Oil Pump High-Performance Aluminum

High-performance oil pump made of aluminum.
Type 1 / VW Beetle engines 1300cc - from 8/71.
Type 1 / VW Beetle engines 1600cc - from 6/71.
Type 3 engines - from 8/71.
CT/CZ engines.
WBX engines.
Not for automatic transmission.

With higher engine power, the oil cooling and lubrication must also be adapted. To ensure that the hot oil is removed as quickly as possible and lubrication remains optimal at all engine speeds, an oil pump with a larger capacity than the original is required. High-performance oil pumps are fitted with longer gears, resulting in higher pump output. Even a standard engine can easily be fitted with a high-performance oil pump; it only has advantages. However, it is necessary to fit an oil pressure boost kit (available separately in our shop), because due to the higher pressure the existing oil pressure control will no longer work correctly. An adjusted oil pressure rise (with stronger springs) ensures this is compensated, to avoid later cooling problems, which is one of the biggest advantages of a high-performance pump. On Type 1 engines it is in some cases necessary to bend the engine plate for the pulley a little, because the oil pump protrudes further from the crankcase. On a Type 3 engine you will also experience this problem, where you cannot even use a cast-iron pump, only an aluminum pump is possible. When choosing the oil pump it is important to know which camshaft is fitted. In an original situation you can go by the model years, but if a faster camshaft is fitted or the camshaft has ever been replaced, you should check which camshaft is present. If the camshaft is fitted with three bolts or three rivets on the gear, you are dealing with an old camshaft type, so you also have to use an old oil pump type. All fast camshafts in our range are also based on the old oil pump type. If your camshaft gear is fastened with 4 rivets or bolts, you are dealing with a newer camshaft type, so you also need a newer oil pump.

Additional note: All oil pumps are intended for vehicles with manual transmission.

High-performance oil pump made of cast iron
The choice of cast iron has resulted in a very solid oil pump that will continue its work under all conditions. It will therefore not wear internally as quickly, which is the case sooner with the original (aluminum). Cast iron has a different expansion coefficient than aluminum, and since the crankcase is largely made of aluminum, this can be seen as a small disadvantage. A heavily tuned engine is of course fitted with a faster camshaft, so an old oil pump type is used, where you have the choice between a standard pump or a pump of the Melling brand. Melling is not the cheapest, but the highest-quality oil pump you can own. All cast-iron oil pumps are fitted with 30 mm gears, which corresponds to a higher pump output of no less than 38%. All pumps are supplied with a flat oil pump cover to save as much space as possible, and with four longer studs that must replace the existing studs due to the thicker housing. Also included is the gasket between cover and pump (also available separately); the Melling pump is also supplied with the gasket between crankcase and pump, whereas for the standard pumps you have to order this gasket separately.

1899 : Melling high-performance oil pump (cast iron) 30 mm gears - Type 1 from 1967 to 7/1971
1803 : high-performance oil pump (cast iron) 30 mm gears - Type 1 from 1967 to 7/1971
1802 : high-performance oil pump (cast iron) 30 mm gears - Type 1 from 8/1971 onwards, CT/CZ and WBX engines

High-performance aluminum oil pump
As you could read at the beginning, engines are better off with a high-performance oil pump in all situations than with the original. These aluminum pumps are ideal especially for engines where the appearance must not be affected; once fitted, you cannot see that a high-performance oil pump is fitted. Compared to the cast-iron pumps above, these aluminum pumps have an additional advantage: the pump expands evenly with the crankcase, which is also largely made of aluminum, so there is little leakage. The extra pump output for the older years is 25% more than the original (26 mm gears); for the newer years (camshaft with four rivets or bolts) the output with its 30 mm gears is equal to that of cast iron. For standard and lightly tuned engines these aluminum high-performance oil pumps are a perfect choice. Supplied without oil pump cover and nuts; add these together with an oil pressure boost kit. Gaskets are supplied for both the cover and the pump (also available separately).

1981 : high-performance oil pump (aluminum) 26 mm gears - Type 1 and Type 3 from 1967 to 7/1971
1982 : high-performance oil pump (aluminum) 30 mm gears - Type 1 and Type 3 from 8/1971 onwards, CT/CZ and WBX engines

Note: The drive shaft of the pump must not be under tension in relation to the camshaft drive; there must still be about 1 mm axial play. On a split crankcase this is easy to check when the camshaft is in its bearings; on an assembled engine you have to measure this.