Oil Pickup Screen

[Matt Wilson]

As part of my flathead rebuild, which is ongoing, I disassembled and cleaned the oil pickup by removing the cover and the screen and letting it all soak and scrubbing it, etc.  When finished, I put everything back together and crimped the lip around the outside edge.  This was a couple of years ago - or more.  Fast forward a little, and I had some reason to take it apart again (can't recall why) and when I did, I noticed that many of the wires making up the screen were smashed flat at the outside edges, due to my excess enthusiasm when crimping the sheet metal lip over the wires.  They were smashed to the point where some of them were breaking off quite easily with the slightest movement.  Not the kind of thing you want to have near the oil flow as it's entering your engine.  So fast forward some more and I decided I should replace that compromised screen mesh.  I found some stainless steel wire mesh of very similar dimensions from McMaster-Carr (15 x 15 mesh size, 0.057" opening size, part number 85385T62) for $12.56, plus shipping and tax, for a 1 foot x 2 foot piece (plenty in case I screw up while cutting it to size).

 

The only thing is, the new mesh of course doesn't have the big hole in the middle, like the original does.  That hole is normally up against the inner face of the solid cover that goes on the pickup.  If you look carefully, you can see the circular marking on the inside of the solid cover, indicating where the hole in the screen normally rests against the inside of the cover.  It appears that the hole doesn't normally let much, if any, oil flow through it.  I think that it might be there in the event that the screen gets so badly clogged that the mesh doesn't pass any oil, at which time the suction from the pump will pull the screen mesh, including the hole, away from the solid cover, allowing oil to flow through the hole.  At least that's the only theory I could come up with.  I will never let my oil get anywhere close to being that dirty, so I think I'm ok to use the new mesh without that hole, but I'd be interested to hear if anyone thinks there is another reason for this hole to be present, and whether it's detrimental that I won't have that in my new mesh.

 

Thoughts?

[JBNeal]

That grommet might keep the screen from sticking to the cover so that more screen area is exposed to the oil.

[Matt Wilson]

17 hours ago, JBNeal said:

That grommet might keep the screen from sticking to the cover so that more screen area is exposed to the oil.

Interesting thought.....

 

I haven't assembled the pickup yet, so that's something for me to think about and look at.  Maybe there's another way for me to put some space between the new screen and the cover.  Food for thought.

 

Thanks!