and the backside of the case doesn't have any wear before just putting a new seal in it and calling it good.

From you pic it looks like you have some wear on the front cover where the shaft has rubbed the case. Do you run a stubby shaft or a full sized race shaft.

Things like that don't "just happen". Think of things that could affect the oil pump, or the seal. Was there something done recently such as a timing belt job, or some kind of catch can setup installed? Do you do your oil changes regularly?

Well for starters, the boost level really has nothing to do with the pressure of the pump .. PROBLEM #1 Looks like the front cover/ oil pump is finished ! you stated that the oil pressure light came on ? DO NOT EVEN TAKE the chance of re-using that oil pump/ front cover. #2 If the oil pressure warning light came on, at what rpm ? ? ( THIS IS NOT FINE ! ! ) can be from two things, the pump is ****ed, or you had NO oil in the engine, or both .....

Now let's go back to that part where you enjoy wrenching on your car, because that is good ! ! If your really lucky, you will wind up just replacing the pump, and be on your way, but when you take that front cover/oil pump off the engine .. (have to drop the engine oil pan) you might want to take the stock pump apart and see how much the oil pump gears ground into the case ... you will have a clue to the damage by the amount of metal shavings in the bottom of the oil pan.

If there is a large amount of metal shavings .. you might want to think about pulling the rod bearings and having a look .. if they are blued or any major scuffing .. well you know what that means .. also if you find that the bearings are hammered, and you ultimately wind up re-building this engine THROW THE OIL COOLER IN THE GARBAGE, it is almost impossible to get it clean ! (you would want "flush" out the oil lines to clean them)

In way you got lucky .. any more hard driving and you would have most certianly put a rod through the block.

Sorry for the overdrawn post...

Good luck and keep us uspdated ...

**** ! ! I just read that you installed a seal & you are on your way ! ! not good ! !

Thank you. I appreciate it.

The light turned on when i came to a light after a very hard run.

I pulled over immediately!

I did put a new seal in but have not ran the car hard since. I kind of figured the oil pump is on its way out but i have too many project cars i need to finish up before my own again. I put the seal in to be able to drive the car very easy to and from my shop which is only 2 minutes away.

No metal shaving came out when i drained the oil. I actually put some oil in and drained it out to see if anything was to come out but nothing did.

I have not done a timing belt, only 2500 miles on this new motor with this new setup!

I just do not understand how this pump could be on it's way out so soon. Only 13,000 miles.

Yes i change my oil every 1500 miles.

The cover might look worn due to the crappy mess that was left when the seal blew out. I did not clean it when i took that picture. The oil light turned off immediately when i put fresh oil back in it. I am thinking the pump could possibly be going out, i am not sure yet.

Loosing oil pressure VIA the pump is never a good thing. I personally have never seen anything like this on ANY car. Are you venting the crankcase enough (via the valve cover)? I'd check any oil catch can or PCV (if you are still running one) to make sure neither are clogged. Let us know what you find!

Too much crankcase pressure from poorly circulated PCV system.

Well let me re-phrase. The actual seal did "NOT" blow out. The little spring popped out which caused the major leak as you can see in picture number 1.

Put back the spring carefull and do it again.

i would drop the oil pan and check the bearings just to be safe. usually by the time your oil light comes on the damage is done already.better safe than sorry

What Timing Belt are you running?