Oiling

Read This Before You Buy an Oil Pump

There is one compatibility trap on this page and it catches people who have done everything else right.

The Pro Oil Pump will not work with the LC Engineering dual row timing chain conversion kit. If you have fitted our dual row conversion — or you have an early 1981-1984 engine — you need the pump specified for that setup, not this one. Check which timing chain arrangement is in front of you before ordering, and ask us if you are not certain.

Street or Pro?

The Street Oil Pump for 1985-1995 is the straightforward replacement for a stock or mild engine.

The Pro Oil Pump starts as a brand new pump from Japan, then is hand blueprinted, hard anodized and reassembled by our technicians — OEM Aisin quality with the LCE work on top. It delivers roughly 10 psi at idle and 70 psi at higher rpm, which is extra protection on a street engine and a requirement on a high output race engine.

Pro Oil Pump 1985-1995 · Pro Oil Pump 1975-1984

Need more than 70 psi? The adjustable oil pump bypass screws into the pump housing and overrides the factory bypass spring, so you can set pressure externally. Two things to know: it only raises pressure, never lowers it, and the pump is not included.

The number to build to: a minimum of 10 psi for every 1,000 rpm. Check it at operating oil temperature and at maximum rpm, not cold in the driveway — cold oil will tell you the system is fine when it is not.

Drive splines — single row and dual row are different parts

Another one tied to your timing chain: the single row chain drive spline and the dual row chain drive spline. Also the oil pump o-ring, which should be new every time the pump comes off.

Oil Pans — Sump Position Follows the Chassis

The pan has to clear the crossmember and the diff, which is why 2WD and 4WD pans are different and why the Celica pans are different again. Order by vehicle, not by capacity.

Standard replacement: 4WD Pickup and 4Runner 1979-1995 · 2WD Pickup and 4Runner 1979-1995

The standard 4WD and 2WD pans are silicone-seal pans, so no gasket is needed — use Ultra Grey when you fit one. That is a genuine upgrade on an early truck that came with a pan gasket, and the drain plug is included.

High capacity — these are our circle track pans, designed around one problem: keeping air out of the pickup. The sump extends toward the right side, there are baffles and a windage tray inside to control slosh, the sump is 4 1/2" deep, and the pickup tube is extended to reach it. That is the argument for one on a trail truck too, where a steep climb or a hard side-hill can uncover a standard pickup.

Rear sump, 2WD Pickup · front sump, Celica 1981-1985 · mid sump, 20R Celica 1975-1980

Order these early. They are built when ordered and run about a four week lead time — not a part to discover you need with the engine on the stand.

Race: the Pro dry sump pan.

Pickup tubes and sealing

The pickup tube is matched to the pan, so changing one usually means changing the other: 4WD 1979-1995 and 2WD 1979-1995, with the pickup tube gasket.

Pan sealing and fasteners: the 1975-1984 oil pan gasket, the hardware kit with silicone seal and the 1979-1984 hardware kit.

Drain Plugs

The one that strips because someone over-tightened it at a quick-lube: OEM drain plug, OEM Toyota drain plug and the aftermarket replacement. Fit a new crush washer with it — those are on the gaskets page.

Galley Plugs — the British Threads Nobody Expects

The oil galley plugs are British thread, which surprises people reaching for a metric or SAE plug and finding nothing fits. Three sizes: small 1/8" - 28, medium 1/4" - 19, large 3/8" - 19, or the complete engine rebuild galley plug kit.

Buy the kit with your rebuild parts. Being one galley plug short with a block at the machine shop is a genuinely annoying way to lose a week.

Dipsticks and Fittings

Short and shorty style, which are not the same thing — check what your engine and pan combination takes: the short style dipstick kit, the short style tube bracket, the shorty style dipstick, 14 1/4" and the shorty style tube, 8".

Get the pairing right: the shorty dipstick (14 1/4") only works with the short tube. If you have a pre-1985 engine with the long style and want to convert it to the newer shorter arrangement, that is what the short style kit does.

Plus the block-to-filter oil fitting, and BSPT adapters for plumbing a gauge or a cooler off the block: 28 BSPT to 1/8" NPT female and 28 BSPT to -4AN.

Relocating the Filter, or Adding a Cooler

Two different jobs, two different parts, and people order the wrong one.

To move the filter — easier oil changes on a lifted truck, and a little more oil in the system — the oil filter remote kit. It is complete: spin-on adapter, remote bracket, hoses, fittings, hardware and instructions. It takes 3/4"-16 Ford-type spin-on filters, which are not included, so buy one at the same time.

To add an oil cooler without moving the filter, the sandwich adapter fits between the filter and the block and gives you a pressurised feed for the cooler. It uses 3/8" NPT fittings. Measure first — it pushes the filter further out from the block, and on these trucks that space is not generous.

While You Are Here

Two parts that live elsewhere in the catalogue but belong in this conversation: the full perimeter crank scraper, which we recommend with our Premium and Builder Series kits, and the turbo kit oil feed line if the engine is boosted.